 Virginia Tech Hokies |
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 North Carolina State Wolfpack |
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| CW | Saturday, September 27th 7:00 PM EDT | |
Raleigh, N.C. — The NC State Wolfpack football team will try to regroup Saturday night against the Virginia Tech Hokies in what could be a rainy game.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium. The game airs on the CW Network.
On Saturday, scattered thunderstorms are expected off and on. Temperatures will be in the mid 70s for Saturday’s kickoff.
“We do wet ball drills on Thursdays, so that’s part of what we always do,” NC State head coach Dave Doeren said on Thursday. “It depends on how bad the rain is.
“If it’s just a normal rain, you play ball. If it’s torrential, then you’ve got to be able to adjust, and obviously, the game plans on both sides can change. So, you’ve just got to be ready for that [and] we’ll definitely be ready.”
Saturday’s game marks the second since Philip Montgomery took over as Virginia Tech’s interim head coach. Virginia Tech fired head coach Brent Pry after the team started the 2025 season with a 0-3 record.
Montgomery had been Virginia Tech’s offensive coordinator. He served as Tulsa’s head coach from 2015-2022.
“The thing that they have in their favor is they have a proven head coach,” Doeren said.
NC State (3-1) is coming off a 45-33 loss to Duke.
“I do know that things like this can propel your football team,” Doeren said of the loss.
While sophomore quarterback CJ Bailey completed 29 of 39 passes for 364 yards and two touchdowns, he had four turnovers against Duke. Bailey threw three interceptions and lost a fumble against the Blue Devils.
On Monday, Doeren discussed the interception Bailey threw to Duke defensive back Tre Freeman with less than a minute left in the second quarter. Freeman returned the interception 67 yards. Duke scored a touchdown two plays later to take a 21-20 lead into halftime.
“[We were] trying to draw them offsides,” Doeren said. “If they jump, we’re going to snap the ball and take a free shot.
“We thought that their defensive end was in the neutral zone. The official didn’t, and unfortunately, we threw the ball to them.”
Bailey has gotten plenty of help from NC State’s skill position players through four games this season, including a hot start for sophomore running back Hollywood Smothers.
Smothers leads the Atlantic Coast Conference with 503 yards rushing.
Virginia Tech (1-3) is coming off a 38-6 win over Wofford. The Hokies lost each of their first three games this season by double digits.
NC State has beaten Virginia Tech in the teams’ two previous matchups. Most recently, the Wolfpack defeated the Hokies, 35-28, on Nov. 18, 2023.
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