NC State and Campbell meet in football for the first time on Saturday

RALEIGH, N.C. - NC State Football will welcome Campbell to Carter-Finley Stadium Saturday, Oct. 4^th, for the two programs' first-ever meeting in football. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and ACC Network Extra. Only 35 miles separates Carter-Finley Stadium from the Camels' Barker-Lane Stadium.

The Wolfpack will look to get back in the win column and end a two-game losing streak before hitting the road for two straight games following the matchup with the Fighting Camels.

One of the keys to the Wolfpack's success this season has been taking away the big play. Despite holding two opponents to less than 100 yards rushing this season, the Wolfpack ranks 71st nationally in rushing defense. In the Wolfpack's victories over East Carolina and Wake Forest, the NC State defense didn't give up a run longer than 15 yards. ECU (10), WF (13). In the three other games this season (in which the Wolfpack posts a 1-2 mark), the opponent has posted runs of 60+ yards. Take away those three runs, and the Wolfpack defense has allowed 507 yards rushing on the season – 101.4 yards per game. That's quite a bit better than the 144.8 mark the team has actually turned in, including those three plays. NC State has given up passes of 79 yards and 70 yards but has not given up five explosive passes (20 or more yards) in a game this season. Virginia Tech had a season high of 11 explosive plays against the Wolfpack, but only two came through the air. The Wolfpack defense has allowed just one opponent to throw for more than 300 yards this season (ECU).

Graduate student Caden Noonkester has been a sneaky weapon for the Wolfpack, starting the last 35 games at punter. That's the longest starting streak on the 2025 Wolfpack squad. He currently ranks second in the ACC in punting average with his 46.8 mark this season, ninth in the FBS. Last week vs. Virginia Tech, he averaged 51.8 yards per punt. Noonkester boasts the third-best career punt average in school history (43.4 ypp). His 165 career boots rank eighth in the record book, while his 7,158 yards are the seventh-best mark ever for a Pack punter.

In his Wolfpack career, quarterback CJ Bailey has had 80 touches in the red zone (passes/rushes/receptions). In those 80 touches, he's scored 25 TDs and has not turned the ball over.

The Wolfpack's four starters in every game this season: Center Jalen Grant, left guard Anthony Carter, Jr., left tackle Jacarrius Peak, and right tackle Teague Andersen have combined to play in 167 career games and start 122. In game 5, true freshman Spike Sowells entered the starting lineup in just his fifth career game. Sowells got the nod at right guard and has also seen time at center this season. He is the first true freshman to start a game on the offensive line since Ickey Ekwonu in 2019.

Hollywood Smothers not only leads the ACC in rushing, but his 570 total yards ranks fourth in the FBS. His 114 yard average for the season is almost 17 yard more than any other league player. The ACC's leading rusher with 570 yards. That mark ranks fourth in the FBS. Just 16 games into his NC State career, Smothers already ranks ninth in NC State history in career rushing yards per game with 71.3, while his career 6.2 yards per carry mark would blow the school record (5.46) out of the water if he had enough attempts to qualify (the mark is 200 attempts, he has 185). Smothers broke the 1,000-yard mark in the loss at Duke and now boasts 1,141 yards in his NC State career.

NC State and Campbell meet in football for the first time on Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Teague Andersen

CJ Bailey

Anthony Carter, Jr.

Jalen Grant

Caden Noonkester

Jacarrius Peak

Hollywood Smothers