CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2025 NC State

8–⁠5 (5–⁠4 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Dave Doeren.

Schedule and results

NC State in 2025, game by game: won vs. East Carolina 24–17; won vs. Virginia 35–31; won at Wake Forest 34–24; lost at Duke 33–45; lost vs. Virginia Tech 21–23; won vs. Campbell 56–10; lost at No. 16 Notre Dame 7–36; lost at Pittsburgh 34–53; won vs. No. 8 Georgia Tech 48–36; lost at No. 16 Miami 7–41; won vs. Florida State 21–11; won vs. North Carolina 42–19; won vs. Memphis 31–7+46−34Won 24–17 vs. East Carolina+7East CarolinaWon 35–31 vs. Virginia+4VirginiaWon 34–24 at Wake Forest+10Wake ForestLost 33–45 at Duke-12DukeLost 21–23 vs. Virginia Tech-2Virginia TechWon 56–10 vs. Campbell+46CampbellLost 7–36 at No. 16 Notre Dame-29No. 16 Notre DameLost 34–53 at Pittsburgh-19PittsburghWon 48–36 vs. No. 8 Georgia Tech+12No. 8 Georgia TechLost 7–41 at No. 16 Miami-34No. 16 MiamiWon 21–11 vs. Florida State+10Florida StateWon 42–19 vs. North Carolina+23North CarolinaWon 31–7 vs. Memphis+24Memphis
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 28vsEast CarolinaW 24–⁠1759%
Sep 6vsVirginiaW 35–⁠3162%
Sep 11atWake ForestW 34–⁠2452%
Sep 20atDukeL 33–⁠4546%
Sep 27vsVirginia TechL 21–⁠2369%
Oct 4vsCampbellW 56–⁠1090%
Oct 11at16Notre DameL 7–⁠3617%
Oct 25atPittsburghL 34–⁠5334%
Nov 1vs8Georgia TechW 48–⁠3636%
Nov 15at16MiamiL 7–⁠4125%
Nov 21vsFlorida StateW 21–⁠1160%
Nov 29vsNorth CarolinaW 42–⁠1969%
Dec 19Bowls & playoffvsMemphisGasparilla BowlW 31–⁠743%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Memphis 31–⁠7 in the Gasparilla Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 7th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 23rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠4 7th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
393–⁠353
Coach
Dave Doeren
Elo
1585 +80 this season
SP+ rating
4.8 No. 55 of 136; offense No. 45, defense No. 64, special teams No. 101
SRS
7.0 No. 39 of 136 in FBS
Returning
73% of last season’s EPA, No. 7 of 134
Recruiting class
No. 34 roster talent No. 45 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Kurt Roper
Defensive coordinators
D.J. Eliot and Charlton Warren
Offense
Power spread
Defense
Multiple 3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense41st of 136
  • Defense114th of 136
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted34th of 136
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted85th of 136
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1441%1.3641st of 136
Defense0.1841%1.40114th of 136
Opponent-adjusted0.16 off
0.13 def		43% off
39% def		—34th off
85th def

Passing and running

Pass successDepth of targetDeep throwsLine yardsStuffed
Offense45%8.2 yds14%2.9020%
Defense42%10.6 yds18%3.1017%
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.7own 2816% allowed
Defense3.7own 3015% caused

CORE rating 1.0, 61st of 136 (offense 4.0, defense 3.0).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsC.J. Bailey QB3,105 yds
Passing touchdownsC.J. Bailey QB25 TD
Rushing yardsHollywood Smothers RB939 yds
Rushing touchdownsWill Wilson QB10 TD
Receiving yardsTerrell Anderson WR629 yds
Receiving touchdownsJustin Joly TE7 TD
TacklesCaden Fordham LB143 tkl
SacksTra Thomas LB4 sacks
InterceptionsCaden Fordham LB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2025 class

Spike Sowells Jr. OL★★★★No. 193
Je’rel Bolder WR★★★★No. 279
T.K. Whitset OT★★★★No. 466
Deandre Desinor RB★★★No. 524
Will Wilson QB★★★No. 619

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2025 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.881
Running backs23.00.875
Receivers53.20.875
Offensive line43.50.885
Defensive line43.00.863
Linebackers23.00.867
Defensive backs33.00.867
Athletes and specialists23.00.843
Whole class233.10.870

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2026

The 2026 draft
Rd 5Justin Joly TEDenver Broncos
Rd 7Brandon Cleveland DTLas Vegas Raiders

Roster 126

The 2025 roster

126 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2025 line; 61 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 18

The 2025 portal
Brian Nelson II CB★★★from North Texas
Jaren Sensabaugh CB★★★from Missouri
Joseph Adedire DE★★★from Texas Tech
Sterling Dixon LB★★★from Alabama
Cian Slone DE★★★from Utah State
Jj Johnson S★★★from Georgia State
Jalen Grant OL★★★from Purdue
Jamel Johnson CB★★★from Temple
Sabastian Harsh DE★★★from Wyoming
Tra Thomas DE★★★from Temple
A.J. Richardson LB★★★from Norfolk State
Bailey Benson LB★★★from Wake Forest

And 6 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 19

K.C. Concepcion WR★★★★to Texas A&M
Brandon Cisse CB★★★★to South Carolina
Tamarcus Cooley S★★★★to LSU
Bishop Fitzgerald S★★★to USC
Kamal Bonner LB★★★to Miami
Red Hibbler DE★★★to Mississippi State
Dacari Collins WR★★★to Louisville
Kendrick Raphael RB★★★to California
Devan Boykin S★★★to Indiana
Robby Martin OL★★★to West Virginia
Javonte Vereen TE★★★to UConn
Obadiah Obasuyi OT★★★to Georgia State

And 7 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2025 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Virginia7–⁠211–⁠316
Miami6–⁠213–⁠32
SMU6–⁠29–⁠4
Georgia Tech6–⁠29–⁠4
Duke6–⁠29–⁠5
Pittsburgh6–⁠28–⁠5
NC State5–⁠48–⁠5
Louisville4–⁠49–⁠4
Wake Forest4–⁠49–⁠4
Clemson4–⁠47–⁠6
California4–⁠47–⁠6
Stanford3–⁠54–⁠8
Florida State2–⁠65–⁠7
North Carolina2–⁠64–⁠8
Virginia Tech2–⁠63–⁠9
Syracuse1–⁠73–⁠9
Boston College1–⁠72–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.