NC State's Best Moments of 2025-26 — Our Draft Picks — Tuffy Talk

Greg and Ethan draft their top three NC State sports moments of the 2025-2026 season, and debate whether this was a weak year for Wolfpack highlights overall.

Ethan takes the men's soccer run to the national championship game behind Donavan Phillip, women's cross country's fourth title in five years without star runner Katelyn Tuohy, and the men's basketball win over UNC. Greg counters with the cross country dynasty argument, Isaac Trumble's NCAA heavyweight wrestling championship and his decision to enter military service, and the Gasparilla Bowl win over Memphis that helped NC State football get back on track under Dave Doeren.

Honorable mentions include Elliott Avent's final win at Doak Field and NC State basketball's ACC road win streak — plus a closing debate on whether Will Wade leaving for LSU mid-season cost the Wolfpack a legitimate NCAA Tournament run.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:19

What's going on, Wolf Tech Nation? Welcome back to another episode of Tuppy Talk. And today we're going to do something fun. We have the dog days of summer that are upon us. And we wanted to just kind of do a draft. And we're going to draft the top moments of 2020 25-2026. And if you were with us on our last draft, I believe it was our draft of an all-time NC State basketball roster including coach and our own Macon Adams selected Preston Merovich as his head coach. And we won't rehash that here, but uh it is to say it got a good laugh. And if you're interested in that, go back in the archives and do a search on that draft, and it was a pretty fun moment. But Ethan, since I am uh driving the uh driving the bus on this one, I'm gonna let you draft first. So give me your number one moment of 2025-2026.

SPEAKER_01 1:08

I'm gonna cheat. I'm gonna break our rules already. Because I asked you before we started, I was like, you know, is this is this one game? Is this multiple games? Is it one play? I mean, it could be your moment. It's your moment. Yeah, so let's leave it open, right? Um I am going to take the the men's soccer run to the national championship game. Um and I know like I'm somebody who values, you know, the the the main four sports more than the other sports, but I don't think that you know those guys didn't really give us anything. There are a few, right? But um in terms of winning at a high level, in terms of postseason moments for me, and this is my inner Bill Simmons. You know, we were talking about this is a a Bill Simmons podcast. I I'm valuing winning and I'm valuing getting the chance to compete for a title here. And you know what a run it was, right? Um, you know, you get all the way to the top of the mountain, and you're you know, you know, one kick away from from winning a national title, um, which would be the first one in a men's sport since what, 83, right? Um if you know you have if you're you're counting women's cross country, right? But you know, certainly men's soccer is is further up the the totem pole than women's cross country. It was a captivating run. Look, I'm not uh I've I've gotten into soccer a little bit more. Uh obviously the World Cup is going on right now, too, uh, and that's a lot of fun. But uh, you know, I I I'm not gonna sit here and tell you, oh, I watch every NC State soccer game, right? Um so but this run, yeah, this run was captivating. You get up to number one, right? They were ranked number one in the in the country earlier on in the year. You're like, okay, like what does that mean? Maybe there's something there. Maybe there's something there, right? Like, and I'm kind of sitting there and like, all right, we've seen this before, but like, is it legit? You know, you know, you never really know. They stuck for a couple of weeks and then slipped, but then obviously they they get into the tournament uh and were seated, seated very well. Um and they go on a run. And and I do think an important part about this is they went on the run in front of NC State fans. Um, you know, they went to Washington, D.C. That was the furthest they traveled, right? But you play your first two games at home against Marshall, against UNCG, both two to nothing wins. Uh, then you go on the road to Georgetown, which was a great game, if I remember correctly. It was um, yeah, yeah, back and forth. Um, yeah, cold.

SPEAKER_02 3:39

Yeah, because they had to put they had to postpone it because of weather for the first two.

SPEAKER_01 3:43

They tried to play that one. Yeah, I don't remember that. Okay, yeah. Um, and then obviously you have the semifinals and and the championship in Kerry. I was at both of those games. I I know I we we saw each other there. Sure. And um, man, those those talk about cold. That was also cold.

SPEAKER_02 3:59

That was gonna be one of my my moments of that of that moment, too. Yeah, I I think that's probably the coldest game I've ever been to in any sport in C State.

