NC State opens season at Louisville

The NC State football schedule for the 2020 season was released Wednesday, and the Wolfpack will play eight teams that reached bowl games.

Here is a synopsis of the returning talent for the 12 opponents:

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New coach Scott Satterfield turned a 2-10 Cardinals program into 8-5 this past year. Redshirt junior quarterback Micale Cunningham, redshirt sophomore running back Javian Hawkins, junior wide receiver Tutu Atwell and fifth-year senior wide receiver Dez Fitzpatrick all return from a big-play offense. Cunningham passed for 2,065 yards and 22 touchdowns, and added 482 rushing yards and six scores on the ground. Hawkins rushed for 1,525 yards and nine scores, and Atwell was a big-play threat with 1,276 receiving yards and 12 scores, plus is a factor in the return game. Senior linebacker C.J. Avery led the Cardinals with 93 tackles, three sacks and six passes defended.

The Bulldogs fired Joe Moorhead after two years (14-12) and hired Washington State coach Mike Leach, which will shake things up in the SEC. Leach has gone 139-90 between his eight years at Washington State and 10 years at Texas Tech. He has gone to 16 bowls in 18 years. Louisville topped Mississippi State 38-28 in the Music City Bowl. The Bulldogs will have to sort through their quarterback situation, with former Charlotte Christian signal caller Garrett Shrader playing as a true freshman. Senior middle linebacker Erroll Thompson led MSU with 84 tackles.

The Trojans welcome back junior running back DK Billingsley, who rushed 155 times for 901 yards and 10 touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Kaylon Geiger also returns, and he caught 77 passes for 873 yards and five scores. Junior middle linebacker Carlton Martial might be undersized at 5-10 and 216 pounds, but he packs a punch. He led Troy with 114 tackles, four sacks, three forced fumbles and three interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown.

Junior quarterback Nolan Henderson played extensively in five games last year. The 6-1, 185-pounder went 71-of-126 passing for 933 yards, nine touchdowns and just one interception. Sophomore running back Will Knight led the Blue Hens with 125 carries for 919 yards and seven scores, plus 20 receptions for 275 yards and a touchdown. Junior wide receiver Thyrick PItts, Jr. is a big target at 6-3 and 200 pounds, and he caught 41 passes for 647 yards and three scores. Junior linebacker Kedrick Whitehead led Delaware with 102 tackles and added an interception last year. The defense had just six sacks on the season.

The 38-year-old Mike Norvell has become the 11th coach in Florida State history. He went 38-15 in four years at Memphis, including going 12-1 this past season. The Tigers lost their bowl game against Penn State to finish 12-2, but Norvell didn’t coach in the Cotton Bowl. Senior safety Hamsah Nasirildeen led the Seminoles with 101 tackles, plus three forced fumbles and two interceptions. Star senior defensive tackle Marvin Wilson surprisingly returned to college, and he had 44 tackles, five sacks and one forced fumble. FSU has gone multiple years with offensive line struggles, but returns big-play junior wide receiver Tamorrion Terry, who had 1,188 yards and nine touchdowns.

The Blue Devils will be breaking in a new starting quarterback, but return senior running back Deon Jackson and senior tight Noah Gray, plus four starting offensive linemen. Jackson rushed for 641 yards and six touchdowns, and caught 21 passes for 192 yards and two scores. Gray had a team-high 51 receptions to go with 392 yards and three touchdowns. Fifth-year kicker AJ Reed went 15 of 18 with a long of 51 yards. Fifth-year senior defensive end Victor Dimukeje had 41 tackles and 8.5 sacks, and redshirt junior defensive end Chris Rumph II added 47 tackles and 6.5 sacks.

The Tigers reached the NCAA title game, but fell 42-25 to LSU in New Orleans. Clemson will take aim for another title shot behind star junior quarterback Trevor Lawrence, senior running back Travis Etienne and sophomore wide receiver Justyn Ross. Lawrence threw for 3,665 yards and 36 touchdowns, plus eight interceptions. He added 563 rushing yards and nine scores. Etienne surprisingly came back to college, after rushing for 1,614 yards and 19 scores. Ross will be the No. 1 target, and he had 66 catches for 865 yards and eight scores. Senior middle linebacker James Skalski is back to anchor the defense. He had 90 tackles, 4.5 sacks and one forced fumble.

Wake Forest lost star quarterback Jamie Newman, who graduated and transferred to Georgia. Former starter Sam Hartman will take over and he should be a fine stop-gap starter. He threw for 830 yards and four touchdowns last year, but still preserved his redshirt season. The good news is that redshirt junior wide receiver Sage Surratt and senior defensive end Carlos Basham Jr. both turned down the NFL to return to WFU. They were both first-team All-ACC selections. Surratt caught 66 passes for 1,001 yards and 11 touchdowns in just nine games of the season due to injury. Basham had 57 tackles, 11 sacks and three forced fumbles. Junior star kicker Nick Sciba is also back and he went 24 of 25 on field goals with a long of 45.

BC hired Ohio State co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Jeff Hafley, who had been in the NFL from 2012-18. The Eagles lost star running back AJ Dillon to the NFL and quarterback Anthony Brown will be a graduate transfer elsewhere. Former walk-on quarterback Dennis Grosel played extensively over the last eight games, and he passed for 983 yards and nine touchdowns, and rushed for 209 yards and two scores. Four starters are back on the offensive line and junior running back David Bailey rushed for 844 yards and seven scores. Fifth-year senior weakside linebacker Max Richardson led the Eagles with 108 tackles, 3.5 sacks and one forced fumble.

The Orange went from 10-3 in 2018 to not being bowl eligible last year. The defense lost seven starters, plus elite punter Sterling Hofrichter. Syracuse will rebuild around four starters on the offensive line, and hope for improvement from redshirt junior quarterback Tommy DeVito, who will get challenged for the job. He threw for 2,360 yards and 19 touchdowns and only five interceptions. Redshirt junior kicker Andre Szmyt returns and he went 17 of 20 on field goals with a long of 50. Junior safety Andre Cisco will anchor the defense, and had 65 tackles and ACC-high five interceptions in nine games last year. He has 12 picks for his career.

Former Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze overcame serious back issues to coach the Flames to a 23-16 win over Georgia Southern in the FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl. The offense will take a hit with quarterback Stephen Calvert, running back Frankie Hickson and star wide receiver Antonio Gandy-Golden exhausting their eligibility. Fifth-year senior running back Joshua Mack rushed 133 times for 774 yards and seven touchdowns last year. Nose guard Ralfs Rusins, who is 6-5 and 315 pounds, anchors the defense. He had 60 tackles and two sacks last year.

North Carolina coach Mack Brown helped turn around the program in the first year of his second stint with the Tar Heels. Sophomore quarterback Sam Howell proved to be the impetus for the success. He threw for 3,641 yards and 38 touchdowns. Wide receivers Dyami Brown, a junior, senior Dazz Newsome and senior Beau Corrales all return, with Brown and Newsome both topping 1,000 receiving yards. The trio caught a combined 28 touchdowns. Former quarterback turned linebacker Chazz Surratt blossomed at his new position. The senior had 115 tackles, 6.5 sacks and one interception.

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