Greg McElroy sees four games that NC State could lose in 2024

NC State has averaged around five losses a season in 11 years under Dave Doeren, including around four over the past seven. Now, for 2024, Greg McElroy has determined which of the four on their schedule could go in the loss column for the Wolfpack.

McElroy examined NC State’s slate during a recent episode of ‘Always College Football’. He began with their first third of the year, which features a pair of games that could be losses against top programs.

“Let’s go through the schedule. Western Carolina is week one – they’ll handle that one. That’s on a Thursday, gives them a couple extra days to prepare for the neutral-site game against Tennessee. That game will be in Charlotte. Tennessee will be really, really good. I think North Carolina State’s defense will be really, really good. That will be an interesting thing to watch,” said McElroy. “Tennessee has a slight advantage there. That game is certainly a toss-up.”

“Louisiana Tech – that’s a neutral site,” McElroy continued. “At Clemson? Very difficult game to go into Death Valley and expect to get a win.”

However, after that, NC State gets a three-game home stand that McElroy likes their chances in.

“Here’s where it gets a little bit more manageable for NC State – Northern Illinois, Wake Forest, Syracuse are your next three games,” said McElroy. “I think Northern Illinois is a win, Wake Forest should be a win as well. Syracuse on October 12th? That game is going to be in Raleigh at Carter-Finley. They should handle it but I do think Syracuse has a chance to be quite a bit better there in the ACC.”

Still, with five games left from there, McElroy sees two more potential losses for the Wolfpack. He expressed some concern about their trip to Berkeley before two more games in Raleigh. Their final two games, both of which are on the road, though, are possible defeats against Georgia Tech in Atlanta and versus North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

“They’re at Cal after that – be careful. Stanford is at home, Duke is at home,” said McElroy. “They’re on the road at Georgia Tech and then they finish the season on the road at North Carolina.”

“They matched up really good with North Carolina the last couple years. I would think they would in this case as well but it’s still a rivalry game so we have to put it on the list, at least for the moment,” McElroy said. “Be careful with the at Georgia Tech game. Game is on a Thursday, you’ll have a week off beforehand. Georgia Tech has got great team speed. I think Georgia Tech can be a very dangerous team in the ACC this year.”

NC State has won eight or nine games in each of the four seasons of this decade so far. That’s where McElroy expects to find them again depending on how they handle the four games that he thinks they’re capable of losing.

“There’s really four games for me that I think NC State could potentially lose – Tennessee, at Clemson, at Georgia Tech, and then at North Carolina,” McElroy said.