NC State Wolfpack football is now the No. 23 team in the country according to the Associated Press college football Top 25.
The Pack advanced to 4-1 with a 31-20 home win over Duke Saturday and is now third in the ACC standings behind the two remaining undefeated teams in the conference: No. 1 Clemson and No. 3 Notre Dame.
It marks the first time NC State has earned a spot in the AP poll since week 11 of the 2018 season when the team was 6-2 following a 47-28 home win against Florida State.
Junior Alim McNeill has been the highest-graded defender of 2020 among Power Five defensive tackles according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). (Ken Martin/The Wolfpacker)
The Wolfpack also earned its first appearance in the Coaches Poll, coming in at No. 22.
NC State's arrival in the AP Poll now sets up a ranked matchup with arch-rival No. 14 North Carolina in Kenan Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 24. It will mark the first time since 1993 that the two schools are ranked in the AP Top 25 entering a head-to-head meeting.
The Wolfpack and the Tar Heels have both been ranked only twice in the 109 previous meetings of the rivalry that started in 1894. The first ranked matchup in the State-Carolina rivalry was in 1979.
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