NC State is consensus preseason pick for second in Atlantic
With just days left till NC State kicks off in Carter-Finley Stadium against South Florida in what will be the start of football for the ACC, the consensus has emerged from the prognosticators: NC State appears to be the second-best team in the Atlantic.
Here were the official ACC preseason predictions from the ACC sportswriters:
Atlantic Division Results
1. Clemson — 1,028 (146)
2. NC State — 804 (1)
3. Boston College — 638
4. Wake Forest — 472
6. Louisville —462
7. Syracuse —202
Coastal Division Results
1. North Carolina — 979 (109)
2. Miami — 881 (28)
3. Virginia Tech — 582 (3)
4. Pitt — 576 (1)
5. Virginia 540 (2)
6. Georgia Tech — 340 (4)
7. Duke — 218
Overall Champion
Clemson - 125
North Carolina - 16
Miami - 3
Virginia - 1
Georgia Tech - 1
NC State - 1
Rivals.com’s Mike Farrell has NC State finishing second in the Atlantic Division with a 9-3 overall record:
"I’m really high on the Wolfpack heading into this season. They’ve got a really good offensive line - potentially the best in the conference (along with B.C.), anchored by Grant Gibson, who might be the best center in all of college football not named Tyler Linderbaum. The line also features tackle Ikem Ekwonu.
"This should be a well-balanced team offensively too, with a really good running back in Zonovan Knight and receiver Emeka Emezie, who broke out in the second half of last season. Nearly the entire defense, outside of Alim McNeill, is back, and Cory Durden is next up to be a disruptor on the interior. If they can get solid-to-above-average QB play from Devin Leary they’ll be right in the second tier of the conference."
Athlon has the Pack also going second in the Atlantic:
"The Wolfpack rebounded in a big way last season. After a 4-8 finish in 2020, NC State went 8-4 and lost two of those games by three points or less. The schedule features a tough crossover (Miami and North Carolina), along with a road trip to Mississippi State in non-conference play this year."
Sporting News joins others in having the Pack finish second in the Atlantic. It also highlighted NC State’s early-season contest against Clemson in Carter-Finley Stadium as a key early-season test:
“The Wolfpack didn't get a shot at the Tigers last year. Clemson won the last meeting 55-10 in 2019. N.C. State is still our pick to finish second in the ACC Coastal, and the game is early enough on the schedule to be interesting.”
Saturday Down South has NC State, that’s right, second in the Atlantic:
Wolfpack are a quarterback away from being the kind of sneaky good team that can ride a, uh, manageable schedule to 9 or 10 wins.
College Football News has predicted every game for NC State. Like everyone else, NC State ends up second in the Atlantic. A year ago they picked NC State to be 6-5 and the Pack went 8-3 in those contests. In 2019, they had NC State being 7-5, but head coach Dave Doeren's squad labored through injuries in a 4-8 campaign.
This year, CFN thinks NC State will go 8-4 overall and 5-4 in the ACC:
Sept. 2 USF W
Sept. 11 at Mississippi State L
Sept. 18 Furman W
Sept. 25 Clemson L
Oct. 2 Louisiana Tech W
Oct. 16 at Boston College W
Oct. 23 at Miami L
Oct. 30 Louisville W
Nov. 6 at Florida State L
Nov. 13 at Wake Forest W
Nov. 20 Syracuse W
Nov. 26 North Carolina W
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