The Wolfpack dropped Georgia Tech into a five-way tie for second in the ACC. Lance King / Getty images

The ACC’s path to multiple College Football Playoff bids took a hit Saturday night when NC State knocked off the league’s last unbeaten team, No. 8 Georgia Tech, with a 48-36 win at Carter-Finley Stadium.

The Wolfpack’s upset of the Yellow Jackets (8-1, 5-1) coupled with 10th-ranked Miami’s loss at SMU earlier in the day means Virginia (8-1, 5-0) will likely be the conference’s highest-ranked team when the first College Football Playoff rankings are released Tuesday. Georgia Tech’s odds to make the CFP dropped from 54 percent to 30 percent with the loss, according to The Athletic’s Playoff projections model.

The Cavaliers have sole possession of first-place in the league with four weeks of the regular season left to play. (Their lone loss of the season came against NC State in September, in what was officially a nonconference game between the longtime ACC rivals.) Georgia Tech, Louisville (7-1, 4-1), Pittsburgh (7-2, 5-1), SMU (6-3, 4-1) and Duke (5-3, 4-1) all have one conference loss, creating a complicated path for each to reach the ACC championship game in Charlotte.

Georgia Tech led 17-14 before the Wolfpack’s Cody Hardy scored his second touchdown of the first half, and NC State (5-4, 2-3) never relinquished the lead from there. The Pack rolled up 579 yards of total offense without a number of key starters including ACC leading rusher Hollywood Smothers and tight end Justin Joly, and with starting quarterback CJ Bailey playing through an apparent lower-body injury.

Bailey lit the Yellow Jackets up through the air, completing 24 of 32 attempts for 340 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 34 yards and a score. Duke Scott filled in nicely for Smothers, carrying the ball 24 times for 196 yards and a score.

“The kids played so good tonight — so proud of them,” NC State head coach Dave Doeren said during his postgame on-field interview. “That’s all wolf blood right there. That’s the biggest heart right there. I’m so lucky to coach them. When your quarterback is as tough as CJ Bailey. I love that kid.”

Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King, one of the many candidates in a crowded Heisman Trophy race, threw for a career-high 408 yards with two touchdown passes, adding 103 yards and two scores on the ground. But it was not enough to help Georgia Tech reach 9-0 for the first time since Bobby Dodd led them to a 9-2 season in 1966.

The Wolfpack has now won its last two games against top-10 teams at home, having knocked off ninth-ranked Clemson in 2021.

Nov 2, 2025

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Manny Navarro has been with The Athletic since September 2018 and covers college football, the transfer portal and roster construction. He’s also the host of the “Wide Right” podcast. Follow Manny on Twitter @Manny_Navarro