SPEAKER_01 4:07

I was gonna say the same thing. I uh that was on a if not the coldest game I've ever been to, it's certainly on a very, very short list. And um just absolutely freezing. I mean, I don't think it was above 30 degrees the the entire time. And this the first game was at 9:30, I want to say.

SPEAKER_02 4:25

Yeah, it was later.

SPEAKER_01 4:27

It was late, it was late, yeah. And so even colder from that perspective. Um, and man, what a run, right? They were they were so close. You come back from down two-nothing in the championship game. You just get oh so close. You never know, you never know if you'll ever get back, right? It's the it's the whole the Dan Campbell meme. You know, I I love that meme because it's true. You never know. And uh to get there, you come back from down two nothing in that championship game. You controlled the game against St. Louis. I thought State was clearly, clearly better than St. Louis. Um, but you come back down to nothing against Washington, tie it with a couple of minutes left, and then give up a goal that you got to be kicking yourself in overtime um to give up. Um, I you you still remember uh the goalie coming out to play the ball uh outside of the box. That was the I think that was the first goal that was scored in that game. You're like, man, yeah. That's a that's a tough one to give up in that spot. And if you do that, you see that every now and then in soccer or in hockey. You absolutely cannot screw that up. And you know, that's a door guide. Yeah, so but man, what a run, right? Uh and obviously Donovan Phillip was the biggest name there. Um, and you know, a guy we talked about the other night who's got national recognition um and was the best player in college soccer. Number one memory, at least for me, from the sports year.

SPEAKER_02 5:50

Yeah, no, I I get it. I I I'm with you, and I'll just kind of you know wrap up this this one for for us. But for me, it was the first couple times that I've ever seen you know men's soccer play in person. Uh, it's my goal to try to get to all the sports. I still have a few more that I'd like to catch in person. But for me, very, very casual soccer fan as a whole. I I in fact, I haven't even watched the damn World Cup to to even put it in further perspective. Uh I just not a soccer guy. But, you know, for me, sports in person are different. I I do enjoy pretty much any sport if I'm there. Uh, you get into the moment, you get into the the crowd, the environment. It it definitely makes it more appealing. Um, but yeah, to your point, like Coach Mark Hubbard in in just his two years have has definitely elevated this program. Again, you know, I know this isn't a Boo Corrigan podcast, but that is a Boo Corrigan hire. That's a home run hire for NC State. Uh, something that he can, you know, notch on his uh on his mantle. Um, but yeah, it's it's tough because you had like that squad, right? Like the squad was built for that run. And now the question is one, can you sustain it? And two, can you get back? And and it's nice, like you said, though it was in your backyard, you had you had everything going for you, and you just just couldn't quite get over the mountain. But fun. I I agree. Uh, that's if if you're if you're not going to win something, that's probably the closest in the your reason why, I'm sure, for it being your number one moment of the year.

SPEAKER_01 7:27

Yeah. Yeah. And I know some people say, Oh, I'd rather just not even come close than get get super close and lose. I hate I hate that mentality. I hate that mentality.

SPEAKER_00 7:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:38

Number one, it's the fun along the way, but it's also if you get there and get there and get there, eventually you're gonna break through.

SPEAKER_02 7:44

If you don't get there, you're not gonna break through. You have no chance. Right, right. You gotta you gotta get to the dance before you can, you know, find a partner. But uh, all right, since you took that one, I that was easy. That was easy, number one. Is that that way you had to? Well no, actually it wasn't. Oh I I I I value championships at the end of the day. Uh, you know, those are those are moments. Uh they come few and far between. Uh I think that this is a slam dunk and it's not even a basketball moment. But if you're if you're following along, we only really won one massive major championship this year, and that was that was cross country. Uh, you know, cross country won their fourth title out of the last five years. Uh, Coach Hens, I think that's how you say her name, Lori Hens, um, her fourth title. And and she did it. And the question was, you know, can you do it without Caitlin Tuey? And she just did this year. Caitlin Tuey had had been a key integral part of the of the last couple of runs. And you didn't have her this year. And the team was led by Grace Um Hartman. Uh, she was kind of like the the number one runner, and you know, you had some cup, you know, Sadie Englehart was a key contributor to this to this run, and they just got it done. It it wasn't sure if it was gonna happen this year. There was a lot of strong contenders. I wouldn't call state a rebuild because like it's a dominant program, but I it was a reload. Again, you didn't have Caitlin Tuey. And the fact that you were able to go out and win another championship, definitely this one was definitely a team effort. And the class couple ones, Caitlin kind of had led the squad, would win an individual championships, but this one was a collective group effort, and they got it done. Um and just put another piece of hardware in the in the case at uh at Reynolds.

