NC State rises to No. 18 in final College Football Playoff rankings
NC State did not play for a conference championship this weekend, but it moved up to No. 18 in the final edition of the College Football Playoff rankings Sunday afternoon. The Pack entered the week at No. 19, but it jumped past Oklahoma State to rise in the rankings.
The Wolfpack are the third-highest rated ACC squad, behind No. 5 Florida State and No. 15 Louisville.
Since NC State finished the year inside the CFP’s Top-25 rankings, Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren will receive a $50,000 bonus.
This season is the fourth consecutive year that NC State has appeared in the CFP rankings, and it is the sixth season in the last seven. The Pack moved up to No. 19 in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll and it was No. 18 in the US LBM Coaches poll, up two spots from last week in both.
NC State closed the regular season on a five-game winning streak to improve to 9-3. The Wolfpack beat Clemson, Miami, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech and North Carolina. The wins over the Demon Deacons and Hokies were on the road, while the other three came inside Carter-Finley Stadium.
The Wolfpack were 4-3 heading into its bye week after a 24-3 loss at Duke, but since then the NC State team has played mostly complementary football between its offense and defense.
Graduate quarterback Brennan Armstrong has started the past three games, and he has been consistent for the Wolfpack. Armstrong has completed 70% of his passes since returning to the starting lineup, as he has thrown for 650 yards and six touchdowns, while he has rushed for 207 yards and a trio of scores.
Freshman wide receiver Kevin Concepcion has been an integral part of the Wolfpack’s offense this season as he has 64 receptions for 767 yards and 10 touchdown catches. He has also recorded 38 carries for 297 yards, and he threw a 17-yard touchdown strike at Virginia Tech.
Graduate linebacker Payton Wilson leads the Wolfpack — and the ACC — with 138 total tackles. He has also added six sacks with 17.5 tackles for a loss, nine passes defended and two interceptions.
Wilson is a finalist for the Butkus Award, which goes to the top collegiate linebacker, and the Bednarik and Nagurski Awards, which go to the top defensive player in college football.
The Wolfpack has an opportunity to eclipse the 10-win mark for just the second time in program history should it win its bowl game. This season also marked the fourth in a row that Doeren and the Wolfpack have won at least eight games, which is a program first.
