RALEIGH, N.C. — App State Football's streak of nonconference showdowns against in-state opponents concludes Saturday night with a nationally televised game at NC State.
The Mountaineers (3-0) and Wolfpack (1-2) will face off at 7:30 p.m. in a sold-out Carter-Finley Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
App State is 3-0 for the first time since 2019, when it reached that mark by following a home win against Charlotte with a 34-31 victory at North Carolina. Aside from a 7-15-1 record against Wake Forest, that's the Mountaineers lone victory in 22 other games against current ACC members, including six trips to Raleigh to play the Wolfpack.
Three games into head coach
Dowell Loggains' second season, App State has used complementary football to rank among the national leaders in completion percentage (No. 6 at 75.0 percent), passing yards per game (No. 15 with 320.0), third-down defense (No. 12 with a 23.7-percent conversion rate by opponents), defensive interceptions (T-No. 5 with five) and time of possession (No. 11 at 34:14 per game).
NC State, like App State, possesses a lopsided win over an FCS opponent thanks to a 73-0 shutout of Richmond. In between, the Wolfpack opened the season with a 34-8 loss at Virginia and a 35-31 loss at Vanderbilt, which forced a fumble in the end zone and recovered the ball for a game-winning touchdown as quarterback CJ Bailey attempted to run out the clock via an intentional safety.
The Wolfpack will take the field Saturday with a sour taste from that experience, while App State has room to grow after closing out the last two games with its hands team needing to secure possession of onside kicks to thwart late rallies. Charlotte trailed 26-7 in the fourth quarter before scoring touchdowns with 7:00 and 1:58 remaining in App State's 26-21 victory.
The 6-foot-5, 218-pound Bailey has thrown for 6,158 yards and 46 touchdowns in three years with the Wolfpack, after a 2023 senior season at south Florida's Chaminade-Madonna High School, where he handed off frequently to then-junior
Jaquari Lewis (now an App State running back) during a 14-0 championship season.
Bailey also has rushed for 12 touchdowns in an NC State uniform, and Keenan Jackson has emerged as the top receiving threat in 2026 with 15 catches for 231 yards through three games. Leading rusher Duke Scott (198 yards, with 4.35 speed in the 40) runs behind a line with 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-6 blockers who all weigh between 315 and 330 pounds, so that will be a test for an App State defensive line that has performed well throughout September.
The Wolfpack also has impressive size along its four-man defensive front, creating a challenge for an App State offensive line that has protected mobile quarterback
Malachi Singleton well. Named the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week after throwing for 331 yards against Charlotte, Singleton has completed 70 of 94 passes for 889 yards with five touchdowns and one interception through his first three FBS starts.
Lewis leads the running game with 188 yards as the Mountaineers have averaged 4.5 yards per carry as a team, with the top three backs in the rotation combining for 336 yards on 72 carries (for a 4.7-yard average).
James London has been a weapon on special teams with 6-for-6 accuracy on field goals aside from a missed 59-yard attempt to end the first half at ECU, and the Mountaineers have applied consistent pressure on opposing punters.
App State is facing NC State for the first time since the 2006 opener, and that 23-10 loss in Raleigh was the lone blemish in a 14-1 FCS championship run for the Mountaineers in 2006.
App State needed to replace several key contributors from the 2005 title team, including standout quarterback Richie Williams, and 2005 playoff hero Trey Elder started the 2006 opener in what turned out to be a defensive-minded game with the two teams combining for just 375 yards of offense. College Football Hall of Famer Armanti Edwards played briefly at NC State, made his first start in Game 3 of that season and went 13-0 as a true freshman starter in 2006.
Prior to a 66-20 loss at No. 22 Clemson early in the 2024 season, App State's previous eight games against foes from Power Four conferences had all been decided by seven points or less, and the Mountaineers went 3-5 in those games with victories against Texas A&M (2022), South Carolina (2019) and North Carolina (2019).
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