Coming off a 24-17 win against the Northern Illinois Huskies, NC State football will play host to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, seeking its first conference win of the season.
The matchup between the Wolfpack and Demon Deacons is looked forward to by North Carolinians every year as these two have played each other every season since 1910. The only FBS rivalry that has been continuous for a longer period of time is Minnesota versus Wisconsin.
NC State has an all-time record of 69-42-6 against the Deacons with the first matchup being a 4-4 tie in 1895. With both of these schools being founding members of the ACC, there has been plenty of history formed in this historic rivalry.
Wake Forest is led by head coach Dave Clawson, who has served as head coach of the Deacons since 2014. Clawson has been praised for building up his program from the ground up and even won ACC Coach of the Year in 2021. Clawson has a 4-6 record against NC State and is 1-4 in Carter-Finley Stadium.
In 2023, Wake Forest posted a final record of 4-8 (1-7 ACC) and finished 14th in the ACC. One of its losses included a 26-6 loss to the Wolfpack in Winston-Salem. The Demon Deacons currently sit at 1-3 (0-1 ACC) and will be looking for a big rivalry win that could send their season on an upward trajectory.
The Demon Deacons travel to Raleigh after suffering a 41-38 loss at the hands of the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns. Wake Forest is led by senior quarterback Hank Bachmeier, who’s passed for 1,159 total yards, five touchdowns and one interception so far in 2024.
Wake Forest’s leading rusher is junior running back Demond Claiborne. Claiborne has rushed for 335 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 5.5 yards per carry. The team’s leading receivers are redshirt senior wide receiver Taylor Morin and redshirt junior wide receiver Donavan Greene. Morin has 24 receptions for 325 yards, and Greene has 16 receptions for 271 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, big playmakers for the Deacons are junior defensive back Nick Andersen and redshirt junior linebacker Dylan Hazen. Andersen has recorded 49 total tackles while Hazen has recorded 30.
NC State head coach Dave Doeren comes into the game understanding the nature of the rivalry, and has a good track record of defending Carter-Finley when hosting the Deacons. Doeren is 4-1 against Wake Forest at home with the only loss coming in a 27-23 defeat in 2018.
Graduate quarterback Grayson McCall has not suited up to play for the Wolfpack since its game against Louisiana Tech due to an undisclosed injury. Since McCall has gone down, the Wolfpack has turned to freshman CJ Bailey, who comes into the contest throwing for 469 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Graduate running back Jordan Waters leads the red-and-white in the rushing attack with 213 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore running back Kendrick Raphael has contributed to the ground attack as well with 203 yards and two touchdowns. Offensive coordinator Robert Anae will be doing his best to ensure that both backs get chances to attack the Wake Forest defense.
One thing the Wolfpack will try to do to ensure a win is get its star receivers involved early. NC State’s leading receivers are sophomore wide receiver KC Concepcion and junior tight end Justin Joly. Concepcion comes into the game with 31 receptions for 244 yards and four touchdowns. Joly comes in with this game with 16 receptions for 240 yards.
Another big player that the Wolfpack will look to get involved is junior wide receiver Wesley Grimes. This game has a revenge factor to it for Grimes as he transferred to NC State from Wake Forest before the 2024 season. Grimes has eight receptions for 95 yards so far this season.
The Wolfpack’s defensive leaders are both at the linebacker position in the form of redshirt junior Caden Fordham and redshirt junior Sean Brown who have 42 and 39 tackles, respectively. The Wolfpack defense had four takeaways in its most recent game against Northern Illinois and it will look to build off that momentum against Wake Forest.
Kickoff between NC State and Wake Forest is slated for noon on Saturday. The game will be played at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.
