For Fran Brown and the Syracuse football team, this is where the rubber meets the road. With three games left to play, the Orange needs two wins to qualify for a bowl game, starting Saturday against the NC State Wolfpack. The Wolfpack is in an identical situation, sitting at 4-5 on the season and about to play their final home game. Since a lot has changed at NC State since our preseason preview of the Wolfpack, let’s look at the current state of the program and NC State’s season.
Where is NC State ranked?
The Wolfpack are not ranked, nor have they been ranked at any point in the season.
Where is NC State in the ACC standings?
NC State is currently toward the bottom of the ACC standings. The Wolfpack is one of six teams that are 2-4 in league play, just half a game ahead of 2-5 Syracuse, with the Orange only playing two more conference games, whereas most teams have three left to play.
What did NC State do last week?
The Wolfpack is fresh off an embarrassing 41-3 home loss to Duke. It was the second game under interim head coach Todd Goebbel, following the shocking midseason firing of Dave Doeren. Despite getting a win immediately after Doeren was fired, the Wolfpack laid an egg against one of their local rivals. NC State’s offense managed just 217 total yards, while the defense was steamrolled, giving up 238 yards on the ground.
Who is NC State’s quarterback?
CJ Bailey has been NC State’s starting quarterback all season. The 6’6’’ junior has impressive arm talent, which made the Wolfpack something of a sleeper in the ACC before the season. Overall, he’s had a solid season, throwing for over 2,000 yards and 13 touchdowns, while tossing just four interceptions. On the other hand, he had a critical fumble on the last play of NC State’s loss to Vanderbilt and hasn’t been able to raise the overall level of his team’s performance. He’s also coming off his worst performance of the season, completing just 15 of 23 passes for 123 yards against Duke.
CJ BAILEY FUMBLES THE FOOTBALL ON THE LAST PLAY OF THE GAME AND VANDERBILT SCORES TO WIN.
— College Football Report (@CFBReport) September 19, 2026
OH. MY. GOODNESS. pic.twitter.com/MlQK6FJRcr
Who are NC State’s other stars?
Even on an underperforming offense, wide receiver Keenan Jackson has managed to stand out for NC State. He has a team-high 31 receptions for 477 yards. Jackson has also been on the receiving end of six of the team’s 15 passing touchdowns, while no other player has more than two receiving touchdowns.
Defensively, Elijah Satchell is the player to watch. His five sacks lead the team, while nobody else on the roster has more than 1.5 sacks this year. As expected, Popo Aguirre has been the overall leader of the defense. The Miami transfer has racked up 84 total tackles on the season, more than twice as many as any other player on the NC State defense. However, Aguirre picked up an injury last week, potentially forcing the Wolfpack to start multiple freshmen at linebacker this week.
What is NC State’s biggest flaw?
NC State’s flaws begin with the offensive line, which has struggled to assert itself and establish a productive rushing attack. Even with wins over Louisville and Cal, the Wolfpack is gaining fewer than four yards per carry in ACC play. Also, if you take away their eight rushing touchdowns against Richmond, the Wolfpack has just 10 rushing touchdowns in their other eight games. That’s put a ton of pressure on Bailey, who has still managed to make plays, although it hasn’t been easy. With Jackson suffering an injury last week, it might be even tougher for Bailey moving forward.
Duke with a 109-yard kick return touchdown off the NC State missed kick 💀 pic.twitter.com/8h2GoB6Bmj
— Sport & State (@SportNState) November 7, 2026
Defensively, the Wolfpack haven’t been particularly reliable either. Outside of holding a pitiful Cal offense to 10 points, the Wolfpack are giving up 35 points per game in ACC play. At times, the NC State defense has been able to contain the run, but they haven’t done it consistently. Even a Stanford team that ranks 127th nationally in rushing was able to rack up 174 rushing yards against NC State. Even when they’ve managed to stop the run, the secondary has yielded tons of yardage in the passing game, which explains why most teams have had no problem reaching 30 points against the Wolfpack.
How does Syracuse beat NC State?
The biggest key for Syracuse might be getting off to a fast start. The Wolfpack is coming off a dreadful performance last week, and with an interim coach, the fanbase has to be low on hope and patience. If the Orange can take an early lead, it’ll drain any enthusiasm from the typically rowdy Carter-Finley Stadium, helping to set up Syracuse for a comfortable win.
On paper, Syracuse should be able to run the ball against NC State, taking some of the pressure off Steve Angeli. The Orange defense should also be able to win at the line of scrimmage and make things difficult for Bailey. As long as Syracuse doesn’t revert back to its old ways of hurting itself with penalties and careless turnovers, the Orange should have every opportunity to get a win on Saturday.
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