Best / Worst Case Record for :
Louisville | Virginia | Miami | Duke | Georgia Tech | SMU | Boston College | Pittsburgh | Florida State | Virginia Tech | Cal | Clemson | Syracuse | North Carolina | Stanford| Wake Forest
NC State
Remember when Dave Doeren lived on the hot seat at NC State? Those days are gone as Doeren has become one of the ACC’s most consistent winners. NC State has won at least 8 games in six of the last seven years and beat ACC heavyweight Clemson 2 of the last 3 years. They’ve beat Florida State the last 3 times they’ve played too. The problem is that the Wolfpack and Doren’s resume are still missing some things. There’s still a 10-win season lacking, and what is the Wolfpack’s signature out-of-conference win? There hasn’t been a bowl win since 2017. Doeren has NC State on solid footing, but when and how are the Wolfpack going to truly turn the corner from solid to great? Could it be this year?
Will Go 11-1 (7-1) if:
The offense can match the defense. The defense should still be solid even without All-American LB Payton Wilson. NC State was mediocre on offense last season ranking 91st in the country, 100th in passing, and 74th in scoring. Grayson McCall was one of the better transfers at the QB position and he has a great weapon to work with in WR Kevin Concepcion. There’s a monster game in Charlotte, NC as NC State plays Tennessee. In their heyday, Clemson feasted in early season games with quality SEC opponents. FSU has jumpstarted the last 2 years with early season wins over LSU. If the Wolfpack wins that game the season could take off. There’s a game at Clemson, and a couple of tricky road games at Georgia Tech and at UNC, but if they can split the Tennessee and Clemson games, then NC State could really build some momentum toward a playoff contention… seriously.
Will Go 8-4 (5-3) if:
Grayson McCall isn’t a fit with the offense like Brennan Armstrong last year. I think a lot of people thought Armstrong was going to elevate the Wolfpack offense. It just didn’t work out. The early part of the schedule with Tennessee and Clemson is tough and could send NC State to a 2-2 start. They should be able to get by the next 3 at home with Northern Illinois, Wake Forest, and Syracuse but a cross-country trip to California, and road games at Georgia Tech and at North Carolina could be problematic. An 8-4 season is the floor for NC State. That shows how far Doeren has taken the NC State program.
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