SPEAKER_01 9:32

Yeah, good pick. Certainly on the board for me. Um, like you said, winning a title, right? Like that's what we that's what you keep on. That's what you want to see as a fan, right? And uh obviously not as not a mainstream sport, but it doesn't matter. You win, right? And so I'm with you. Getting to do it without Tui, to me, that's a big deal, you know. Um continuing at this point, what's a dynasty, right?

SPEAKER_02 9:56

Without her, I I I had four, yeah, four out of five is definitely a dynasty.

SPEAKER_01 10:00

Like yeah, yeah, yeah. Um that that matters, you know, like it's okay. We you know, you get a once in a generation type of player, in this case a runner. Okay, sure, you won three out of four. But to to get back and do it without her, I I think that kind of cements cements a legacy, cements a dynasty.

SPEAKER_02 10:20

Well, and I think too, right? If I can use a a reference, uh I I know you're a Boston guy. Are you a Patriots guy as well? Or do you just yeah, kind of whatever. Um, you know, the question always became, is it Brady or is it Belichick? Is it both of them? Uh, you know, to this point, you know, is it the coach? I I I completely agree, by the way, but that's a that's another podcast. But again, you know, is it the coach or the athlete? And and and in this case, you know, the coach rises above and gets another one. Uh and and and again, it's you know, on a coach, especially in college, it's identifying talent, coaching up talent. Like there's it's not like the pros where they come to you with talent. You now you just gotta manage it and get the most out of it. Uh this is this is a much different thing. And and again, you know, credit to NC State in Olympic sports. We have a really good program historically with with um with um these Olympic sports. You know, I wish the revenue sports could take a take a page out of what they're doing, but we'll get there.

SPEAKER_01 11:24

Well, I I don't want to knock the revenue sports too much. I mean, it's not even it's two years. Well, you need them now, I guess. Yeah, but two years ago you were in Omaha and went to two TOR, two final fours. So you know, at this point, like that's still close enough in the rearview mirror to where I'm like, hey, that was that was a pretty darn good year. And you knew when it happened, or at least you should have known. Probably never gonna happen again. Now you might win a single title in a year, but to have that combination of of those three things um was gonna be tough. For me, number two, um, I'm gonna switch it over to football, and I'm gonna take the home win against Georgia Tech. Um I I I don't love this pick. Could I trade this pick for like a future pick? Is what I would want to do. Um because I just I don't think it was a super strong year for moments, to be honest. But look, it's a top 10 win at home. Fans get to rush the field. You were dominant, you took care of Georgia Tech, right? Like that game, I don't want to say it was uncompetitive, but say was in control that entire game. Didn't feel like they were at any um the point of losing at at any at any point in the game, they were would would you consider hey they might they might lose this game? Um, I guess is what I'm trying to say.

SPEAKER_02 12:40

It was a little bit back and forth early on.

SPEAKER_01 12:42

It was, yeah, it was a high scoring game. Yeah, yeah. But you know, state state puts it away in the second half. To me, it's also significant because I think state really got back on track. Like the middle of the last season was ugly. I I don't know if you flushed that from your memory. I know it was like oh, it was it was kind of some dark times, especially coming off of a six and six season. You lost a homes or game to Virginia Tech. The vibes were just awful, awful. Yeah, and for me, hey, let's you know, let's get things back on track. And I know State, you know, I I think I picked State to win that game, or I don't remember if I did or not, but I thought they had a very strong chance to win it. Georgia Tech was fluky, that was not a top 10 team.

SPEAKER_02 13:31

Well, their defense was awful, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:32

The defense was awful, and the rest of the season played out that way. I mean, I think they lost three out of four or something like that. So it wasn't a big upset from like a point spread. I think state was like three or four-point underdogs, they were not as big of underdogs as you would expect against the quote unquote top ten team.

SPEAKER_02 13:48

Yeah, but there were injuries going into that game. You didn't have Hollywood, you didn't have Joe Lee. And so you were like, okay, yeah. So you were thinking, where where where's the offense gonna come from? Um, and that was kind of Duke Scott's coming out party.

