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Blowing leads is kind of N.C. State’s thing.
The Wolfpack squandered an advantage, albeit small, in the third quarter of its rivalry game against Wake Forest on Saturday.
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The Demon Deacons used a third-quarter surge — paired with N.C. State’s own collapse — of three touchdowns and 195 yards to take a three-possession lead.
With that surge, Wake Forest rolled out of Raleigh with a 38-14 win to stay undefeated on the road.
It was N.C. State’s first loss at Carter-Finley Stadium this season. It was the fourth straight game in which the Pack failed to maintain a lead for the entire game, and the second time a blown lead led to a loss.
FBS opponents have outscored the Wolfpack 115-53 in the second half this season.
N.C. State head coach Dave Doeren wishes he could blame those issues, especially the ones on defense, on opponents making better adjustments. Instead, the team didn’t make enough plays in the second half and was poor in coverage.
“It’s more execution, and that’s the sad part,” Doeren said. “Teams aren’t doing things that they didn’t do in the first half. A lot of times, they’re running the same plays that we defended, and then we’re not defending them with discipline.
“It’s basic things. It’s fundamentals, it’s not pressing and doing your job, and it’s really frustrating.”
Maybe everyone should’ve taken the first offensive drive of both halves as a sign of things to come.
In fact, it was almost like the Wolfpack didn’t even receive the opening kickoff.
The football went flying when Wake Forest’s Vincent Firenze tackled CJ Bailey and Aiden Hall punched the ball out of Bailey’s right arm, landing on the grass to the right of his body. Defensive back Braylon Johnson scooped it up, running toward the end zone. Trent Mitchell leaped onto a moving Johnson, wrapping up the defender’s legs and stopped him at the N.C. State 2-yard line. The Deacs scored two plays later and had a 7-0 lead.
Bailey said there wasn’t anything to walk through on the play, and that he simply played with bad ball security.
The Wolfpack went three-and-out on the first drive of the second half after a pair of incomplete passes and a rush for no gain. They advanced past midfield on their second drive of the day but ultimately turned the ball over on downs.
N.C. State’s lone scoring series came in the opening half, on back-to-back drives. Its first touchdown came on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Bailey to wide receiver Chance Robinson. The team added a second touchdown when backup quarterback Will Wilson threw a bloop pass into the end zone. Tight end Hunter Provience recorded the diving, one-handed catch that capped off a 96-yard drive.
The Pack went to the locker room at halftime with a 14-10 lead after Wake Forest’s third-down penalty forced the Deacs to attempt a field goal. The Deacs were held to 122 yards in the first half, and star receiver Carlos Hernandez recorded 23 yards.
Still, the Wolfpack defense gave up points on the final drive of the first half and opened the second by allowing a score. When asked what led to teams having success in those specific situations, Doeren said he “just answered that question,” referring to the defensive errors.
Wake Forest pitched a shutout in the second half, with N.C. State gaining a measly 63 yards. Of those, only 18 came in the third quarter.
The Deacs went 6 for 6 inside the 20, a performance that came against a defense ranked No. 37 nationally on red-zone defense.
Bailey started the game 15 of 15 passing for 169 yards and one TD. He did not throw an incompletion until 4 minutes, 45 seconds remained in the first half, and it looked like he was on pace for another career-high game, or close to it. The QB finished the afternoon 28 of 39 for 241 yards.
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“We’ve got to be a little more disciplined,” said linebacker Popo Aguirre. “Penalties really is the main thing that killed us the whole day, and we got to do better at that. We didn’t execute coming out of the half, and we gave up some big plays. Part of that was communication. We got to get back in there and clean that up. It was a lot of penalties and miscommunication.”
Wake’s Hernandez entered the game as one of the nation’s best receivers, averaging 120.6 yards per game. He also led FBS in yards after the catch, adding nearly 10 yards to each reception. He was still a threat, but Jack Foley emerged as a guy to watch.
Foley surpassed the 100-yard receiving mark midway through the third quarter on Saturday when he hauled in a 52-yard reception, a play that put the Deacs on the N.C. State 11-yard line. He scored the 10-yard touchdown two plays later and set a new career high in receiving yards. Foley finished with 156 receiving yards.
Lopez and Hernandez’s offensive success did not materialize in the first half. N.C. State held Lopez to 85 passing yards in the first half, including only 23 yards to Hernandez. The receiver logged 10 yards after his catches through the opening two quarters when N.C. State defenders brought him down swiftly. However, that changed in the second half.
Hernandez joined Foley in the 100-yard club, finishing with 117 yards and one touchdown in the Deacs’ win.
Quarterback Gio Lopez completed 26 of 33 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns.
“We had them backed up a few times, and we continue to beat ourselves,” Aguirre said. “That’s something I have to do better as a leader; of helping us understand the situation, and we won’t have that next time.”
The Wolfpack run game was virtually nonexistent this week after losing multiple starters on the offensive line and its starting running back.
N.C. State rushed for a season-low 15 yards, including a minus-5 yards in the second half alone. Its previous low was 89 yards in the Week 0 loss to Virginia.
“The run game was not good, with too much knockback and penetration,” Doeren said. “Those guys beat us today, and that happens sometimes. It’s unfortunate. I would love to have played that football game with a healthy offensive line, but we don’t have one right now. Our kids are going to learn from that film.”
The Pack also was without starting running back Duke Scott after he left the Louisville game with an undisclosed lower body injury. It’s unclear whether he will return this season. Starting center Spike Sowells was ruled out for the rest of the season.
Offensive lineman Kamen Smith was unavailable, after being listed as “questionable” on the ACC availability report this week.
Jimarion McCrimon returned to the front line after uncertainty about whether he would play. McCrimon missed the Louisville game with an injury. Overall, neither the rushers nor the offensive line could get anything going on the ground and made the offense one-dimensional.
The Wolfpack defense did a solid job getting into the backfield to pressure Lopez. Unfortunately, its efforts weren’t enough.
N.C. State recorded 11 quarterback hurries, including three by edge rusher Harvey Dyson. The Wolfpack had little issue getting beyond the line of scrimmage for contact. The problem was the timing.
Defenders did not get off blocks quickly enough to turn its hurries into sacks, and Lopez was effective at getting the ball off. And his receivers made plays down field to help him out. Had N.C. State gotten around its blocks, the hurries would’ve turned into losses of yardage. Instead, they were incomplete passes or positive plays.
Freshman Elijah Satchell recorded a drive-ending sack in the second quarter, tackling Lopez for a loss of 11. The lone sack of the game was the third, all unassisted, of his short career. He leads the team in the metric, with Harvey Dyson following the rookie’s efforts (1.5).
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This story was originally published October 10, 2026 at 3:38 PM.