Meet Your Insider
Hey there, Pack! I'm Rutherford Pegram, but everybody calls me Ruff, and I'm your NC State insider at The Cover Window. I'm a Wake County native and an engineer, and I grill at the same Carter-Finley lot every home game. I explain schemes with grill thermometers. A defense running at 225 degrees? That's low and slow. An offense at 450? That's a sear.
Here's my promise. I'm loud, I'm warm and I'm gloriously dramatic, but I don't cook the numbers. Every stat here has a source. If I don't know something, I'll tell you the thermometer's still reading. I celebrate our players as people first, I respect every opponent, and I thank God for good friends, good food and good football. I howl once per segment, no more, no less. Wolfpack, howl!
The School in 60 Seconds
NC State plays in the ACC and was a founding member in 1953, after years in the Southern Conference. The Wolfpack has won seven conference championships and played in 34 bowl games, winning 17. Since 1966, home has been Carter-Finley Stadium, the largest college football stadium in North Carolina. CFBD lists it at 58,000 seats. In 2010 the school brought back a live mascot, a Tamaskan dog named Tuffy. Good boy.
The last five seasons have been steady heat: 9-3, 8-5, 9-4, 6-7 and 8-5. Four winning seasons in five years. The grill stays lit in Raleigh.
The Coach and the Scheme
Dave Doeren is in his 14th season. He's coached NC State since 2013, and CFBD records his hire date as Dec. 1, 2012. Before Raleigh he was head coach at Northern Illinois in 2011 and 2012. He was an assistant at Wisconsin, Kansas, Montana and USC, and he played at Drake.
The offense is cooking at the right temperature. NC State gains 426.3 yards per game (43rd in FBS) and scores 33.0 points (44th). It throws for 257.8 yards (41st) and runs for 168.5 (54th). It converts 51.1% of third downs, 15th in FBS, and holds the ball 32:52 per game (20th).
The defense needs adjusting. It allows 363.8 yards per game (78th), 230.3 passing yards (99th) and 27.7 points (104th). After the Wake Forest loss, Doeren said the defense wasn't playing with discipline in the second half. He also said the team needed to get some injured players back. He didn't name them in that AP report, so I won't either.
Players to Know
QB CJ Bailey: 1,507 yards, nine touchdowns, four interceptions, 66.7% completions. Against Wake Forest he completed his first 16 passes. AP's recap lists him 28 for 40 for 241 yards, and the preview lists 28 of 39, so that's conflicting.
WR Keenan Jackson: team-best 27 catches for 400 yards and five touchdowns. Nearly 15 yards a grab. That's a sizzle.
RB Jayden Scott: 358 yards on 62 carries and four touchdowns.
RB Davion Gause: seven carries and five catches against Wake Forest.
LB Popo Aguirre: team-high 54 tackles. After the Wake loss he said, "We got to be a little bit more disciplined". A leader's answer.
Elijah Satchell: team-high three sacks.
The Conference Picture
NC State is 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the ACC. The Wolfpack are 3-1 at home and 0-2 on the road. They lost the opener 34-8 at Virginia, then beat Richmond 73-0. They lost 35-31 at Vanderbilt. Then came wins over App State (41-31) and Louisville (31-28) before the 38-14 loss to Wake Forest.
This is NC State's first road game since Sept. 19. After Stanford, the Pack gets three straight at home: California, Duke and Syracuse. Then come trips to Florida State and North Carolina. Three wins in the final six would reach six.
This Week: Game Preview from Both Sides
NC State (3-3) at Stanford (3-4) · Friday, Oct. 23, 10:30 p.m. ET · Stanford Stadium, Stanford, Calif. · ESPN
Last time out. NC State led Wake Forest 14-10 at halftime on Oct. 10, then gave up the game's final 31 points in a 38-14 loss. The Wolfpack ran for only 15 yards. Then came a week off to regroup. Stanford beat FCS Elon 34-7 on Oct. 17.
NC State's offense vs. Stanford's defense. The grill is hot here. Stanford allows 452.0 yards per game (134th) and 36.6 points (133rd). Its run defense allows 196.6 yards per game (125th). Opponents convert 47.8% of third downs (131st), and Stanford's red-zone defense allows scores on 96.4% of trips, 136th. Bailey to Jackson, Scott on the ground, and keep that 32:52 possession average going.
Stanford's offense vs. NC State's defense. Stanford gains 342.9 yards per game (106th) and scores 18.3 points (127th). Its run game ranks 131st at 103.4 yards per game. But Micah Ford just ran for 179 yards and four touchdowns against Elon, and Davis Warren has 1,630 passing yards. Our pass defense ranks 99th, so we have to tighten the coverage.
Series. NC State Athletics lists one meeting: a 59-28 Wolfpack win in Raleigh on Nov. 2, 2024. This is the first trip to Stanford.
Availability. No official conference availability report has been published. Doeren mentioned injured players after the Wake game but named no one in that report. Status unknown.
Three questions that decide it:
1. Can the Pack bounce back from allowing 31 straight points to Wake Forest?
2. Can our run game get going against Stanford's 125th-ranked run defense?
3. Can our pass defense slow Warren?
Local Flavor
It's a 10:30 p.m. Eastern kickoff, so set the coffee maker, Raleigh. Out in Palo Alto it's an early-evening game. If you're traveling, wear your red with pride and be a gracious guest. If you're home, I'd fire up a late-night grill, but safely and quietly. The neighbors will understand. Not an ad. Wolfpack, howl! (That's my one.)
My call: NC State Wolfpack 33, Stanford Cardinal 24.