NC State football game predictions: Kansas State

ORLANDO, Fla. — In just over 24 hours, No. 18 NC State football will kick off its Pop-Tart’s Bowl clash with No. 25 Kansas State. The Pack arrived in Orlando Dec. 23 and spent the past week preparing to try and win its tenth game of the season.

Both teams are missing notable star players for the postseason matchup. Wolfpack star linebacker Payton Wilson opted out of the game, and Wildcat starting quarterback Will Howard is in the transfer portal.

As a result, Kansas State true freshman signal-caller Avery Johnson and NC State redshirt sophomore linebacker Caden Fordham will both step into starting roles.

The Pop-Tart’s Bowl is scheduled to kick off at 5:45 p.m. ET Thursday. Here are TheWolfpacker.com’s predictions.

Ethan McDowell’s prediction for NC State vs. Kansas State

NC State’s emotions are going to be extremely high for this game. When UCLA’s Covid-19 concerns canceled the 2021 Holiday Bowl, the Pack had a chance to make history snatched from its grasp.

The 10-win milestone is back within reach once again, and I do not see NC State letting that opportunity slip away.

Do not sleep on Kansas State despite its opt outs. Johnson is a very capable and talented dual-threat quarterback, while sophomore running back DJ Giddens is a dynamic running back who will command a ton of attention from the defense. The Wildcats are the No. 2 team in the Big-12 in both scoring offense (37.8 points per game) and scoring defense (21.2) points per game.

Kansas State is 8-4, but none of those losses were by more than 8 points. Even when the Wolfpack’s opponent fell this season, it kept things close.

Ball security will be key. Pack quarterback Brennan Armstrong has not recorded a turnover since taking over the starting job with three games to go in the regular season. The Pack defense allowed 15.4 points per game in 5 matchups following its bye week. NC State built a lot of momentum going into bowl practices, and continuing that momentum into Thursday evening will be key.

The Pack will come into this matchup completely locked in with its tenth win and a six-game winning streak on the table. That momentum, plus some creative wrinkles from coordinators Robert Anae and and Tony Gibson, should be enough to power NC State to the win.

Prediction: NC State 27, Kansas State 17

Previous predictions:

No. 22 NC State 28, UNC 27 (Actual: NC State 39, UNC 20)
NC State 20, Virginia Tech 13 (Actual: NC State 35, Virginia Tech 28)
NC State 17, Wake Forest 9 (Actual: NC State 26, Wake Forest 6)
NC State 27, Miami 24 (Actual: NC State 20, Miami 6)
Clemson 17, NC State 14 (Actual: NC State 24, Clemson 17)
Duke 17, NC State 16 (Actual: Duke 24, NC State 3)
NC State 27, Marshall 13 (Actual: NC State 48, Marshall 41)
NC State 31, Louisville 30 (Actual: Louisville 13, NC State 10)
NC State 31, UVA 13 (Actual: NC State 24, UVA 21)
NC State 45, VMI 0 (Actual: NC State 45, VMI 7)
Notre Dame 27, NC State 20 (Actual: Notre Dame 45, NC State 24)
NC State 24, UConn 10 (Actual: NC State 24, UConn 14)

Noah Fleischman’s prediction

Welcome to the last game of the 2023 season — and it might have the best bowl sponsor of all time: Pop-Tarts. It is the inaugural edition of the sponsor’s endeavor in college football, and No. 18 NC State has its hands full with No. 25 Kansas State. 

While the Wildcats will be without several key contributors due to bowl opt outs and the transfer portal, Kansas State still has a number of highly-talented players set to play against NC State. The Wildcats will be led by freshman quarterback Avery Johnson, who is a skilled runner under center.

Johnson is the signal-caller to watch, but Kansas State running back DJ Giddens. The sophomore is the Wildcats’ leading rusher with 195 carries for 1,075 yards and 11 total touchdowns. With a young quarterback in his first start, it is likely that the Wildcats will try to have a run-heavy offensive approach against the Wolfpack. 

Though that is the case, NC State’s run defense has been stout this season, and it will be solid against the Wildcats in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. NC State can use that to its advantage to roll past Kansas State for its 10th win of the season, just the second double-digit win in program history. 

Prepare to watch NC State coach Dave Doeren take a bite out of the edible Pop-Tart mascot — and it might be accompanied by some bourbon. 

Prediction: NC State 31, Kansas State 10

Previous Predictions:

No. 22 NC State 24, North Carolina 13 (Actual: NC State 39, North Carolina 20)
NC State 21, Virginia Tech 17 (Actual: NC State 35, Virginia Tech 28)
NC State 24, Wake Forest 10 (Actual: NC State 26, Wake Forest 6)
NC State 17, Miami 14. (Actual: NC State 20, Miami 6)
NC State 19, Clemson 13 (Actual: NC State 24, Clemson 17)
NC State 24, Duke 20 (Actual: Duke 24, NC State 3)
NC State 24, Marshall 10 (Actual: NC State 48, Marshall 41)
Louisville 35, NC State 21 (Actual: Louisville 13, NC State 10)
NC State 31, UVA 10 (Actual: NC State 24, UVA 21)
NC State 52, VMI 3 (Actual: NC State 45, VMI 7)