The pack are on the attack
Clemson and FSU would be the better candidates to write about here, but where is the fun in that? We kind of forgot to include NC State in our opponent previews last week, but they are another team with a unique opportunity to play for an ACC championship this year. That would be an impressive feat considering they have never played in the ACC championship game and the last time they won an ACC championship in football was way back in 1979.
NC State doesn’t get a lot of press outside of Raleigh. Most people focus either on UNC or Duke when they talk about North Carolina teams mostly because of their success in basketball and their history in football. Some people probably know Wake Forest because it gives them a chance to use the term “Claw-fense”, but NC State just doesn’t have as much to talk about.
Dave Doeren has been pretty consistently good… and that just doesn’t make for a good story. Doeren had 2 bad years at NC State, his first year in 2013 where he went 3-9 and in 2019 where he somehow went 4-8 with NC State. Aside from those two years, Dave Doeren has never won less than 7 games over his 11 years at the program. 9 out of 11 years you win between 7 to 9 games… given what Georgia Tech has gone through I would take those kind of results.
But there’s the problem, a perfectly good record doesn’t mean you are competing for a championship. How much is there to talk about, and how happy can your fanbase be when you know year in and year out that you’ll have a good program but not a great one? This year Doeren hopes to change things and he has gotten enough transfers where he just may be able to pull off the ACC run NC State fans have been waiting for.
Players
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Last year the problem for NC State seemed to be their offensive performances. While there were some flashes of greatness the losses usually came down to a lack of offensive performance. Some of this was unavoidable as injuries did hit the Wolfpack early. The real problem seemed to be consistency with QB Brennan Armstrong. Brennan Armstrong was both a gift and a curse as the year went on. While Brennan put up some good numbers both through the air and on the ground his passing game was inconsistent at best. If Brennan turned the ball over or couldn’t get the ball to Kevin Concepcion then the offense would often sputter.
There is a new QB at the helm this year in transfer Grayson McCall. Grayson suffered an injury last year and only ended up with 1,919 yds on a 67 % Completion rate for 10 passing touchdowns. Prior to last year McCall has never had a year where he passed for less than 2,488 yards or less than 24 touchdowns on the year. McCall is going to be one of the toughest QBs to defend against in the ACC this year.
McCall will have some good weapons to throw to. In particular Kevin Concepcion has been an unstoppable force of nature in his one year of the field for NC State. He put up 839 receiving yards and 10 receiving Touchdowns along with 320 rushing yards. Even when the offense was struggling Concepcion was finding ways to put up big yards. There’s also some big hype in the locker room for receivers Wesley Grimes and Noah Rogers, along with Tight End Justin Joly.
The running game was strange last year. The player with the most rushing yards that wasn’t a QB or WR ended the season with 309 yds. The rushing game was a factor, but rushing was so evenly split between players it’s hard to find a standout. If things continue like last year expect NC State to be a top tier air raid offense this year.
Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
Defense has traditionally been the strongest side of the ball for NC State. After losing All star linebacker Payton Wilson to the NFL the other linebackers will have some big shoes to fill with no current standouts to fill the roles. On the line Red Hibbler and Davin Vann are back after recording a combined 12 sacks last year and planning to be a disruptive force on the line. Strong safety Devan Boykin is also planning to add to his interception numbers this year after only recording 3 and a forced fumble last year. Overall the defense grabbed 24 turnovers last year, and with most of the starters returning outside of the linebacker position ball control is going to play an important part of the game when facing the Wolfpack.
The Schedule
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Compared to SMU and Virginia Tech, the NC State schedule is definitely a step up. The Wolfpack start the season with home games against Western Carolina, Tennessee, and Louisiana Tech. Tennessee will be a tough opponent who should give us a good idea of where the Wolfpack will stand on the year, and Doeren will need to use the Volunteers as a warmup game against their next difficult opponent in orange. To start the ACC slate, NC State goes on the road to play Clemson which could determine right away where they will be in the running for the ACC Championship. From there the schedule is gears back down. The Wolfpack get Northern Illinois, Wake Forest, and Syracuse at home before going on the road to Cal, then come back home to play Stanford and Duke before ending the season on the road against GT and UNC. GT and UNC could present challenges, but getting their other difficult opponents at home will make things easier for NC State.
2024 Outlook
NC State has a good opportunity to impress this year. They have two tough games on the schedule in Tennessee and Clemson, but with the talent they currently have on offense and defense the Wolfpack should at least be able to hang with those opponents and will be favorites against everyone else on the schedule. If nothing else NC State should be looking at another 9 win season… but lets be honest do you think their fanbase is going to be happy with that?
NC State has the best shot at an ACC title that they’ve had in a long time. Dave Doeren will need to get some results this year if he wants to prove he can keep NC State competitive. If you don’t usually pay attention to NC State then you should this year as I fully expect them to be in the top 4 of the ACC when all is said and done this year.