Fordham's MVP performance caps big day for NC State in Gasparilla Bowl
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TAMPA ― North Carolina State defense endured its share of humbling moments during the 2025 season, including a 53-34 loss at Pittsburgh and 41-7 loss at Miami.
But thanks to an MVP performance from senior linebacker Caden Fordham, NC State's defense closed out the season on a positive note. The Wolfpack wound up with one interception, one fumble recovery and three more turnovers on downs in a 31-7 win over Memphis in the Gasparilla Bowl Friday, Dec. 19, at Raymond James Stadium.
The 6-foot-1, 230-pound Fordham finished with 13 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and 1 interception to become the first defensive player to win MVP honors in Gasparilla Bowl history.
As a senior, Fordham could have opted out of the game to protect himself for the NFL Draft. Instead, Fordham chose to play for his teammates and head coach Dave Doeren.
"Coach Doeren, these guys on this team have given too much to me for me to not want to play," Fordham said. "Plus, I love this game so much, I want to play any time I can, to play with these guys, these coaches, I don't see how you could opt out."
With North Carolina State up 14-0 late in the first quarter, Fordham came up with the defensive play of the game, snagging a pass from Memphis quarterback Brandon Lewis that was tipped by a teammate for his second interception of the season. Fordham returned the pick 55 yards, nearly scoring his first career TD before being taken down at the Memphis 3-yard line.
"Coach always talks about tips and overthrows and we've got to get those," Fordham said. "I mean, I was covering my guy and seeing the ball thrown and kind of reacted, one of our DBs made a great play on that, deflected the ball, and then caught it.
"I was wanting to score, I tried my best, but I mean at the end I just kind of ran out of some gas. It was awesome, though."
Fordham, a former Jacksonville Bolles High standout, finished his college career with a stellar performance in his home state after suffering a torn ACL on Oct. 5, 2024, against Wake Forest that sidelined him the rest of his junior season. He returned in time for the start of his senior season and played in all 13 games.
"Thanks to these coaches, the training staff here, they've helped me a ton getting back from a serious injury," Fordham said. "My family and my faith … that was the only way to get back where I wanted to be, to play the ball I wanted to play."
NC State shows defensive improvement late in 2025 season
North Carolina State continued its late-season defensive improvement Friday. The Wolfpack allowed an average of 12.3 points per game in its season-ending, three-game win streak.
Memphis wound up with 303 yards, but averaged just 4.3 yards per play.
"After that Pitt game, I felt like we got everyone defensively into the right spots and they could play consecutive games together," Doeren said. "Each week defensively, we got better and better."
Fordham said it was a growing process for players this season to learn a new scheme under first-year defensive coordinator DJ Eliot.
"No matter what happened the week previously, we were buying into what Coach Eliot and Coach Doeren were telling us, playing hard for each other and that's the best way to play ball," Fordham said.
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1. Read his coverage of the Gators’ national championship basketball season in “CHOMP-IONS!” — a hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: NC State delivers strong defense in Gasparilla Bowl win over Memphis
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