Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1539887
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 4, 2025 43 OPPONENT ON DECK: NORTH CAROLINA STATE Date: Oct. 11, 2025 Site (Capacity): Notre Dame Stadium (77,622) Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. All-time series: Tied 2-2 Last meeting: Notre Dame 45, North Carolina State 24 (Sept. 9, 2023, at Raleigh, N.C.) 2025 Record To Date: 3-2 (1-2 ACC) NC State head coach: Dave Doeren (90-67, 13th season at NCSU; 113-71 overall, 15th season) Season summary: Notre Dame defensive coordi- nator Chris Ash and North Carolina State head coach Dave Doeren have a long history that dates back to their college football playing days in the '90s. Mostly good memories, mind you. And also in the coaching years that followed — collaborating, consulting and conquering, notably at their alma mater Drake, later Wisconsin and keeping in touch thereafter. And now, commiserating. Doeren, in his 13th year at NC State, has a defen- sive coordinator problem, or at least there have been strong hints of one with the way the NC State defense had been playing under first-year DC DJ Eliot heading into an ACC matchup with a Virginia Tech team that has already made an in-season head coaching change. Ash is trying to convince the college football world that Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman doesn't have a corresponding dilemma on his hands. What do the numbers say? The Wolfpack (3-2, 1-2 ACC) ranked 112th in total defense, 106th in scoring defense, 111th in sacks, 125th in third-down defense and 98th in pass ef- ficiency defense out of 134 FBS teams ahead of Game 5 versus the Hokies. The Irish were 104th, 117th, 119th, 35th and 103rd, respectively, in those same five defensive categories heading into last Saturday's road test at high-scoring Arkansas. NC State has a nonconference home game with Campbell Oct. 4 before hitting the road for the Oct. 11 date with the Irish in Notre Dame Stadium. Offensively, under promoted first-year offensive coordinator Kurt Roper, the Wolfpack has been much more dynamic, bringing a rerun of a story- line to Freeman and Notre Dame — a dangerous dual-threat quarterback leading a potent passing offense. In fact, the Irish are on a trajectory — if the statistical rankings hold — to face 10 of the nation's top 35 most productive passing offenses. This one is led by quarterback CJ Bailey, a 6-foot- 6, 213-pound sophomore with a knack for extend- ing plays. He's complemented by running back Hollywood Smothers (503 yards on 80 carries with 4 touchdowns through four games). NC State has been a disaster on special teams, across the board — in kicking, the return game and coverage. Head coach Dave Doeren has guided the Wolfpack to wins in three of its first five games this season. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS OFFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. LT 65 Jacarrius Peak 6-4 308 R-Jr. 64 Rico Jackson 6-6 322 R-So. LG 75 Anthony Carter Jr. 6-3 318 Gr. 71 Yousef Mugharbil 6-5 322 R-Sr. C 74 Jalen Grant 6-1 304 Gr. 72 Spike Sowells 6-2 312 Fr. RG 79 Kamen Smith 6-5 325 R-So. 50 Val Erickson 6-5 320 R-Jr. RT 54 Teague Andersen 6-5 322 R-So. 73 Darion Rivers 6-6 321 R-So. TE-B 7 Justin Joly 6-3 263 Jr. 82 Preston Douglas 6-3 228 Fr. TE-Y 44 Cody Hardy 6-4 267 Sr. 87 Dante Daniels 6-6 279 R-Sr. X 6 Wesley Grimes 6-2 195 Sr. 12 Teddy Hoffman 6-1 181 Fr. Y 8 Keenan Jackson 6-3 202 So. 27 Ashton Locklear 6-1 188 R-Jr. Z 5 Noah Rogers 6-2 197 R-So. or 9 Terrell Anderson 6-2 192 So. RB 3 Hollywood Smothers 5-11 193 R-So. 4 Duke Scott 5-10 215 R-Fr. QB 11 CJ Bailey 6-6 213 So. 2 Lex Thomas 5-11 195 R-So. DEFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. E 54 Sabastian Harsh 6-3 263 Gr. 92 Chase Bond 6-4 265 R-Fr. N 44 Brandon Cleveland 6-4 315 Sr. 52 Chazz Wallace 6-2 308 Gr. T 13 Travali Price 6-4 285 Gr. 88 Isaiah Shirley 6-3 280 R-So. JACK 8 Cian Slone 6-4 252 Gr. or 4 Tra Thomas 6-3 237 Gr. NIC 22 Jackson Vick 6-0 190 R-Jr. or 26 Asaad Brown 6-0 199 R-Fr. MLB 0 Sean Brown 6-0 225 Gr. 35 LaCorian Hodge 6-2 217 Fr. WLB 1 Caden Fordham 6-1 230 Gr. 33 Kenny Soares Jr. 6-2 233 Gr. SAM 33 Kenny Soares Jr. 6-2 233 Gr. 42 Ke'Von Carter 6-3 223 Fr. LCB 6 Devon Marshall 5-11 200 Sr. 32 Michael Tate 6-2 180 R-So. SS 29 Brody Barnhardt 6-0 190 R-Fr. 16 JJ Johnson 5-10 200 Gr. FS 16 JJ Johnson 5-10 200 Gr. 2 Ronnie Royal II 5-9 185 R-Fr. RCB 21 Jamel Johnson 5-11 196 R-Jr. or 7 Brian Nelson II 6-0 197 R-So. SPECIAL TEAMS Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. K 91 Nick Koniecznski 5-11 215 R-Fr. or 94 Kanoah Vinesett 6-1 205 Gr. P 98 Caden Noonkester 6-6 215 Gr. 96 Owen Fehr 5-11 187 R-So. KO 84 Charlie Birtwistle 5-11 210 R-Fr. 91 Nick Koniecznski 5-11 215 R-Fr. LS 95 Jake Mann 5-10 232 R-Sr. 92 Aiden Arias 6-0 207 R-So. H 98 Caden Noonkester 6-6 215 Gr. 96 Owen Fehr 5-11 187 R-So. PR 6 Wesley Grimes 6-2 195 Sr. 12 Teddy Hoffman 6-1 181 Fr. KOR 4 Duke Scott 5-10 215 R-Fr. 3 Hollywood Smothers 5-11 193 R-So. NORTH CAROLINA STATE WOLFPACK TWO-DEEP DEPTH CHART On Deck 2025 NC STATE SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Time (ET)/Result Aug. 28 East Carolina W, 24-17 Sept. 6 Virginia W, 35-31 Sept. 11 at Wake Forest W, 34-24 Sept. 20 at Duke L, 45-33 Sept. 27 Virginia Tech L, 23-21 Oct. 4 Campbell (ACCN) 2 p.m. Oct. 11 at Notre Dame (Peacock) 3:30 p.m. Oct. 25 at Pittsburgh TBA Nov. 1 Georgia Tech TBA Nov. 15 at Miami TBA Nov. 21 Florida State (ESPN) 8 p.m. Nov. 29 North Carolina TBA