The annual Athlon Sports college football preview magazine hit shelves last week, and it's bullish on NC State entering the 2021 season.

The publication predicted that the Wolfpack will finish second in the ACC Atlantic Division. It also featured 10 Pack players on its preseason All-ACC teams, which was second-most of any team in the conference.

Here are some other notes of interest the college football preview featured as it relates to NC State:

1. Clemson — 13-0, 8-0 ACC

2. NC State — 8-4, 4-4 ACC

3. Boston College — 7-5, 4-4 ACC

4. Florida State — 6-6, 4-4 ACC

5. Louisville — 7-5, 4-4 ACC

6. Wake Forest — 6-6-, 3-5 ACC

7. Syracuse — 4-8, 1-7 ACC

National Ranking

NC State — No. 38

Sophomore left tackle Ikem Ekwonu (Third-team All-American)

10 NC State players earn preseason All-ACC honors.

Quarterbacks — 10th of 14

Running Backs — 2nd

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends — 2nd

Offensive Line — 5th

Defensive Line — 5th

Linebackers — 2nd

Defensive.Backs — 3rd

National Positional Rankings

Linebackers — 8th

Duke's Mayo Bowl — NC State vs. Auburn

Coach No. 1

"They surprised a lot of folks, but it might've been a dead-cat bounce last year. Look at their schedule and their wins and you get a better picture of who they probably are. They'll beat the bad teams and lose to the good teams, and do both convincingly. A lot of places in this league that's probably OK, but they're always expected more out of this program."

Coach No. 2

"QB Devin Leary is a good player, the kind that brought everyone else up. When he got hurt, you could see it across their offense, like they didn't believe as much in themselves without him. The upside of that is you want that effect from a QB; the downside is that you need more talent around him. Getting the one senior receiver [Emeka Emezie] back is a big deal for them, but they don't have anyone else that jumps out at you."

Coach No. 3

"Defensively, they're below average when you break it down by unit, and I thought you could tell they knew it, that they had to score in bunches to beat you. The secondary is the worst unit; you can really expose them, there because t they were so this. I do think a lot of that was injury-based and not scheme. Gibby [Tony Gibson] knows what he's doing. They were just really hit hard there."

Coach No. 4

"If they want to change minds, they need a signature win. They didn't play Notre Dame or Clemson, so flip their schedule and Wake's and see how they'd finish last season."

25% NC State fumbled 16 times on offense in 2020 but recovered 12 of them, giving the Wolfpack a 25 percent fumble loss percentage that was second-best in the ACC and No. 9 nationally.

0.128 NC State was one of the most improved teams in the country in terms of Expected Points Added Margin last season (EPA/play of offense minus EPA/play defensively), improving 0.128 points on average — best in the ACC and No. 9 nationally.

5 Punt coverage was an issue that had to be addressed during the offseason. The Wolfpack allowed five punt returns of 20 yards or more. Only Kansas (seven) and Hawaii (six) had more.

"This might be the deepest and most complete team Doeren has had in his nine years in Raleigh," Athlon Sports said. "If Leary can pick up where he left off, and if the run defense can tighten up, the Wolfpack has a chance to build on last year's success and push for double-digit wins for only the second time in school history."

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