NC State Newsstand: Pack football inside top-20 of ESPN’s preseason power rankings
NC State football has high hopes for the 2024 season. And those seemed to have been reflected on the national level this preseason. The Wolfpack is the No. 24 team in the Associated Press’ top 25, and now ESPN has NC State inside the top 20.
In its latest college football power rankings, ESPN slotted the Wolfpack No. 20 going into the 2024 season. NC State was one of four ACC teams to make the rankings and it was the lowest of the bunch — No. 10 Florida State, No. 15 Clemson and No. 19 Miami.
“NC State has just one 10-win season in program history — all the way back in 2002 with Philip Rivers at QB — but there’s a strong case that this is as talent-rich an offensive unit as any the Wolfpack have had since that season,” ESPN’s David Hale wrote. “Along with rising sophomore KC Concepcion, coach Dave Doeren added a host of impact players in the portal this offseason, including center Zeke Correll, tailbacks Jordan Waters and Hollywood Smothers, receiver Noah Rogers, tight end Justin Joly and QB Grayson McCall. NC State is 17-9 over the past two seasons despite myriad QB issues and an offense that has averaged just 25 points per game (85th in FBS) over that span.
“Instead, the questions might be on defense — a unit that must replace All-American Payton Wilson,” Hale continued. “The job likely falls to converted safety Sean Brown, but he’ll be flanked by a solid secondary led by Aydan White and a veteran front. NC State’s schedule is another reason for optimism, but the Wolfpack will need to survive an arduous start with Tennessee in Week 2 and Clemson in Week 4 before enjoying the softer slate in October and November.”
Georgia was No. 1, while Ohio State came in at No. 2, Oregon at No. 3, Texas at No. 4 and Alabama at No. 5.
NC State kicks off the 2024 season against Western Carolina on Aug. 29 at Carter-Finley Stadium. The game will be televised on ACC Network.
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Quote of the day
Kemp, a three-star athlete that will play cornerback at NC State, was impressed with the Wolfpack’s persistence on the recruiting trail. That paid off and he flipped to the red and white.
“They stayed consistent, they reached out to me a lot and that made a big difference,” Kemp told On3’s Chad Simmons. “They reached out more to me than Duke did at times and I changed my decision to NC State.”
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