Mike Norvell’s squad must halt a four-game losing streak against a stifling Wolfpack defense while containing dual-threat star CJ Bailey to reclaim their dominance in the ACC.
The 2026 college football season is a critical one for the Florida State Seminoles and coach Mike Norvell.
With just seven wins over the last two campaigns, Norvell and the Seminoles must do better and produce a winning product on the field. To do that, they must successfully navigate a challenging schedule. Here we take a look at the NC State Wolfpack.
The Wolfpack are coming off an 8-5 season in 2025, one that included a 21-11 victory over Florida State. In that game, the Seminoles committed four turnovers: two interceptions by quarterback Thomas Castellanos and two fumbles lost.
NC State has owned Florida State in recent years, winning the last four meetings. In three of those meetings, the Wolfpack held the Seminoles to under 20 points.
Going into the 2026 season, NC State will be led on the field by quarterback CJ Bailey. Bailey is one of the best returning quarterbacks in the ACC, as he threw for over 3,000 yards, 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He completed 68.8 percent of his passes. In addition, Bailey rushed for 215 yards and six additional scores.
Bailey posted four games of over 300 yards passing, and over the final six games of the season, he threw 11 touchdowns vs. just two interceptions. In a three-game win streak to end the season, Bailey threw six TD passes and no interceptions.
According to college football analyst Phil Steele, in addition to Bailey (3rd team All-ACC), the Wolfpack placed five other players on his All-ACC teams:
- C Spike Sowells: 84.3 pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus (PFF); named to PFF All-Freshman Team.
- OL Jimarrion McCrimon: Three sacks allowed at East Carolina in 2025.
- DL Harvey Dyson: Transfer from Tulane, led the AAC with eight sacks and posted 11.5 tackles for loss. Earned a pass rush grade of 90.4 from PFF.
- KR Jayden “Duke” Scott: Rushed for 581 yards and four touchdowns as the No. 2 running back behind Hollywood Smothers, who has transferred to Texas.
- PR Victor Snow: 1st Team All-MAC as a receiver at Buffalo, with 62 catches for 815 yards and eight touchdowns. 20 punt returns for 213 yards and one TD; two rushing touchdowns.
Florida State will have to score more than 20 points and reduce the turnovers if they are to break the cycle of losing football against the Wolfpack. The Seminoles have the talent to score in bunches and be competitive in every game on their schedule, with preseason All-American receiver Duce Robinson on the perimeter.
After playing subpar the last two seasons, Florida State does have the luxury of playing loose and to their strengths.
The late, great sportswriter Grantland Rice once wrote, “For when the one great scorer comes to write against your name, he writes-not that you won or lost-but how you played the game.”
If the Seminoles take care of business on the field in 2026, then the Seminoles will be on the right side of that great scorer’s ledger as the victors of the gridiron.
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