SPEAKER_01 14:03

Yeah. And and and for me, just getting the vibes to me are kind of a little bit overrated, but I think you were potentially heading down a path where Dave Doran did not return. I mean, that was the talking point last year. You know, a little bit is Dave gonna retire, is Dave gonna be forced? I mean, there were numero uh uh people telling me, oh, Dave's not coming back, not like people in the know, just like people that I would talk to about it, like, oh, Dave won't be back, you know. And you know, I I think winning that game, obviously uh you finished up with FSU and UNC at home as well. That really helped you get back on track at home. Uh you get back to the city. But you needed those to get it all eligible. You did, yeah. You get back to your standard of winning seven, eight games a year, eight in this case. Because I I I really thought for a year and a half the standard kind of slipped. You weren't as dominant at home. And again, there were reasons for that, particularly in 2024. But to me, that game was just crucial to get back on track. Uh state lost five of seven ACC home games, five of seven. And people, you know, it just kind of gets glossed over. And so you made that at a point in one of your Patreons not too long ago. So yeah, I mean, yeah, and so I thought that was crucial for the football program. Obviously, a great night for the fans. Fun game, prime time game. People always like to complain, oh, state wins games 21-17 instead of you know 35-31. Well, here you go. 48-36. Here you go. Here are your points. There's your fireworks. Yeah, so that was that was it was a fun game. Obviously, fans getting to rush the field, that's great. And uh, yeah. Uh yeah, I don't want to say easy number two pick, but again, not as many options as in as in past years.

SPEAKER_02 15:48

No, and and I'm glad you took this one because I didn't want to be forced to take it. Um, it made it makes my number two easier for sure. But yeah, I thought the Georgia Tech game a lot of fun. That was my 50th consecutive game in a row, home and away. So I had a big celebration before the game. Not that you're no, not that I'm counting, not that I will be going number 55 when we play at Virginia here in less than 70 days or so. Uh but no, it was it was fun, got to rush the field successfully this time without breaking a leg. I I just I just thought it was uh it was one of those fun nights in Carter Finley where it just it felt like we were back, even if it was just for a night.

SPEAKER_01 16:29

Now, did you adjust your your field rushing strategy there? How did the Oh I took the stairs?

SPEAKER_02 16:34

I took the stairs. Yeah, I didn't take the uh the elevator, if you will.

SPEAKER_01 16:38

Was that like a thought process? Was that something you've been thinking about for years? Like, hey, if I do this again, I gotta do that. Okay, so that wasn't like the last thing.

SPEAKER_02 16:44

I I started making my way about halfway through the fourth quarter when I thought, okay, I this I don't I'm like one of those guys, like if the if a guy's throwing a no-hitter or whatever, we don't talk about it, you know. So I'm not like, okay, I'm not like I know you can kind of talk it into existence, but that's not where I wanted to go this night as like 50th game, let's just make it perfect, let's end this thing with the win and a field rush. And um, so I just kind of worked my way into uh a special logistics spot where I don't want to give it away. Uh so if I try this again, I don't get you know thrown out. But uh no, it was a very fun night, and uh, and I'm glad that the uh the boys uh pulled that special special win out. And again, NC State is good for that one year. Uh once a year we we pull something that huh. Maybe didn't see that one coming. Who's your number two? Well, like I said, since you took that one, this makes it easy. My number two, again, what did I tell you of my number one pick? I value championships. Yeah, I value championships. And we had another national championship guy, uh, though it was an individual, and in Leighton will be proud that this is my number two moment. Uh, I'm gonna go with Mr. Isaac Trumbull uh for or Isaac Trumbull. I was trying to say it funny, but Isaac Trumbull, uh, winning an individual uh NCA championship at the heavyweight level, uh, win a perfect 21-0 in his senior year, won an ACC championship, co-ACC champion uh the year before he finished fourth at nationals, and you were hoping that he could just get it done at the heavyweight title, uh, didn't surrender one takedown in the whole NCA tournament, which is pretty impressive uh in and of itself. And um, yeah, ends his career with the national championship, two-time All-American, multiple ACC championships. And yeah, he's my number two. Uh just short, sweet, simple. Um, and then to cap it off, uh, he he has uh gone into the military and is a now an officer in the army, which is even cooler. Yeah, oh yeah. Uh I think it was uh I can't remember if it was 24 or 23. Uh I I don't want I don't want to say it wrong, but on military appreciation, I after he won his match, he took his oath to to join join the army. I thought, man, that's a that's a cool nah, I'll say it. It's it's that's a cool ass moment when when you know you can you know serve your country as a fellow veteran. It's just it's cool. And and so he he's one of those guys that just has a higher calling. And um again, I just think that makes it a little bit more special when you can go out a champion as well.

