ACC Kickoff: Can Bailey, manageable schedule make NC State legit contender?

ACC Kickoff begins Wednesday in Charlotte, putting the spotlight on the conference’s top players and coaches as they share their outlooks for the 2026 season.

NC State will draw much of the local attention when coach Dave Doeren and Wolfpack players CJ Bailey, Isaiah Shirley and Duke Scott meet with reporters at 2 p.m.

Doeren is entering his 14th season in Raleigh, still searching for his first ACC championship. Most preseason projections have the Wolfpack finishing near the middle of the conference, but there are reasons for optimism.

NC State avoids conference heavyweights Miami, SMU, Clemson and Pitt and has the nation’s 66th-toughest schedule, according to ESPN’s preseason Football Power Index. The Wolfpack also return Bailey for his third season at quarterback, a rarity in the transfer-portal era.

Bailey completed 68.8% of his passes for 3,105 yards last season, throwing 25 touchdown passes and rushing for six more scores.

Scott returns to help offset the loss of Hollywood Smothers, who transferred to Texas. Center Spike Sowells, tackle Teague Andersen and East Carolina transfer Jimarion McCrimon give the offensive line stability and experience.

The Wolfpack are less proven at wide receiver after losing Terrell Anderson, Noah Rogers and Wesley Grimes from last season’s team. Miami transfers Joshisa Trader and Chance Robinson are among the additions expected to help rebuild the position.

Defensively, NC State will look to move on from a difficult 2025 season. The Wolfpack finished 14th in the ACC in total defense and last in third-down defense.

The unit struggled to keep opponents out of the end zone during a four-game stretch against Notre Dame, Pitt, Georgia Tech and Miami. NC State went 1-3 in those games and allowed 166 points.

The Wolfpack added several potential defensive contributors through the transfer portal, including Miami linebacker Raul Aguirre, Tulane pass rusher Harvey Dyson, Penn State safety King Mack and Georgia cornerback Ondre Evans. Dyson recorded eight sacks last season.

Shirley is a fourth-year defensive tackle who earned ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors after returning an interception for a touchdown in a 2025 win against Wake Forest.

NC State has generally finished with between seven and nine victories during the past decade under Doeren, who is 95-70 with the Wolfpack. State will play seven home games this season, and its road schedule is highlighted by trips to Vanderbilt, Florida State and North Carolina.

Miami, which reached last season’s national championship game, will also take part in Wednesday’s sessions. The Hurricanes became the first ACC team to play for a national title since Clemson lost to LSU in January 2020, despite failing to qualify for the ACC championship game.

Duke won the conference title, then lost quarterback Darian Mensah to Miami through the transfer portal weeks later in a move that drew controversy. The Blue Devils will visit the Hurricanes on Nov. 14.

ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips is expected to discuss the conference’s place in the evolving college football landscape. Phillips will deliver opening remarks at 9 a.m. on Wednesday before answering questions from reporters. You can find the full schedule and how to watch on the ACC's website.

Players and coaches from Florida State, Stanford and Virginia will also speak Wednesday. Virginia is coming off an 11-win season and will turn to Beau Pribula at quarterback after he started much of the 2025 season at Missouri. The Cavaliers lost to Duke in overtime in the ACC championship game last season.

Boston College, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Syracuse and Virginia Tech will speak Thursday. Defending ACC champion Duke and North Carolina will speak Friday, along with California, Pitt, SMU and Wake Forest.

Duke’s conference title last season was its first since sharing the championship in 1989 and its first outright title since 1962.

The Triangle’s other two programs have endured even longer title droughts. North Carolina last won the ACC in 1980, while NC State’s most recent conference championship came in 1979.

The projected order of finish and preseason conference player of the year are expected to be announced later in July. Mensah, Bailey, SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings and Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney are among the likely contenders for the award.

The 247Sports transfer-class rankings place NC State at No. 46 nationally and No. 9 in the ACC. North Carolina is No. 52 nationally and No. 10 in the conference, while Duke is No. 63 nationally and No. 14 in the ACC.

NC State opens its season Aug. 29 at Virginia after the planned College Football Brasil game was moved to Charlottesville. The Wolfpack beat the Cavaliers 35-31 last season in a game that did not count in the ACC standings.

North Carolina will face TCU in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland, in the program’s first international game. That game will also be played on Aug. 29. Duke opens its season at home against Tulane on Sept. 5.

The ACC championship game will be played Dec. 5 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

Follow WRAL sports reporters Brian Murphy, Pat Welter and Chris Lea on X and Instagram for continued coverage from ACC Kickoff.