NC State enters CFP rankings for first time this season
It took until the last week of the regular season for NC State to crack into the College Football Playoff Top 25 rankings, but the Wolfpack did it heading into Week 13. The Pack checked in at No. 22 in Tuesday night’s edition of the CFP rankings.
North Carolina, the Pack’s opponent this weekend, fell out of the rankings after it was No. 20 last week before it lost at Clemson.
It is the first time NC State has appeared in the CFP’s rankings since last December, when it was the No. 23 team in the country. This marks the fourth season in a row that the Pack appeared inside the premier top-25 rankings, and it is the sixth season overall.
The Wolfpack checked in at No. 24 in this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll, the first time the red and white have been ranked this season. NC State just missed this week’s Associated Press Top-25, as it was the second team out of the rankings.
NC State is riding a four-game winning streak as it gets set to host North Carolina for its season finale at Carter-Finley Stadium. The Wolfpack have beaten Clemson, Miami, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech during the past four weeks, and the latter two have been on the road.
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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 two games, and he has been consistent for the Wolfpack. Armstrong has completed nearly 70% of his passes in the last two games, as he has thrown for 316 yards and three touchdowns, while he has rushed for 185 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 57 receptions for 636 yards and eight touchdown catches. He has also recorded 27 carries for 242 yards, and he threw a 17-yard touchdown strike at Virginia Tech.
Graduate linebacker Payton Wilson leads the Wolfpack — and the ACC — with 123 total tackles. He has also added five sacks with 15.5 tackles for a loss, six passes defended and two interceptions. Wilson is a finalist for the Butkus Award, which goes to the top collegiate linebacker, and the Bednarik Award, that goes to the top defensive player in college football.