SPEAKER_01 19:20

Yeah. Yeah, I mean you mentioned it, right? As an individual. Um, and we know wrestling is another program where states had success both at the team level and the individual level. And uh yeah, uh obviously um continuing continuing that tradition.

SPEAKER_02 19:39

So I just wanted to say I the one thing I didn't uh in order to win his championship, he knocked off the top ranked wrestler in the country. That's right. That was a big upset, wasn't it? It was a big upset. Yeah, he won 5-0, um dominated that match. I don't know why I didn't include that in my blur, but it just came to me. Um yeah, I don't remember the wrestler's name from Iowa State, but I I know he was he was the number one guy. And so again, just to win it on that alone um was was something special. But go ahead, give me your numbers, your number three.

SPEAKER_01 20:09

My number three, similar um to football. Uh I'm gonna go men's basketball, beating UNC. Yeah, I figured that was where you were gonna head this one. At home, yeah. Um the word I would use to describe that would be therapeutic. Um kind of the best way didn't really end up meaning anything at the end of the day. Like, you know, didn't didn't didn't swing your season. I know how that season ended, uh left a sour taste in a lot of people's mouth, but I and um over here on on the island by myself, I enjoyed that team, you know, and like until they fell apart at the end and and you know Will Wade had one foot in Baton Rouge. Look, they they had some losses, but I I enjoyed that team. And to me, you know, that loss was really right before they they fell apart. Um, you know, they had lost Miami and Louisville right before that, but you know, to to to me getting to beat UNC in that fashion in a in a big game, right? Like that was a big game where there's you know top four spot in the ACC stakes, you're talking about an NCAA tournament bid, um, and to come out and and play as well as NC State did, uh, therapeutic. I I think that's the best way I can describe it. It just man, it felt good. It was just a sense of relief almost, um, more than anything else. Fun game. Again, that stretched an ACC play. Um, I I I I almost debated the the road wins um at SCP. But to me, those they w they weren't close enough together. Like those were like a couple weeks apart, and I didn't want to throw the you know, you I guess that could have gone with the seven, was it a seven game winning streak or whatever? Yeah. Um that that was bookended by those, basically. But for me, the UNC win was just man, it's therapeutic. I mean, we all know that the troubles state has had against those guys over the last 20, 25 years. I mean, that's my whole not my whole life, but from the time that I've been watching NC State basketball, like I can't remember anything like that.

SPEAKER_02 22:21

Um yeah, it was it was definitely a topsy turby season.

SPEAKER_01 22:26

Well, no, I'm just talking about the win over UNC, like NC State winning that game in that fashion, you know. Gotcha. It just hasn't been, it hasn't happened a lot, you know. And um, you know, Will Wade comes out with the quote after the game if it's important to these guys, it's important to it's if it's important to the fans, it's important to me.

SPEAKER_02 22:43

Which uh I don't put a lot of stock into what he said at that point.

SPEAKER_01 22:48

I don't know why you have to say that, but yeah, um, you know, that game that game meant something to state, and they they played like it, and it was great to see that, you know. I think Darion Williams kind of a little bit of a redemption arc in that game. I mean, I know you know obviously still didn't end well, but um it was fun to see him have those moments. I thought he had a better year than people gave him credit for. Um Van Allen.

SPEAKER_02 23:10

He was a he was an easy he was an easy target, but just because of everything that came with the hype and the amount of money that he made. Um, it was it was just it was easy. Um yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:24

So for me, I mean that uh like that's it. Like I'm interested to see where you go at at number three here, but I didn't really have a baseball thing. I I didn't really have a women's basketball thing. Uh I just I you know, like I don't even think there were any options, to be honest.

