North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Crowned Gasparilla Bowl Champions With 31-7 Win Over Memphis
12/19/2025 6:27:00 PM | Football
TAMPA, Fla. - For the first time since 2017, NC State won its bowl game as the Wolfpack took down the Memphis Tigers 31-7 in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl from Tampa, Florida, and Raymond James Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Linebacker Caden Fordham took home the Gasparilla Bowl MVP after totaling 13 tackles as he became the first defensive player to be named MVP in Gasparilla Bowl history. Fordham had his ninth game of 10+ tackles this season. The P4's tackle leader finished the day with 13 tackles, 1.5 TFLs, and an interception.
In the first meeting between the two schools, quarterback CJ Bailey finished the day 14-25 for 221 yards and two touchdowns to go along with a score on the ground. He is now only one of seven Power Conference QBs to have 5,000+ passing yards and 500+ rushing yards over the last two seasons.
Bailey finished the 2025 season with 3,105 passing yards, putting him in ninth all-time for passing yards in a single season.
Running back Duke Scott had a strong showing in just his second-ever collegiate start. The redshirt freshman finished with 108 yards on 19 carries, an average of 5.7 yards per attempt. Scott is the fourth NC State player in the last 30 seasons to have 100+ rush yards in a bowl game.
Linebacker Kenny Soares Jr. finished with 12 tackles, while Tra Thomas and defensive end Joseph Adedire both had a sack apiece. Adedire also recovered a fumble that Josiah Victor forced.
Wolfpack receivers averaged 23.6 yards per reception in the first half and finished the game at an impressive 15.8. Wesley Grimes had three receptions for 48 yards and a touchdown. Teddy Hoffmann had a 40-yard reception for a touchdown, while Noah Rodgers added two catches for 37 yards.
It was the first time that the Pack had had eight or more players with a 15+ yard catch in the same game since 2010 at Georgia Tech (nine). The last time an ACC team had 8+ players with a 15+-yard catch in the same bowl game was Maryland on New Year's Day 2004.
The Wolfpack won the toss and decided to put the ball in the hands of the offense. They took advantage with both of Bailey's pass attempts going for over twenty yards before running it in himself from 14 yards out – his sixth rushing score of the season.Â
The Pack defense forced a three-and-out and a turnover on downs on the first two Memphis possessions. The offense turned the latter into points with a 31-yard strike to Wesley Grimes for his third touchdown of the season.
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The Wolfpack defense continued its first-half dominance with a Fordham interception that he returned to the Memphis three-yard line. The 55-yard return marked the second-longest by an NC State player in a bowl game since 2008.
Will Wilson punched it in for his tenth rushing score of the season to give the pack a 21-0 lead. The ten ties him with Philip Rivers for the second most rushing touchdowns in a season by a NC State quarterback. Scott Smith stands alone with 13 in 1979. Bailey and Wilson are the fourth and fifth NC State quarterbacks to rush for a touchdown in a bowl game over the last 30 seasons.
Both teams attempted long field goals on the following two drives. The Memphis kicker missed his from 56 yards out before the Pack's Kanoah Vinesett hit a season-long 51-yarder. Vinsesett is now 6-7 on the season and perfect outside of 30 yards.
The Tigers got on the board for the first time on a touchdown reception from 28 yards out to bring the deficit down to 17. It would be their only score of the day.
Back in his home state, Hoffmann ended the high-scoring half with a 40-yard touchdown reception – his third of the season.
The Wolfpack entered halftime with a 31-7 advantage and is now 6-0 when leading at the break. The 31 is the most points in a half of a bowl game for the Pack since the second half of the 1972 Peach Bowl (35). NC State is the first ACC team to have a 24+ point halftime lead in a bowl game since 2014.
Both offenses stalled out in the second half, combining for zero points. The two sides combined for five punts, four turnovers on downs, and a lost fumble. It marked the first time that either team had been shut out in a half all season.
It was also the first scoreless half (both teams) for NC State in a bowl game since New Year's Eve 2005 against South Florida, where the Pack won with a score of 14-0.
The win cements the Wolfpack's record at 8-5 on the 2025 season, giving head coach Dave Doeren eight or more wins in seven of the last nine seasons.
Notes:Â
- The victory marked the eighth straight game decided by 10+ points.
- CJ Bailey is the only NC State player to have multiple pass TDs & a rush TD in a bowl game in the last 30 seasons.
- NC State has four different players with/ a 20+ yard catch today, their most in a bowl game since 2022 (five)
- Thirty-one points is the most for NC State in the first half of a bowl game in the last 30 seasons: The previous high was 28, which was scored twice most recently in 2017. It was the most scored in a half by a team in Gasparilla Bowl history and the fourth most by an ACC team in any bowl game over the last 30 years.
- With his 165 passing yards in the first half of the Gasparilla Bowl, CJ Bailey becomes the seventh QB in NC State history with 3,000 passing yards.
- NC State has forced multiple turnovers in 3 of its last four bowl games (including today)
- Bailey is 1st ACC player to have 200+ pass yards, 2+ pass TD & 1+ rush TD in a bowl game since Trevor Lawrence in 2021
- NC State's 24-point lead heading into the fourth quarter is the largest lead entering the 4th quarter of a bowl game in the last 30 seasons.Â
- Caden has 140 tackles on the season, the most in a season since Earl Wolff in 2012
- NC State would be the first ACC team to hold an opponent to 7 or fewer points and win by 24+ points in a bowl game since Virginia in 2018.
