Special teams. Special plays. Special players.<\/p>\n
All three contributed to NC State football\u2019s 21-11 win over Florida State on Friday, clinching bowl eligibility for the 11th time in 13 years. The Wolfpack has now won the last four meetings between the two teams, and FSU has not won in Raleigh since 2016.<\/p>\n
And the Wolfpack didn\u2019t just win because it played cleaner \u2014 it won because it took advantage of the night\u2019s strangest and most timely moments.<\/p>\n
Special teams<\/p>\n
The Wolfpack\u2019s special teams unit turned chaotic breaks into decisive momentum \u2014 starting with one of the most bizarre punts Carter-Finley has ever seen.<\/p>\n
With under four minutes left, redshirt senior punter Caden Noonkester\u2019s kick ricocheted off the helmet of a Seminole special teamer and bounced 20 yards the opposite way towards the line of scrimmage, straight back to him. He frantically fell on it, giving NC State a fresh set of downs and an opportunity to close the game.<\/p>\n
Caden Noonkester punt. Caden Noonkester fumble recovery!#1Pack1Goal<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/HYrTLyb7MT<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NC State Football (@PackFootball) November 22, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI watched the ball hit their player\u2019s helmet and bounce towards me, and I guess instinct took over,\u201d Noonkester said. \u201cI thought I could get there before their guy and, apparently, I did.\u201d<\/p>\n The Pack didn\u2019t capitalize on the drive, going three-and-out, but the chaos wasn\u2019t over. On the ensuing punt, the Seminoles muffed the catch inside their own 20-yard line, which the Wolfpack once again recovered. Four plays later, senior tight end Justin Joly found the end zone for the game-winning score.<\/p>\n The Seminoles also left six crucial points on the field with two missed field goals of 35 and 51 yards, which loomed large.<\/p>\n Special plays<\/p>\n While the two punt blunders held the most weight, Joly\u2019s 12-yard touchdown with just 1:47 remaining sealed the night. The semifinalist for the Mackey Award \u2014 given to the best tight end in the nation \u2014 finished with five catches for 66 yards and the touchdown to ice the game for the Wolfpack.<\/p>\n Who else \u200d\u2642\ufe0f#1Pack1Goal<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/XZ9XKoFN21<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NC State Football (@PackFootball) November 22, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n NC State also dialed up a key fake punt on fourth-and-1, with Noonkester motioning out wide and freshman quarterback Will Wilson powering ahead to move the chains.<\/p>\n \u201cScared money can\u2019t make money,\u201d said head coach Dave Doeren. \u201cYou get in a game like that and you\u2019ve got to be aggressive.\u201d<\/p>\n Redshirt junior corner Jackson Vick also had a massive hit in the first quarter, setting the defensive tone \u2014 and nearly getting him ejected.<\/p>\n \u201cThank God they didn\u2019t give him a targeting [penalty] because we didn\u2019t have anyone else to put in the game,\u201d Doeren said. \u201cI don\u2019t know what we would have done there.\u201d<\/p>\n Special players<\/p>\n While sophomore quarterback CJ Bailey and Joly could fit this section seamlessly, the night belonged to senior cornerback Devon Marshall.<\/p>\n Marshall intercepted two passes, broke up five more and effectively shut down Florida State\u2019s top target, Duce Robinson, whom he shadowed throughout the game, becoming the first Wolfpack defender with that stat line since David Amerson in 2011. A third-down breakup in the end zone in the first quarter forced a field goal \u2014 a sequence that changed the course of events.<\/p>\n Doeren called it a \u201chell of a performance,\u201d a praise his teammates echoed.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018Six played his tail off tonight,\u201d said graduate linebacker Caden Fordham. \u201cDefinitely helped us a ton. He\u2019s a vet. He stepped up and helped us out a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n Wilson also provided one of the game\u2019s quietest but most important shifts on his short-yardage packages, converting two third downs and the fake punt before punching in a touchdown on the same drive.<\/p>\n Will Wilson punches it in!#1Pack1Goal<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/YJHnnPIZiQ<\/a><\/p>\n