SPEAKER_02 23:42

Well, the crazy thing is is you could have had some basketball women's basketball moments, but we lost a lot of fourth quarter leads. And that kind of takes away the storyline that you had some wins in there that you know if you're able to hold on, uh those could have been been a moment. But uh, you know, I I struggled with my number three here a little bit. Uh like like you're like you're exactly what you're saying. I thought about being tongue-in-cheek, uh, about my third moment being Will Wade going to LSU. Um, thought that could have been a fun angle, but I'm not gonna do it. Like, I'm not gonna disrespect the athletes at NC State. Um so I will go with the Gasparilla Bowl. I'll just disrespect Will Wade. Yeah, yeah, true story. Um, I think I'll go with the Gasparilla Bowl. Um for a couple of reasons here. Uh first bowl game win in a long time. Uh I think I think we had been 0-7 previously to that. I think we had lost our last seven bowl games. Was it seven? I don't know. I think it was seven. I think the last one we won't. Sounds right. I I think the last one we had won was the uh what was that? The the one in El Paso. Sunbowl. Sun Bowl. I think that was our last win.

SPEAKER_01 24:54

If we I think you're right. I don't know if there were seven bowls in between now and then, but there were definitely a lot.

SPEAKER_02 25:00

Well, I mean, it was like 2017, and I think we've been to a bowl game every year. Anyway, someone will fact check this in the comments, and please, if I'm wrong, please, please fact-check me. But uh, you know, go down to Tampa, my hometown, and so I had a fun moment. And again, you know, the the the sports moments I think are our sports moments as well, right? And and for so for me, getting to go to my home city to watch a bowl game in in the Buccaneers Stadium there at Raymond James, beautiful weather right before Christmas. And you go out and dominate uh a team that you should have dominated, right? And you go out and win 31 to 7 over Memphis. Never was a game at all. I mean, you know, we score out the first 14 points of the game. It's 24 to 7 at the half, and you know, we we we we just dominate the game. Um and uh you you did what you had to go do, you know, even with a couple of bowl-out, bowl opt-outs still very dominant. Uh Caden Fordham go goes home with the defensive MVP MVP, or I think he was the MVP period, uh, if I think that's how that one went. But uh yeah, ending the season in a dominant fashion, getting to eight and five. You mentioned it a little bit earlier, kind of more the consistency of what we're used to under Dave Dordan's tenure, the eight-nine win uh thing. Uh you know, if you don't win that, you you you end the season seven and six, which doesn't look as good as eight and five. Uh, you get a little bit of recruiting um momentum, or a little, not maybe not recruiting momentum, but a little momentum heading into the offseason. And that apparently the you know, the quotes that I read this week that that was Dave's best time that he's had coaching in quite some time was last year's squad. And I'm sure winning a bowl game at the end of it helps that and makes that statement a little easier to to give. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:51

It was five bowls. It was seven years. That's what seven years, five bowls. Okay, great. I knew there was a seven. Thank you for coaching. Because you had the the uh UCLA cancellation and they didn't make it in 2019.

SPEAKER_02 27:03

That's 21, yeah. Yeah, thanks for gripping.

SPEAKER_01 27:06

So yeah, yeah, I a good pick. Um, you know, I know bowls have kind of lost for the luster, not yeah, luster, not for whatever reason. Clearly, the the reasons are there because the ESPN tells us that the playoff is all that matters, and we're sitting here telling you that championships matter too, and you know, bowls not really a championship, but it's still in the context of a college football program like NC State, they still should they should still matter. Um, and so it's great to see State go out and play like that. You mentioned you know, taking care of business in a game that you should have. We've seen state not do that, right? Like they played a bowl game against Kutz. They played a bowl game against Kentucky and lost. Yeah. Um, so you're right. I mean, Memphis obviously not a power four team, but it was good. And I thought CJ Bailey played well in that game. I thought that was important. I I think you know, football season's only three months long, and the UNC game and bowls just really dictate how you feel about the football game, football season. Like, I I think we truly forget how miserable so many people were during football season last year. People were miserable, miserable.

SPEAKER_02 28:20

Well, that's what people live for, right? Like, honestly, it's it's football and everything else, no matter how good we are in football or not. Like, football is king, and they live and die on every Saturday.

