A majority of NC State’s undergraduates weren’t alive the last time NC State had a 10-win season. It’s been 22 years since the Wolfpack has eclipsed the double-digit mark in wins, the last time coming with Phillip Rivers at the helm.
In the past four years, NC State has had two eight-win seasons and two nine-win seasons. The Wolfpack’s been brutally close to the mark but have come up short every time. With three bowl losses in that period as well, the Pack has had plenty of opportunities but never capitalized.
For the 2024 season, there is no reason this Wolfpack team cannot reach that mark. With arguably the most offense the program has ever had, 10 wins should be the minimum.
“What we did last year and the year before and the year before is good,” said head coach Dave Doeren. “Winning nine games is good. We don’t want to be good. We want to be the best at what we do. These guys understand that.”
NC State’s favorable ACC schedule, combined with No. 10 Florida State’s 24-21 loss to Georgia Tech this past Saturday, puts it in a prime position to win an ACC Championship for the first time since 1979.
The Wolfpack’s biggest tests — and threats to the elusive 10-win season — will come against No. 15 Tennessee and No. 14 Clemson, with both games coming in the first four weeks of the season. Both teams are coming off 9-4 2023 seasons with a bowl win.
NC State has played Tennessee once in recent history, while Clemson has been a yearly matchup that’s plagued the Pack for years. With a 30-60-1 all-time record against the Tigers, Clemson has been the boogeyman for Wolfpack football time and time again.
As the men’s and women’s basketball teams have shown in the past year, it’s possible to lose the negative outlook associated with NC State athletics and go on historic runs. With the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams for the first time in its history, who’s to say NC State can’t make it, especially with an auto-bid from whoever is crowned the ACC Champs?
There might not be more pressure on any one player than there is on graduate quarterback Grayson McCall. A transfer from Coastal Carolina, McCall has the second-highest passing efficiency in a single season since 1956 when he threw for 27 touchdowns and only three interceptions as a sophomore in 2021.
If there’s one excuse for not reaching 10 wins, it’s McCall getting injured.
The graduate quarterback never played every game in a season at Coastal, including last year when a concussion against Arkansas State limited him to just seven games. Coastal Carolina head coach and former NC State offensive coordinator Tim Beck even insinuated that McCall might give up playing football after his most recent concussion.
If McCall can’t stay healthy, it would be the third-consecutive year that the Pack’s football season has gone off the rails because of injuries or questions at the quarterback position.
The offense is run through the quarterback nearly every play, making it easily the most important position on the field. And if McCall does go down, there isn’t a lot of experience behind him. The remainder of the quarterback room consists of four freshmen and a sophomore, all who have never started a game at the collegiate level.
Can Doeren guide this Pack team to 10 wins? Only time will tell. There is experience at nearly every position. The cards for the ACC football season have been dealt, and with aces up its sleeve, the Wolfpack need to go all in.
