NC State vs. Miami, Preview, Odds, Picks and Predictions, Saturday, November 15th, 2025

The NC State Wolfpack (5-4, 2-3 ACC) will take on the #15 Miami Hurricanes (7-2, 3-2 ACC) in a conference matchup in the ACC on Saturday afternoon in this NC State vs. Miami prediction. These teams did not meet last season. NC State had a bye last weekend and took down #8 Georgia Tech in the previous week at home 48-36 as 4.5-point dogs. Miami is coming off an easy 38-10 home win over Syracuse, just missing the cover as 28.5-point favorites. Kickoff is set for 3:30 EST and can be found on ESPN. See below for our NC State vs. Miami prediction, and check in on all of our best College Football Picks!

NC State coming off Huge Win

The NC State Wolfpack had a bye last week, giving them extra time to celebrate the biggest win of the season. In the previous week, NC State defeated #8 Georgia Tech, giving the Yellow Jackets their first loss of the season. This was a much-needed boost for the Wolfpack program, as they gave up 53 points to Pitt in their previous game. Against Tech, CJ Bailey passed for 340 yards and two touchdowns in the upset win.

The Wolfpack scored ten or more points in every quarter against G-Tech, and also got 196 rushing yards from Jayden Scott. Bailey is their 6’6 sophomore quarterback who is gaining attention with his athleticism and 70.7% completion rate this season. He has already passed for 2,411 yards on the year with a 17-9 TD-INT ratio. He has run for 137 yards on the ground. Hollywood Smothers is their top back; he was injured in practice before the Tech game, but all reports look like he will be available here. Smothers has 825 rushing yards and six touchdowns, while Jayden Scott is now up to 431 yards and four scores.

Their top target in the passing game is wide receiver Terrell Anderson, who is a 6’2 sophomore with 28 catches for 527 yards and four touchdowns. Their defense has 13 sacks and six interceptions on the season. Linebacker Caden Fordman has 2.5 sacks to go with his 52 tackles, while no player on the team has more than one interception.

Hurricanes Battle the Storm

The Miami Hurricanes have two losses on the season, and that is all they can afford if they want to have a chance to reach the College Football Playoff. Their two losses came against Louisville and SMU, and neither of those teams was ranked when they played. A problem for Miami is that both were conference losses, and there are still five ACC teams with only one loss, making it more difficult for the Hurricanes to make their way to the ACC Championship Game.

They won big in their last game, defeating Syracuse by 28 points. Quarterback Carson Beck looked good in that matchup, going 18 for 24 with 247 yards and a touchdown in the game. He was a high-profile transfer coming over from Georgia, and has 2,194 passing yards with 15 touchdown passes to go against his nine interceptions. Beck does not look to run much, as they trust their ground game to junior running back Mark Fletcher Jr. He has 636 yards and nine touchdowns, and ran for 80 or more yards in each of his last two games.

Malachi Toney is their electric freshman receiver. At just 5'11, he leads the team with 644 yards on 54 receptions to go with his three touchdowns. The defense has 24 sacks, led by defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor with five. They also have nine interceptions, with freshman Bryce Fitzgerald leading the way with three in his first collegiate season.

NC State vs. Miami Picks and Predictions

Spread pick for NC State vs. Miami

• Miami -16.5 (4 units)

This line opened with Miami listed as 14.5-point favorites. That is already a suspicious number, as it seems Vegas is luring you to bet on the underdog by providing that half point above a key number. The sharps did not fall for the trap, as all of the early money was heavily on Miami, which pushed this spread all the way up to 16.5. I will follow the money here, as Miami needs to win out from here to give itself a realistic chance of making the College Football Playoff. This is also a let-down game for NC State; they just had their massive win over Georgia Tech, but also have losses against Virginia Tech and Pitt this season. Miami is too fast offensively in this game and will run up a big score while trying to pass the eye test.

Take Miami to cover.

Over/Under Pick for NC State vs. Miami

• Over 55 (5 units)

The Hurricanes are favored by 16.5 points here, which means they will have little problem moving the ball against this NC State defense. Carson Beck is coming off an efficient game against Syracuse, where they were able to put up 38 points in that win. The Wolfpack have not been strong on defense consistently; they gave up 53 points to Pitt and 45 points to Duke. Miami has speed on the perimeter with Toney, but can also play physical football in the middle with Fletcher. The Wolfpack offense just put up 48 on G-Tech, with quarterback CJ Bailey passing for 340 yards. This is going to be a high-scoring contest.

Take the over.