Wolfpack Weekend

This episode goes into the football match VS Wake Forest and Women's Soccer VS Pitt. This episode will also feature a pivotal volleyball preview match vs Boston College.

In The Den is a podcast produced by WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2, student-run radio from NC State University. Like what you hear? Consider supporting it with a gift to the WKNC Enhancement Fund. Visit our podcast page to hear more and follow us on all social media platforms @WKNC881. Thanks for listening.

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Creators and Guests

Host

Logan Brumley

What is In The Den?

"In The Den" with host Logan Brumley covers everything from the NC State Wolfpack's NCAA, intramural and club sports. "In The Den" is a podcast from WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2 at NC State University.

WolfpackWeekend.mp3
Meeting created at: 6th Oct, 2026 - 2:28 PM

00:00
Logan Brumley
Hello and welcome to WKNC's official sports podcast in the den. We got a couple big topics to go over today. We got the review of last week's football game and this upcoming one against Wake Forest. We're going to be talking about women's soccer as I head to play against Pitt and we'll finish with women's volleyball. Talking about there ACC opening journey and their home weekend with Boston College in Syracuse showing up. So get your headphones on and let's get straight to it. I'm happy with the overall result of the game. I mean I do feel like this season's kind of salvageable. Now NC State, they held the lead the whole time en route to their close win versus the Cardinals. Although they did have a 27 lead early in the third and they almost gave the game away.

01:00
Logan Brumley
They had a late game field goal to clinch the lead and the win for NC State. I would like to know, I mean they didn't trail at all, which is always nice. But I mean again, another close win, another lead that was almost given up. I like the fact they won, and I like the fact they won against a team that was seen as an ACC powerhouse. I don't know if that's true anymore, but both of the sides of the ball showed up. The defense especially four forced fumbles, including three recovered all by Popo Aguirre. And that helped them get about 17 of there. I think it was 31 points. And also, I'd like to note, I mean C.J. Bailey isn't a terrible quarterback as of late. He had 373 passing yards, a career high with two touchdowns.

01:57
Logan Brumley
Most of those yards going to JoJo Trader with 92. But Keenan Jackson got a touchdown, which of course is something to note. I gave the offensive MVP to JoJo Traitor with 92 yards on 5 catches. I would also like to give an honorable mention to Davion Goss. I'll talk a little bit about the kind of role that he had. Well, actually I could talk about right now. Duke Scott left early in the game with a foot injury. I don't think we've had an updated status on his condition as of right now, but that happened and Gauss said to take over.

02:35
Logan Brumley
He got 69 yards on the ground on 21 carries and about 45 yards reception, which I think is the first time this season we've had a team's player, like a special team, a skilled position player, sorry, get themselves over 100 yards from the line of scrimmage. There's still a top five rushing offense. Scott's still 50th in the nation in yards. So, while the running game wasn't great in this game that could just be chalked down to an injury and I think the backup did as good as he needed to do. They gave up a lot of yards, four touchdowns. I mean three of them were greater than 50 yards. So, while Louisville didn't get to the end zone too much like getting to the red zone, Louisville was still able to get touchdowns which isn't that great.

03:31
Logan Brumley
They got almost 500 total yards given up which I don't love. They don't really have a strong passing defense. Their Russian isn't too great either. So, the defense wasn't really strong today, but it was good enough for the win so that's enough to quiet the fan base for now and see where it was. I 7 penalties for NC State compared to Louisville's 3 is also a terrible figure. So, you know, I mean the offense was really good today. Defense wasn't great outside of forced mistakes on Keinholz and the running game. Can we see the similar thing against Wake Forest? We'll have to see because Wake Forest does have a big improvement. They're at 4:1 this season after five wins in the last I think six wins last season being like part of that 5:7 bowl game with Mississippi State.

04:33
Logan Brumley
They had a close overtime win against Purdue, their former upset win against Louisville and a blowout against Stanford. I'd also like to note that they have scored the Most points against ACC powerhouse Miami Florida. Wake Forest score 20 compared to Miami's 9.8 game. I mean 9.8 points given up per game. There's a lot of optimism for the Demon Deacons and they roll into Raleigh looking to continue their hot streak. Wake Forest does have a really good offense there. Let's see NC State doesn't have too great of a Russian defense though. About 41% of touchdowns given up has been on the ground. They're about 50/50 on giving up rushing first down conversions but give up 143 yards per game. All of which isn't great, especially again that in sun efficiency.

05:34
Logan Brumley
But Wake Forest they have something similar to let's say like a Virginia where it's a running back by committee. Especially with the quarterback Gio Lopez getting 192 yards and five touchdowns of his own and Ty Clark III and Deuce Lawrence having roughly 250 yards and two to three touchdowns each makes for a really good running back duo. Real good running quarterback that's going to be a big concern. I think that the Demon Deacons are definitely going to get a lot of yardage on the ground against NC State. Can they stop the scoring? We'll see. This might be the big factor.

