Saturday, September 27
Raleigh, NC
7 p.m.
NC State
vs
Virginia Tech
Wolfpack Returns Home to Take on Virginia Tech
9/26/2025 2:00:00 PM | Football
RALEIGH, N.C. – After two weeks on the road, NC State will return to the friendly confines of Carter-Finley Stadium to take on Virginia Tech on Saturday, September 27th at 7:30 and broadcast on the CW Network.
NC State and Virginia Tech have met 52 times in a series that dates back 125 years. The Wolfpack and Hokies have played just eight times since VT joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2004. NC State has won three of those contests, including the last two (2022 in Raleigh and 2023 in Blacksburg). The last time the two teams met in Raleigh (10/27/22), NC State came back from a 21-3 deficit in the third quarter to win 22-21. Freshman QB MJ Morris threw three touchdown passes (two to WR Thayer Thomas) in the victory. That 18-point comeback was the largest for the Wolfpack since the 2011 squad came back from 27 points down vs. Maryland in 2011.
Hollywood Smothers has now rushed for 100+ yards in each of the last three games. The Charlotte native posted a career-high 140 yards in the win over Virginia, topped that with 164 yards the next week at Wake Forest and then turned in 123 yards last week at Duke. He is now the first Pack player since Nyheim Hines in 2017 to rush for 100+ yards in three straight contests. In the FBS this season, he is one of just five players with three or more 100-yard rushing games.
Smothers not only leads the ACC in rushing, but his 503 total yards rank fifth in the FBS and third in the P4. His 125.8-yard average for the season is almost 29 yards more than any other league player. In conference play, he's posted 143.5 yards per game.
Not only does he lead the Wolfpack in rushing, but he is tied for second with 15 receptions this season, gaining another 83 yards. He currently ranks ninth in the FBS with 146.5 all-purpose yards per game
NC State sophomore wide receiver Terrell Anderson entered last week's game vs. Duke with 23 receptions for 265 yards in his 16 career games played. He got the starting nod for the second time in his career in the contest, and on just the third offensive play of the game, caught a screen from CJ Bailey and was off to the races for a 75-yard touchdown. He scored again in the second quarter, doubling the number of touchdowns he had had previously in his career. The Greensboro native racked up 166 receiving yards on the day (six receptions) - the most for a Wolfpack player since the 2018 season, when Kelvin Harmon had 247 yards vs. Syracuse.
Since Dave Doeren became HC prior to the 2013 season, Wolfpack quarterbacks have passed for 300+ yards 37 times. With just 13 career starts, CJ Bailey has reached that threshold four times, including twice in 2025. He threw for 318 yards passing in the season opener vs. East Carolina and a career-high 364 yards last week at Duke.
NC State is 5-8 as a team on fourth down attempts this season. Will Wilson is 4-4. The freshman quarterback came in and converted on two fourth-and-ones in the win over Virginia. The first was for two yards, and the Pack would score a touchdown two plays later in a four-point win. On the second, he gained four yards. At Wake, Wilson gained three yards on a fourth-and-one, and then CJ Bailey hit Justin Joly for his first of two touchdowns on the night on a fourth-and-1 at the five. Last week at Duke, Wilson wasn't called in for any fourth-down plays, but he did score touchdowns on short yardage: a 1st-and-goal from the one in the second quarter and a one-yard rush on third down in the fourth quarter to pull the Pack within five.
NC State and Virginia Tech have met 52 times in a series that dates back 125 years. The Wolfpack and Hokies have played just eight times since VT joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2004. NC State has won three of those contests, including the last two (2022 in Raleigh and 2023 in Blacksburg). The last time the two teams met in Raleigh (10/27/22), NC State came back from a 21-3 deficit in the third quarter to win 22-21. Freshman QB MJ Morris threw three touchdown passes (two to WR Thayer Thomas) in the victory. That 18-point comeback was the largest for the Wolfpack since the 2011 squad came back from 27 points down vs. Maryland in 2011.
Hollywood Smothers has now rushed for 100+ yards in each of the last three games. The Charlotte native posted a career-high 140 yards in the win over Virginia, topped that with 164 yards the next week at Wake Forest and then turned in 123 yards last week at Duke. He is now the first Pack player since Nyheim Hines in 2017 to rush for 100+ yards in three straight contests. In the FBS this season, he is one of just five players with three or more 100-yard rushing games.
Smothers not only leads the ACC in rushing, but his 503 total yards rank fifth in the FBS and third in the P4. His 125.8-yard average for the season is almost 29 yards more than any other league player. In conference play, he's posted 143.5 yards per game.
Not only does he lead the Wolfpack in rushing, but he is tied for second with 15 receptions this season, gaining another 83 yards. He currently ranks ninth in the FBS with 146.5 all-purpose yards per game
NC State sophomore wide receiver Terrell Anderson entered last week's game vs. Duke with 23 receptions for 265 yards in his 16 career games played. He got the starting nod for the second time in his career in the contest, and on just the third offensive play of the game, caught a screen from CJ Bailey and was off to the races for a 75-yard touchdown. He scored again in the second quarter, doubling the number of touchdowns he had had previously in his career. The Greensboro native racked up 166 receiving yards on the day (six receptions) - the most for a Wolfpack player since the 2018 season, when Kelvin Harmon had 247 yards vs. Syracuse.
Since Dave Doeren became HC prior to the 2013 season, Wolfpack quarterbacks have passed for 300+ yards 37 times. With just 13 career starts, CJ Bailey has reached that threshold four times, including twice in 2025. He threw for 318 yards passing in the season opener vs. East Carolina and a career-high 364 yards last week at Duke.
NC State is 5-8 as a team on fourth down attempts this season. Will Wilson is 4-4. The freshman quarterback came in and converted on two fourth-and-ones in the win over Virginia. The first was for two yards, and the Pack would score a touchdown two plays later in a four-point win. On the second, he gained four yards. At Wake, Wilson gained three yards on a fourth-and-one, and then CJ Bailey hit Justin Joly for his first of two touchdowns on the night on a fourth-and-1 at the five. Last week at Duke, Wilson wasn't called in for any fourth-down plays, but he did score touchdowns on short yardage: a 1st-and-goal from the one in the second quarter and a one-yard rush on third down in the fourth quarter to pull the Pack within five.
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