Wheels up: N.C. State return, rushing game run over Stanford in homecoming win

DK Kaufman looked to the sky as the football came spiraling through the air. Catch. Cradle. Run. The safety took off for a 91-yard kickoff return, dodging Stanford players in hot pursuit, sprinting alongside the west sideline before stepping out of bounds at the 9-yard line.

While he didn’t take it to the house for a touchdown, Kaufman’s speed gave NC State great field position. Wide receiver KC Concepcion received the direct snap and bullied his way through contact to score on the next play.

The Wolfpack defeated Stanford (2-7, 1-5 ACC), 59-28, on Saturday thanks to its ground game on offense and special teams.

N.C. State (5-4, 2-3 ACC) finished the game with 527 yards of total offense, 281 rushing yards, two players with 100 yards rushing and a player with 100-plus kickoff return yards.

“Our backs ran really determined. Our offensive line gave them good holes, and they did stuff with it — made guys miss, outran people,” Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren said. “I loved how our kickoff return team played today. DK Kaufman set up our offense three times with good returns, and one of them was a big momentum play.”

The team’s total yardage was the most since recording 538 yards in a 55-3 win against Charleston Southern on Sept. 10, 2022, and the most against an FBS opponent since racking up 525 on Sept. 2, 2021, against South Florida.

The Wolfpack’s game against the Bulls was the last time NC State finished above 275 rushing yards in a game and had two players with 100 yards or more, when Zonovan Knight (163 yards) and Ricky Person (105) eclipsed the century mark.

Two weeks ago against Cal, NC State finished with just 29 yards on the ground. Its 281 yards is more than the last four games combined (278).

Prior to this game, Knight was the last rusher to record 100 yards. He notched 104 against Furman on Sept. 18, 2021.

Kaufman is the first player to record 100 kickoff return yards since Knight picked up 113 on Nov. 20, 2021, against Syracuse. The Auburn transfer’s 164 yards ranks No. 9 for single-game yardage in program history.

“In high school that was what I did,” Kaufman said. “I had a kickoff return in the state championship that gave us the lead right after we lost the lead. I love kickoff return. I always have.”

The team hasn’t had a ton of opportunities in the return game this season, but it maximized every opportunity against the Cardinal.

Kaufman also contributed two tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss and one quarterback hurry.

His success is special. Kaufman said he was diagnosed with myocarditis — inflammation of the heart muscle — as a freshman at Vanderbilt. He didn’t know whether he’d play football again. Now, every snap means a little bit more.

“My biggest goal is always just to have fun. If you’re not having fun, it’s not worth it,” Kaufman said. “It’s my last year. I got three, maybe four more games left in college; just trying to maximize that. I’m so happy with the decision I made to come to NC State, just laying it all on the line with these dudes. I know my energy brings up other players, but that’s natural.”

“He deserves it. The kid works his butt off at practice every day,” Doeren said. “He spends a lot of time on his body, gets in here early, does a lot of treatment, rehab, and he works really hard in practice. You love seeing guys get rewarded.”

On offense, Jordan Waters and Hollywood Smothers combined for the majority of N.C. State’s rushing yards. Waters recorded 115, while Smothers finished with an even 100.

Doeren said it was great to see the run game work efficiently, and it did so without leading rusher Kendrick Raphael.

“We’ve got talented backs and just been different guys at different times,” Doeren said. “Sometimes we’ll have an explosive run and it’s called back for a holding penalty, or one guy will get beat on a play. To run the football, it takes everybody doing their job.”

Lastly, the offensive line and blocking excelled to give Waters, Smothers and Kaufman opportunities to make explosive plays. That’s an area where NC State lacked toughness and synchronicity, often receiving criticism for its breakdowns.

“I’m proud of those guys and how they played this week,” quarterback CJ Bailey said. “They opened up lanes for those guys. … It’s really good to see those guys blocking and creating those explosives.”