NC State is a team looking to prove something this year. Going into the 2024 season the Wolfpack looked like one of the most stable programs in the ACC having 8 wins every season since 2020. NC State had the talent and had the schedule to finally make it to an ACC championship game and fans were hyped.
Then the wheels came off. Grayson McCall who was projected to be a star QB in the ACC was severely injured early in the season which made the tough early schedule for NC State difficult to handle. McCall was reinjured during the Wake Forest matchup and made the tough decision to end his career. The defense for NC State also suffered injuries across the board which seemed to hamper their performance against bigger name teams. It didn’t help that what looked like an easy schedule became much tougher with teams like Syracuse and Duke outperforming expectations.
Honestly it was impressive that NC State ended the season with a 6-win record considering the hurdles they had to jump early in the 2024 season. This is cold comfort for fans though who were expecting a breakthrough season for their team.
Dave Doeren is a head coach desperate to vindicate his tenure this year. Fans are getting restless as it felts like they have seen the peak of what Doeren’s teams can achieve with 9-win seasons that don’t quite get them to the ACC title, and now the program feels it is on a downward slope in terms of performance. If NC State doesn’t get at least 7 wins this season the seat could go from hot to warm for Dave Doeren, which is going to be difficult to achieve given the talent that has left this offseason.
NC State lost 23 players to the transfer portal near the start of the offseason. Most of these players were backup players, although some were expected to take starting roles this year. Big name losses include the talented receiver KJ Concepcion, Tamarcus Cooley and Brandon Cisse who were both expected to start in the defensive secondary, and touted prospect Red Hibbler. Aside from the big names the general concern is around the number of losses on the O-line which gave up 2.2 sacks per game last year before losing players to the portal.
The defense also has many questions, especially in the secondary, with multiple personnel losses. This is not helped by the loss of D-Coordinator Tony Gibson who left in the offseason to become the head coach of Marshall. Defense has traditionally been the greatest strength for NC State teams, and it seems the performance of new coordinator DJ Elliot may define how the Wolfpack performs this year.
Things aren’t all bad though. NC State returns CJ Bailey at QB, their top receiver in Tight End Justin Joly, and Their RB who really needs a Waffle House ad in Hollywood Smothers. There is also some returning talent on the D-line which will cause other offenses problems. NC state also brought in 17 players through the transfer portal to bolster the depth chart. The linebacker position in particular saw a lot of love, so maybe the defense won’t be as bad off as they would first appear.
CJ Bailey was an excellent scrambling QB which causes problems for most teams. Bailey’s ability to scramble was the biggest challenge for our team in last year’s game against NC State, so we will need to see if Blake Gideon has a plan to stop Bailey.
The defense of NC State did a good job of slowing down our run game and containing us within the redzone. It’s hard to say exactly how the changes on defense will impact NC State’s defense overall but given the gaps in the secondary we may take a passing centric approach.
We know NC State is going to be desperate for wins this season, and a home matchup against the Wolfpack will be a big challenge. Last year’s game came down to a missed field goal, I would expect another close matchup this year. NC State will have a lot to prove this year so even with all their changes with players and personnel expect a big fight from the Wolfpack.