NC State considered one of college football's most stable programs per ESPN

ESPN college football writer Bill Connelly, the inventor of SP+ rankings, ranked the stability of every FBS program 1-130 Wednesday.

The rankings were determined based on a point value taking into account coaching stability, roster stability and performance stability. The list was divided into pods, including "extreme stability," "high-level stability," "stable enough," "slight instability" and "beware."

NC State came in at No. 16 on the list and was considered one of 17 programs to have "extreme stability." The Wolfpack program was also one of five in the ACC to make the "extreme stability" list.

The Pack earned a total stability value of 36.2 out of 50 possible points (No. 1 Wyoming earned 40.6 points).

NC State earned 19.0 out of 20 points possible for coaching stability, 11.3 out of 20 points possible for roster stability and 5.8 out of 10.0 points possible for performance stability.

Head coach Dave Doeren enters his ninth season with the program this fall and recently signed a contract extension through 2025 this offseason. Doeren is 55-46 overall and 28-38 in conference competition in his eight years in Raleigh.

The Wolfpack also returns 19 returning starters and two second-year coordinators in Tim Beck (OC) and Tony Gibson (DC).

NC State has claimed eight or more wins in three of the last four seasons and has earned a bowl appearance in six of the last seven.

Here is how the rest of the ACC fared in the rest of Connelly's stability rankings:

ACC Rank: Team — Score (National Rank)

"Extreme stability" programs

1. Clemson — 40.3 (No. 2)

2. Pittsburgh — 38.0 (No. 11)

3. Wake Forest — 37.8 (No. 13)

4. Miami — 37.7 (No. 14)

5. NC State — 36.2 (No. 16)

"High-level stability" programs

6. Virginia — 33.4 (No. 27)

7. Duke — 31.2 (No. 37)

8. Syracuse — 30.1 (No. 44)

"Stable enough" programs

9. Virginia Tech — 28.7 (No. 51)

10. Boston College — 27.0 (No. 67)

"Slight instability" programs

11. North Carolina — 23.6 (No. 89)

12. Georgia Tech — 22.9 (No. 93)

13. Florida State — 20.1 (No. 107)

"Beware" programs

14. Louisville — 17.4 (No. 115)

Here was how NC State's 2021 non-conference opponents fared:

Louisiana Tech — 33.3 (No. 28)

South Florida — 20.4 (No. 105)

Mississippi State — 19.1 (No. 110)

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