NC State embracing high preseason rankings
NC State created some school history with its No. 13 preseason ranking in the coaches poll on Monday.
The Associated Press top 25 poll will likely come out next Monday, which has been the preseason poll most recognized. The last time the Wolfpack were in the preseason top 25 was 2003 with a No. 16 ranking. NC State was also preseason No. 25 in 1993, No. 13 in 1975 and No. 18 in 1974.
This group of NC State players is not a stranger to being ranked. The Wolfpack cracked The Associated Press polls last year Sept. 26, then fell out in mid-October after losing to Miami (Fla.), and then were consistently ranked after Nov. 7. NCSU finished 9-3 overall and ranked No. 20 in the final AP poll and No. 18 in the college football playoff poll.
“We are happy to be where we are,” NC State redshirt sophomore cornerback Shyheim Battle said. “It’s a start. We fell out of the rankings at one point. For us to be in the top [25], we definitely appreciate that acknowledgement. We definitely aren’t going to allow that to sink in and think we have arrived or anything like that.
“It is the preseason rankings, but you have to ball out game-to-game and prove what we can do.”
The last time NC State was in the top nine in the country was Sept. 30, 1974, with a No. 8 ranking. The 2002 Wolfpack jumped out to a 9-0 mark and climbed to No. 10 in the country. Going from being the hunter to now the hunted is a new role for the Wolfpack players.
“I’m not really into all that,” NC State junior defensive end Savion Jackson said. “I see that all the time, but I never post about it. I am the kind of person that has always loved the underdog mentality. I feel like that is our program. We could be No. 1 in the country, but I would feel that we still have that underdog mentality.
“People will always doubt NC State. You know the history. We earned it last year, and we have to keep earning it.”
The ACC had five teams in the coaches poll — No. 4 Clemson, No. 13 NC State, No. 16 Pittsburgh, No. 17 Miami (Fla.) and No. 19 Wake Forest. The coaches poll was different in some ways than the ACC media poll July 26, but both had Clemson and NC State at the top.
“We like having that target on our back,” NCSU sophomore left tackle Anthony Belton said. “Either way, we still have to do what we do to get that top spot in the ACC.”
NC State redshirt junior quarterback Devin Leary is no stranger to preseason hype. He was named the ACC preseason of the year, but he knows there is unfinished business.
“It can translate to the player lounge,” Leary said. “Guys are competing every day playing ping pong, pool, and it’s non stop. I think that is what this team is all about.
“We didn’t accomplish anything yet. All the preseason stuff and everything that is being acknowledged, that is always great. We still haven’t accomplished anything.”
Follow on Twitter:
@NCStateRivals or @JaceyZembal
Subscribe for free on YouTube:
For Jacey Zembal or The Wolfpack Central
Like on Facebook:
ATTENTION SUBSCRIBERS: Our NETWORK-WIDE, all-access pass allows you to read every premium message board in the Rivals.com network as part of a bundled add-on to your subscription!
Subscribers can add the All-Access Pass or a 3-Site Bundle in your account profile, under the Subscriptions tab: HERE
