North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
2-2 , 0-1
Appalachian State
3-1 , 0-0
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| App State | 0 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 31 |
| NC State | 14 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 41 |
From the Field: The Drive
9/27/2026 1:01:00 PM | Football
A full moon, an autumn chill and a packed house made for an ideal football environment in the 29th straight sellout at Carter-Finley Stadium.
When NC State and in-state foe Appalachian State played to an even draw at the 9-minute mark of the 4th quarter, there was no panic. No pause. Just a calm approach to what was ahead.
Head Coach Dave Doeren liked what he saw before the drive ever started. "Just going up and down the sideline, encouraging guys to finish, just seeing the look in their eyes," he said. "Seeing what CJ was all about there on the sideline. The offensive line had a lot of energy. I felt good about that drive."
The Pack's prolific running back Duke Scott agreed. "CJ did a good job of walking around letting everyone know, look, we're good."
"I just wanted to relax everybody," CJ Bailey said. "'Let's go put some points on the board. We ended up putting our heads together and going on a drive - having poise and being calm on that drive."
On the first play of the mission, Bailey connected with Keenan Jackson for a 19-yard gain. "CJ throws a bomb to get us momentum and we just start going and once we get rolling it's hard to stop us," Scott said.
From then on it was a ground attack with a double dose of Scott and Davion Gause. Scott had 44 of his game-high 148 rushing yards on that drive, including the final 16 for his second touchdown of the night.
The 9-play, 75-yard scoring drive gave the Pack the lead for good.
The final scoreboard read NC State 41-App State 31. It was a Wolfpack win on Saturday night but the seeds to the outcome were planted on the previous Sunday, Monday and Tuesday when the Pack put to bed the bitter loss at Vanderbilt.
"Just to put everything behind us" Bailey explained. "Just move forward. We're not promised the future, so let's just make it the best we can. Keep a smile on your face, keep being happy and bring energy."
"I'm proud of our guys the way they responded all week in practice," Doeren added. "How they came back from the most difficult thing I've been through: talking about losing a game the way we did."
The core value, word of the week was COMPETE. The Pack did just that, especially on that signature drive in the 4th quarter.
Players Mentioned
Team Stats
APP 0, NCS 7
NCS - Bailey,CJ 5 yd run (Vinesett,Kanoah kick), 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 04:29
APP 0, NCS 14
NCS - Scott,Jayden "Duke" 9 yd run (Vinesett,Kanoah kick), 7 plays, 60 yards, TOP 03:44
APP 0, NCS 21
NCS - Locklear,Ashton 10 yd pass from Bailey,CJ (Vinesett,Kanoah kick) 9 plays, 61 yards, TOP 04:19
APP 7, NCS 21
APP - Singleton,Malachi 3 yd run (London,James kick), 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:27
APP 7, NCS 28
NCS - Jackson,Keenan 17 yd pass from Bailey,CJ (Vinesett,Kanoah kick) 8 plays, 69 yards, TOP 01:39
APP 10, NCS 28
APP - London,James 48 yd field goal 6 plays, 45 yards, TOP 00:39
APP 17, NCS 28
APP - Lewis,Jaquari 2 yd run (London,James kick), 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:42
APP 17, NCS 31
NCS - Vinesett,Kanoah 23 yd field goal 13 plays, 69 yards, TOP 06:45
APP 24, NCS 31
APP - Pickett III,Sam 18 yd pass from Singleton,Malachi (London,James kick) 5 plays, 42 yards, TOP 02:16
APP 31, NCS 31
APP - Barber,Gavin 9 yd pass from Singleton,Malachi (London,James kick) 4 plays, 36 yards, TOP 01:44
APP 31, NCS 38
NCS - Scott,Jayden "Duke" 16 yd run (Vinesett,Kanoah kick), 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 04:33
APP 31, NCS 41
NCS - Vinesett,Kanoah 35 yd field goal 8 plays, 15 yards, TOP 02:08
