Best / Worst Case Record for :
Louisville | Virginia | Miami | Duke | Georgia Tech | SMU | Boston College | Pittsburgh | Florida State | Cal | Virginia Tech | Clemson | Syracuse | North Carolina | Stanford| Wake Forest
NC State
Well, here we are again… NC State coming off an 8-9-win season looking primed to make a run at Charlotte and/or a 10-win season. In 7 of the last 9 seasons, the Wolfpack have won 8 or 9 games, but have yet to have that truly special season under Dave Doeren. It’s a tough position for NC State. The Wolfpack have been consistently solid under Doeren, but never great. Doeren has been at NC State since 2013, and I still can’t identify a truly noteworthy out-of-conference win. Maybe the 2016 win over 4-8 Notre Dame? It seems Doeren is always at or near the hot seat, but the ability to make NC State a top 6 ACC program year after year is worth something. There are pieces in place this season that could make 2026 the year NC State fans have been waiting for.
Will Go 11-1 (8-1) if:
If NC State beats Virginia, Vanderbilt, and Louisville. By October 3rd, we’ll know if NC State is on its way to a special season. A good Virginia team is a challenge to open the season, then 2 games later is a dangerous but Diego Pavialess Vanderbilt team, and then a strong Louisville team comes to Raleigh. All are solid teams, but beatable. If NC State gets those, the schedule really opens up the rest of the way. QB CJ Bailey showed real promise last year and could be ready to be an All-ACC caliber QB. The defense has a chance to be disruptive, and played solidly at the end of last year. There is no reason with the schedule they can’t have the 8-0 type start that Georgia Tech had last year.
Will Go 7-5 (5-4) if:
NC State loses its 3 toughest games: Virginia, Vanderbilt and Louisville. While a fairly soft schedule limits the floor, that doesn’t mean games like Cal and at Florida State are layups. UNC is a rivalry game too. There’s also NC State’s history; they just tend to trend towards 7-8 regular wins. If QB CJ Bailey doesn’t make the expected step forward, the offense is replacing a lot of skill position talent, and that could spell problems. The defense played better at the end of 2025, but it still ranked 110th in the country. That has to be considerably better this upcoming year for NC State.
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