SPEAKER_01 28:30

Yeah, yeah, no doubt. Um, but it it again it reached a point where you were six and six the year before. Yeah, yeah, it gets old. Yeah, you were six and six the year before, but then you also, you know, this past year it was like, are you even gonna make a bowl? Like, are you gonna fire your Dave Dorn? You know, like that was those were conversations, and to get it back on track, you win those home games we mentioned, you win the bowl game. It's not that eight wins is some like I'm not sitting here telling you, oh, eight wins, this is the greatest football season of all time.

SPEAKER_02 28:59

No, but you were five and five at that point, to your point.

SPEAKER_01 29:02

Yeah, yeah. Like you, you know, you you figure some, you know, you at least have something to walk away with and say, hey, like this wasn't that bad of a year. The results were there. You know, I I I again you can nitpick as much as you want and and want to win championships as much as you want. Uh for me, if NC State wins eight, nine football games, I don't know how much room we really have to complain. Like, you could want more. Yeah, I don't know how realistic that is, you know. So um I and I think you know, winning the winning the bowl game, winning the UNC game, look, nobody's gonna change their mind on Dave Doran at this point. It is what it is, but it just gives you it it it makes the off-season more enjoyable when you want to think about football. You know, I I think that's what I would say about it. And um, you know, it was it was nice to get that done, especially you know, you look at the other sports, ugly endings, ugly ending in men men's basketball, ugly ending in women's basketball, ugly ending in baseball. Um but we made the postseason and all those, and not a lot of programs can say that. That's true, yeah. That's true, no doubt. No doubt. Um, and they they they gotta end some way, right? Unless you're the last team, last team standing. So I mean UNC was the first one. This wasn't on my radar.

SPEAKER_02 30:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:16

But good pick.

SPEAKER_02 30:18

Yeah, no, it was uh it was fun. It's you know, some years it's easier to find these moments, and some years you're gonna maybe struggle.

SPEAKER_01 30:25

What honorable mentions did you have? Just name them. We don't have to talk through them. Just what what honorable mentions did you have?

SPEAKER_02 30:31

Yeah, um we'll wade. Yeah, I think I'm investigating honorable mention Elliott Avant in capping his seas his career. Um, you know, uh I don't know if we really yeah with a win against UNC uh at on uh at the Doke. Um to you know, I I will always have that memory of him waving to the crowd, tipping his cap, you know, classic baseball type stuff. Um so yeah, that's probably my I would say that would be my honorable mention, just giving him his flowers for the career that he had.

SPEAKER_01 31:08

Yeah, that's a good one. I would probably go with those men's basketball road wins in the ACC. When State won, was it seven in a row, I think? Six or seven in a row. We had Pitt yeah, bunch of those games on the road. Yeah, man. That was that was as high as I'd felt for NC State basketball in a long time.

SPEAKER_02 31:29

We were rolling.

SPEAKER_01 31:30

We were rolling, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:31

We were rolling, and it sucks that it fell apart. But that was you know, that that was a a fun little ride there for three weeks. But isn't that what NC State is? Sometimes it feels like false hope.

SPEAKER_01 31:46

I don't think that was false hope. I think they were I think that was a legitimately good basketball team, and then their coach said, All right, I'm going to LSU in the middle of the season and they fell apart.

SPEAKER_02 31:55

Yeah, I I definitely think that season looks different if that doesn't happen. I I think you definitely win a couple more ball games and then you're not playing that play.

SPEAKER_01 32:03

Like they were not, I don't think they were necessarily that caliber of a team, but I think they were certainly better than what they ended up being. And I thought they they showed that during that stretch.

SPEAKER_02 32:13

Yeah, I mean, there was there was definitely comments made about the team, you know, listening to some of the broadcasts, how you know well that they were kind of constructed, and it didn't work out. And uh we have a new era, and hopefully Justin Ganey and company and Dave Dorn and Chris Hart and Wes Moore give us some more moments like this. We have really good coaches, and I have no doubt we'll have more moments in 26, 27, and we'll be getting it going here in the next 65 days or so. All right, well, Pac Nation, well, that will do it for this episode of Tuffy Talk. Uh we look we look forward to seeing your comments down below. Uh, make sure you're always liking and subscribing on all of our YouTube social media sites. Um uh we got Instagram, we got X or Twitter for for old folks like me. But uh make sure you make sure you give us a like and it it does help the channel. So Wolfpack Nation, we'll see you next time. Go pack.