06:21
Logan Brumley
I expect Gio Lopez to get one on the ground, but we'll see if they can slow down either Clark or Lawrence and maybe that will have to force them to open up the passing game, which is not the elite part of Wake Forests offense. And there's a vantage point for NC State, I believe. Gio Lopez again, he's been solid. 65% Pass in accuracy, 10 touchdowns, one interception. This is sort of reminds me of last year when Florida State only had one really good receiver in Deuce Robinson where Carlos Hernandez has the majority. I mean has about like a third of all the teams catches as one person with about 600 yards and three touchdowns. Kam Shanks is another one to note. He's pretty shifty. But I mean this could definitely be an opportunity for Georgia Tech to be able to do something if.

07:24
Logan Brumley
Well, it should be an opportunity for NC State to do something if they can stop that one, you know, that one receiver. If they're able to stop that one receiver and they're able to slow down all of the rushing opportunities, then that forces Lopez to have to throw to other games which could force mistakes which could force a win. Meanwhile, this Wake Forest defense has been pretty okay. See they give about nine sacks, which is really good. That's led by Hardy - Langston Hardy, who's got himself three of them. So there's definitely going to be a lot of opportunities, get pressure. They have another defensive lineman who gets a lot of sacks, Gabe Kirsch with. With three of his own. Some other things to note is that they. Sorry, I'm trying to figure out there.

08:38
Logan Brumley
They do give up a lot of yards in the air about 235, which is a good thing for C.J. Bailey and NC State. I do think that's going to be a very strong asset in their favorite. And on the Rushing side, okay, they're better on the rushing defense, which I think is going to be a non factor for NC State. I mean, Goss is a pretty decent running back, but we don't have a timeline on whether Duke Scott is going to be back soon. We don't know if he's going to even be there for this Wake Forest game. So while Wake Forest is able to stop and run again, we might just have to have another big throwing game performance, which I think C.J. Bailey does have in him.

09:23
Logan Brumley
If we remember that early season hype and just defensive efficiency for Wake Forest being, I mean they're. They have a pretty high defensive efficiency and they do manage to get a lot of turnovers. They have Devon Patterson who gets a lot. They have a lot of guys who get a lot of interceptions. They have a lot of guys who get a lot of sacks, a lot of tackles for lard. So they're going to be a team that can be able to create their scoring opportunities and that is something that NC State definitely needs to watch out for. They need to be more secured the ball similar to how cleanly they played against Louisville. I do think there's an opportunity to win, especially at home. I think it's like a 31st consecutive sold out game.

10:13
Logan Brumley
Having this win would definitely be a really good sign as they have to buy that trip against Stanford and then coming home against Cal. That could easily be another couple wins that can help them move into the maybe not necessarily the top of the ACC but kind of get them into a team that is more respectable than how they seemed at the start of the season. I mean we only need three more wins for a bowl game. We'll see if we can get those. Now I'm going to talk about women's soccer. So as you could probably expect with Wake Forest being fourth in the nation, NC State being unranked, NC State did sort of get blown out. See they lost 31 while they were able to have it tied in the first half off a Antonella Mazziotto getting her third goal this season.

11:19
Logan Brumley
They had of course a really great defensive scoring group come in and just get tied on a bunch of goals in the 70th minute to end it for NC State. Some notable performers an assist. Nana Nataka and Erica Roberts both got assists on that play. Let's see Maria Esteban, she got two saves. They gave up only five shots per goal, which is pretty decent. They both had similar number of shots but NC State wasn't really able to generate shots on goals which I don't really love. In a foul game they were a lot worse than the foul game with three yellow flags, 12 fouls to their eight. I definitely would have loved a cleaner game, but again this is all to be expected.

12:17
Logan Brumley
Wake Forest is a really dominant team and this is a team that while their footing is starting to be found, I definitely would like a little bit more life to them. But tomorrow they're going to be playing Pittsburgh at home and then next week is their home finale against Syracuse. So they got two more games in order to establish themselves a great record before they take their season ending road trip. I mean the playoffs are just on the horizon and has NC State been able to solidify themselves as a solid program? Sort of. They are six in a conference right now with a 2-2-1 record and 9-2-2 overall. I mean they don't have any like ranked wins outside of a received votes. Virginia Tech that is you know of note. So it's going to be a lot tougher for NC State to get in.

13:14
Logan Brumley
But they are one of those teams that have an argument and they can build that argument against one of the worst teams in the conference at an 0-4-1 in Conference Pitt. Now Pitt hasn't won a single game yet in the conference. Let's see, they have a really low save percentage about 70% but they score about one goal a game. They're one of the few, they're luckily not one of the few who don't score a goal game and they have, they score more than they give up but it's not really something that inspires a lot of confidence. They have a lot of goals about one a game give up about 1.13 and they are tied with NC State for about third most goals given up at 14. So this could just be a team that just kind of had a rough go at it.

14:19
Logan Brumley
But let's see, I mean they've, they played Duke, they tied Duke but do have a couple of losses. Louisville, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, all by double. So I mean although they do have a strong out of conference appearance their in conference has been pretty abysmal. But who some of the notable players to watch out for in this game if you're in C State. Let's see their leading goal producer Addie Bianchin has about five goals and two assists. She's probably the predominant player in that regards. Sophia Doheny also has three goals and Katie Ellermeyer, their leading goal scorer from last year has about 4 assist which leads the team. So they do have a sort of decent offensive core with a couple of, you know, young forwards. So we'll see. Maybe they could get something out of it.

