A rowdy Carter-Finley Stadium played host to the 2005 season opener as the football team took on Virginia Tech in a nationally-televised Sunday night match-up. The electric atmosphere signaled that fans were excited about the possibilities of how far the team could go.

After all, N.C. State was returning the nation’s No. 1 defense almost entirely intact, and the team had hired a new offensive coordinator to amend the problems on offense that had contributed to a 5-6 finish the year before.

It soon became apparent it was not going to be the season some fans anticipated. The Wolfpack lost that evening to the Hokies, then proceeded to start the season 2-4.

Although State did finish its season 7-5 with a bowl game victory, the troubles from the first half of the year have some taking precaution in picking the Pack high.

Most preseason publications place State at or near the bottom of the six-team division. Athlon Sports predicted the team 10th in the conference, ahead of only Virginia and Duke.

“I expect us to finish better than what [has been] expected — 5th in our division of the ACC. I don’t expect us to be at the top, but I expect us to do well, and a whole lot better than last year,” Derek Overcash, a junior in chemistry, said.

One thing is clear for Jasmine Myers, a sophomore in biological sciences — for her to consider this coming season a successful season, she said amassing enough wins to be .500 is pivotal.

“I would hope they would do better than they did last year,” Myers said. “More than six [wins] and I’ll be happy.”

Outside of finishing above .500, the other stipulation some fans have for a season to be successful is to beat archrival North Carolina. The Tar Heels have won the last two against the Pack, and some students’ patience has worn thin.

“We have to beat Carolina,” Lauren Liles, a sophomore in biological sciences, said. “Last year was too frustrating. I think State fans, their main expectation is to beat Carolina, and when you don’t do that, they’re unhappy . . . that’s the game we need to win.”

Other in-state contests are on the schedule as well, as the Pack will play Appalachian State in the season opener and East Carolina in the season finale.

“I’m excited about [the game versus Appalachian]. I got a lot of friends at App and same with the ECU game. I have a lot of friends at ECU, so I’m looking forward to those,” Adam Key, a sophomore in mechanical engineering, said.

Both teams are out-of-conference and not on the schedule every year, which has some students expecting more trash talk from friends at those schools.

“I have a bunch of kids from App that are coming to stay with us, so hopefully we can keep their mouths shut and beat them,” Ben Dodd, a sophomore in graphic design, said.

As far as the team’s personnel is concerned, some fans are also eager to see how the defense will perform without key players from last year, including Mario Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft.

“Mario Williams was a key factor,” Apelles Hart, a freshman in animal science, said. “They just got to start clicking together. I think after a couple games they’ll have a feel for it, and we’ll start clicking like we were last year.”

Williams was a fan-favorite, and he worked his way into the school’s record book as well as student’s memories as the career leader in sacks.

“He’s one of the best in our history,” Michael Boergert, a sophomore in mathematics, said. “But some teams can do pretty good with some young talent.”

Some of the young players receiving preseason attention from students are running backs Toney Baker and Andre Brown, who contributed to the offensive turnaround during the strong finish.

“The two running backs are going to be sick. One’s explosive, and one’s powerful,” Jamie Jones, a junior in communication, said. “They’re both going to be awesome.”

State fans are known for voicing displeasure when it comes to coaching and it came to the forefront during last season’s Clemson game when coach Chuck Amato was booed after appearing on the megatron scoreboard in an advertisement.

“Here around Raleigh, there’s always so much criticism – it’s just the nature of the people here. It’s not a bad thing,” Matt Shuford, a junior in communication, said. “There’s always going to be heat [on the coach]. That happens at other college campuses. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about.”

The end of last season may have provided Amato some cushion for his hot seat. But according to some students, a losing year or a loss to the Tar Heels will garner that pressure once again.

“I thought with the talent we had we should have had a better season,” Steven Cox, a junior in chemistry, said. “He could probably be .500 and be OK. I don’t believe another loss to Carolina would go over OK.”