2026 Vanderbilt Football Early Opponent Preview, Game 3: NC State – Sports Illustrated

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It has been a long time since Vanderbilt and NC State have met on a football field. Ten years in fact.
But this fall will be the fourth date the Commodores and Wolfpack have with each other. Vanderbilt’s matchup with NC State this season represents the power conference team outside of the SEC that it decided to schedule. With the new scheduling system for the SEC, it requires that each team in the conference schedule a nonconference game with a team from another power conference.
This mid-September meeting with Vanderbilt and NC State is slated to be an interesting one. Both teams made bowl games a season ago and are looking to build off the momentum they built in 2025. NC State has always proven to be a tricky opponent throughout the years. NC State head coach Dave Doeren has been in Raleigh long enough to have pulled off his fair share of upsets over the years.
Vanderbilt is looking to avoid falling victim to that potential. 
Here is a breakdown and the game information for Vanderbilt’s final nonconference opponent of the 2026 season.
NC State was in the middle of the pack of college football last season in offense. The Wolfpack were 64th in total offense with an operation led by quarterback CJ Bailey and running back Hollywood Smothers.
The good news for NC State is that Bailey is back for the 2026 season as the dual-threat quarterback looks to take his game to another level. The bad news, though, is that Smothers transferred to Texas. NC State did go out and get North Carolina running back Davion Gause to replace Smothers.
Receiving-wise, NC State’s receiving corps took a major hit. Leading receiver Terrell Anderson transferred to USC. Tight end Justin Joly was the second-leading receiver and was drafted by the Denver Broncos with the 152nd pick in the draft.
NC State did a lot to reinvigorate its weaponry for Bailey. The Wolfpack added tight ends Hunter Provience from Montana State and Vander Ploog from Oregon. At wide receiver, NC State added Joshisa Trader from and Chance Robinson from Miami, Tyran Warren from Alcorn State, Victor Snow from Buffalo and Davion Dozier from App State.
Surely with the departures and additions NC State made, Bailey should be able to create a rapport with a couple of those guys. NC State knows what it's getting with CJ Bailey, but the wideouts are wild cards right now.
NC State was not great defensively last season. It finished 109th in total defense by giving up 411 yards per game and 27.2 points per game. If NC State wants to have a better season in 2026, that is going to have to get fixed quickly.
The highest-rated defender NC State got from the transfer portal this offseason was Raul Aguirre Jr., a linebacker from Miami. The Wolfpack also got cornerback Ondre Evans from Georgia, safety King Mack and linebacker DaKaari Nelson from Penn State.
Defensively, NC State is going to have to be a defense that takes the ball away more often. Though it finished 2025 with a turnover margin of +3, it only created 16 turnovers as a team. That is not enough if NC State wants to make a jump and compete for ACC titles.
If defensive coordinator DJ Eliot is able to get out of his defense, NC State could pose a problem for a lot of teams in the ACC.
NC State begins its season with a conference game on the road against Virginia on August 29. Originally, the game was meant to be played in Brazil, but the plans ended up falling through. Vanderbilt is the only power conference opponent that NC State will face out of conference.
The setup of the Wolfpack’s schedule is interesting. Seven of its first 10 games are at home before finishing the season with two road games in hostile environments. It goes to Florida State in the penultimate week of the regular season before finishing the regular season in Chapel Hill for rivalry week.
NC State is expected to be a team fans will see in a bowl game this season. The over/under for wins this season is set at 7.5 for the Wolfpack. It is fair given that NC State has CJ Bailey returning at quarterback.
The question for this season will be if the defense will improve from last season and how much it will. Head coach Dave Doeren and his staff did the best they could to find defenders in the transfer portal this offseason. If the defense turns out to surpass expectations, the outlook for NC State certainly goes up into the conversation of maybe contending for a prime bowl game.
Doeren has turned NC State into a program that has consistently made bowl games, including its bowl win over Memphis in 2025. Can he take the program to new heights in 2026?
Date: Sept. 19
Time: 11:45 a.m. CT
TV: SEC Network
Location: FirstBank Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee
Series history: Vanderbilt leads 2-1
Last meeting: NC State beat Vanderbilt 41-17 at the 2016 Independence Bowl
Coach: Dave Doeren, 14th year, 87-65 record
Offensive coordinator: Kurt Roper
Defensive coordinator: DJ Eliot
2025 record: 8-5 (4-4 ACC)
2025 rankings: 64th in total offense, 109th in total defense
Top Newcomer: Hunter Provience, tight end transfer from Montana State
Biggest Question: How impactful will NC State’s defensive transfer additions be and will it allow CJ Bailey to not have to be Superman each week?
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
Founded: 1887
Enrollment: 39,259 total students
Nickname: Wolfpack
Colors: Red, black and white
Mascot: Mr. and Ms. Wuf
Last win in series: NC State last beat Vanderbilt in 2016
FBS championships: None
FBS Playoff Appearances: None
August 29: at Virginia
September 11: vs. Richmond
September 19: at Vanderbilt
September 26: vs. App State
October 3: vs.Louisville
October 10: vs. Wake Forest
October 23: at Stanford
October 31: vs. California
November 7: vs. Duke
November 14: vs. Syracuse
November 21: at Florida State
November 28: at North Carolina
This is the third story in Vanderbilt on SI's early preview series of all 12 regular-season opponents for Vanderbilt football in 2026
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Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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