15:26
Logan Brumley
Their defense of course they are anchored by their goalie. They've gotten most of the reps from Ellie Johnson who has 68 save percentage given about 30 saves to 14 goals and heard 13 games played which not great but not terrible either. And just in terms of you know, playing time minutes they have Katie Soliski and Macy2 who one of the few players on the roster with over a thousand minutes and are a, you know, actively getting shots in as defenders and actively putting in reps in as defenders. So they do have a, you know, more veteran defensive core that hasn't been doing too much but could be a factor in this game. I do expect NC State, hopefully they should be able to come out with the win. I think, you know their offense has been really strong all season.

16:22
Logan Brumley
I can't imagine it being too different and probably get about two or three goals. Maria Esteban, she's been a really good goalie so far. Maybe they start someone else but I think she'll probably be starting the rest of the way. And you know this is a really important win for NC State to have to continue to rise up the rankings and who knows, maybe they could get that win in now. I guess, you know, make sure to come by Thursday to check that game out. Now move on to our last little segment of today with volleyball. Despite a strong start in their out of conference schedule, NC State has been struggling. They're 105 on the season but are 1 and 3 in the conference after being swept by both Florida State and Miami on their road trip.

17:17
Logan Brumley
They've gone to about middle of the conference with their offensive production when it comes to their points, their hitting percentage and their just general amount of kills a game and they just would kind of come a middle road-ed team. Their stand ins have reflected that they have not been as strong defensively though they do have dead last and no actually have first and opponent kills. So their defense has been really good. I misread it but they're so their defense has been really good. Their offense has just been okay. See they do still have some really good defensive players with Susanna and their blocks leader Talia Francomb is still playing really well although she's kind of slipped down in the top of the blocks Rankins and offensively they still have Britni Silver. She's got about 3.68 kills per game.

18:21
Logan Brumley
They just don't have anyone who's hitting it at a high efficiency mark of about like 35%. So while it's still a good roster, they still do have good contributors along a lot of spots in the roster. They just aren't elite yet and there was a little bit of excitement, a little bit expectation that they could be elite but I just haven't got to that point yet. And they do have two notable teams that they're facing off against. I'll probably talk about the one that's A bigger challenge. Syracuse does have a 58 record and hasn't won a game in their conference yet. In fact, they're more famous for a clip of one of their players getting hit in the face.

19:03
Logan Brumley
So I'm going to talk about someone who is in the exact Same stand at 10 and 5, 1 and 3 in a conference in Boston College. How do they compare to NC State statistically? Well, their overall offense has been just slightly better. They're about one or two steps ahead when it comes to, you know, their points, their hitting percentage and their kills. I could be saying numbers right now. They have about 12 kills and 15 points per set compared to a hidden percentage of about 24% compared to NC State's 23. But I think the defense has been something that NC State could kind of hang their head on of being just a little bit better at with their opponent.

19:54
Logan Brumley
The opponent accuracy of hidden for Boston College being slightly better in that same regards about, you know, 20% opponent hit rates about 11 and a half kills per set compared to. So these are teams that are like very evenly matched. From what I'm seeing looking at these statistics here, it's going to be really tough because I mean, this is definitely, this is the game for those who decide like, you know, who's better than the other. And this could definitely be a resume builder just because of how close they are competitively and how they could springboard each other for the top of the league. But some notable players to watch out for. They have one of the better kills producers in a conference with Audrey Ross, who gets about 4.6 a game. She's been really good for them as of late.

20:53
Logan Brumley
They have, they don't really have like a strong number two compared to NC State. They have about 2.91 points from Sam Hoppes. But they do have a really good assist producer in Lucie Fisella, who has about 4.4, which is actually, you know, near the bottom, so I guess isn't that great. But that might be something that helps NC State just being better at producing assists than Boston Colleges. And on the defensive side, Brooklyn Yelland has about 3.3 digs per game, which puts her in the top 10 in conversation being one of the better assist producers in the conference. They don't really have like an elite block producer though, which again, NC State does have. So NC State definitely has some assets that Boston College doesn't have. But Boston College has a bit more experience playing some tougher teams.

21:58
Logan Brumley
If you go and look at their schedule, just in general being more battle test and being a better conference. I mean they have Louisville, Pitt and SMU on the record, all of which they blew out compared to Florida State, Miami who aren't really elite teams but NC State still lost to Boston College definitely has the opportunity to win but NC State has the home advantage, has some little extra flares in their defense and offense. There's definitely the opportunity NC State could win. There's an opportunity NC State could lose. I think all the matchups this week are games that could go either way and I think it's going to be a very exciting weekend for NC State athletics if you decide to watch and show up. I believe Boston College is the first Friday game but I won't weave you around too much longer.

22:43
Logan Brumley
That's really all I have. Kind of sorry this is a bit of a rushed episode, but have a good day and go pack. Dude, I feel like I'm.

Transcribed by https://fireflies.ai/