NC State football game predictions: Stanford

By Ethan McDowell

NC State football (4-4) hosts Stanford (2-6) this week in its first game back in action after a bye week. The Pack and Cardinal are both 1-4 in the ACC, with the former Pac-12 program losing each of its past five matchups coming into this conference clash.

Freshman quarterback CJ Bailey is coming off consecutive games with more than 300 yards passing, and NC State generated some positive momentum as a team with its West Coast win over California.

Now, the program is hoping to build off of that and put together another strong finish to the regular season after winning five consecutive matchups during the 2023 campaign.

Here are TheWolfpacker.com’s predictions for NC State’s Saturday noon showdown with Stanford at Carter-Finley Stadium.

Ethan McDowell’s prediction for NC State vs. Stanford

Stanford has not won a game since Sept. 20. The Cardinal scored fewer than 20 points in 4 of its past 5 matchups. No team gives up more points per game than the former Pac-12 school at 31.5 points per game.

NC State’s offense has taken positive steps forward behind the growing confidence of Bailey. The freshman quarterback is on a clear upward trajectory and, matched up against the ACC’s No. 15 passing defense, it’s reasonable to expect the Pack passing offense to build on its recent success this week.

Defensively, the team will need to slow down explosive receiver Elic Ayomanor and dual-threat quarterback Ashton Daniels. Ayomanor has 42 catches for 484 yards this season despite playing in the worst passing offense in the ACC. Daniels has struggled with taking care of the ball this season, throwing 8 interceptions and 6 touchdowns passes but he does have 16 runs of 10 yards or more. It will likely be difficult for the Cardinal to sustain drives if NC State can shut down the quarterback’s rushing attack.

The Wolfpack spent the past week resting and will come into this game refreshed and ready to attack the final four games of the season. This is a good matchup for NC State, and the coaching staff should come into this game with a few fun wrinkles in the game plan after taking the extra time to prepare.

Prediction: NC State 34, Stanford 14

Previous predictions:
NC State 45, Western Carolina 10 (Actual: NC State 38, Western Carolina 21)
Tennessee 41, NC State 28 (Actual: Tennessee 51, NC State 10)
NC State 34, Louisiana Tech 3 (Actual: NC State 30, Louisiana Tech 20)
Clemson 38, NC State 24 (Actual: Clemson 59, NC State 35)
NC State 27, Northern Illinois 24 (Actual: NC State 24, Northern Illinois 17)
NC State 30, Wake Forest 20 (Actual: Wake Forest 34, NC State 30)
Syracuse 38, NC State 31 (Actual: Syracuse 24, NC State 17)
California 21, NC State 17 (Actual: NC State 24, Cal 23)

Noah Fleischman’s prediction

The 4-4 Wolfpack is looking to win out and finish with eight wins for the fifth straight season. 

Its first test is Stanford, which enters the weekend riding a five-game losing streak. The Cardinal have not won a game since beating Syracuse on a walk-off field goal in its ACC opener.

Stanford boasts the second-worst scoring offense in the league (19.5 points scored a game) with the worst scoring defense (31.5 points allowed a contest) of the 17 conference programs this season. The Cardinal have dealt with issues at quarterback, playing three different signal-callers. 

The Pack, which spent all week looking at itself, has the chance to right the ship with a clean game on both sides of the football. Freshman quarterback CJ Bailey has improved each week . Being back home at Carter-Finley Stadium should bode well for him and the rest of the offense this week against one of the least effective defenses in the conference. 

Keep an eye on the Pack’s young playmakers to continue to find ways to make an impact, building confidence for this final stretch of the 2024 campaign.

Prediction: NC State 30, Stanford 17

Previous predictions

NC State 47, Western Carolina 3 (Actual: NC State 38, Western Carolina 21)
NC State 38, Tennessee 37 (Actual: Tennessee 51, NC State 10)
NC State 43, Louisiana Tech 10. (Actual: NC State 30, Louisiana Tech 20)
Clemson 35, NC State 20. (Actual: Clemson 59, NC State 35)
NC State 30, Northern Illinois 17 (Actual: NC State 24, Northern Illinois 17)
NC State 27, Wake Forest 17 (Actual: Wake 34, NC State 30)
Syracuse 30, NC State 17 (Actual: Syracuse 24, NC State 17)
Cal 24, NC State 20 (Actual: NC State 24, Cal 23)