Click HERE to sign up for a subscription to TheWolfpacker.com and get your FREE gift code for $99 in NC State apparel and gear!

NC State is gunning for its 10th win of the season when the Wolfpack play Texas A&M on Monday in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla.

The Wolfpack (9-3) have only won 10 games once before in school history, and that was also when the program played in the Gator Bowl, defeating Notre Dame 28-6 on Jan. 1, 2003, to finish 11-3.

Can NC State achieve that against Texas A&M and first-year Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher? The Wolfpacker staff offers its predictions.

Consider some of the circumstances for NC State going into this bowl game:

• Best playmaker on offense, junior receiver Kelvin Harmon, not playing.

• Best playmaker on defense, fifth-year senior linebacker Germaine Pratt, not playing.

• Offensive coordinator and architect of the Wolfpack attack, Eli Drinkwitz, not coaching.

• Mentor of the vaunted offensive line, aka the “Band of Brothers,” Dwayne Ledford, not coaching.

Those are some significant parts of the Wolfpack’s arsenal that have to be replaced. Offensive grad assistant Shawn Flaherty is taking over the offensive line for Ledford, who is now at Louisville, while the combination of running backs coach Des Kitchings and receivers coach George McDonald have been promoted to co-offensive coordinator to take over the play calling from Drinkwitz, who is now the head coach at Appalachian State.

It’s a good thing that NC State had a fairly deep receiving corps to start the season because it is now down two after losing fifth-year senior Stephen Louis earlier in the season to injury,. Harmon was the ultimate security blanket for sixth-year senior quarterback Ryan Finley.

Redshirt sophomore Brock Miller started and played well in the overtime win over UNC when Pratt was injured, but Miller is not (at least yet) a first-team All-ACC performer who would have led the ACC in tackles had he not missed that win in Chapel Hill.

You can catch the drift of where I am going with this. I don’t know what the situation at Texas A&M is like, but the Aggies have recruited a talented roster over the years and I have them winning by 10, 38-28.

Texas A&M is always a recruiting force and watching them go toe-to-toe against Clemson and LSU this season, winning the latter in seven overtimes, it's obvious how talented the Aggies are.

NC State is seeking a signature win, with the current best victory against Boston College, which was missing star running back AJ Dillon. There won't be any asterisks next to topping the Aggies, especially with star senior linebacker Germaine Pratt and junior wide receiver Kelvin Harmon not playing, combined with the coaching staff changes.

Texas A&M is a rhythm offense and can be explosive in the passing game. With an offense that just has one senior starter, right guard Keaton Sutherland, it has also been inconsistent this season.

The Gator Bowl could simply come down to who can play pitch and catch best, and that's where missing Harmon hurts NC State. Texas A&M sophomore wide receivers Quartney Davis and Kendrick Rogers are big plays waiting to happen, and junior Jace Sternberger is like a receiver in a tight ends body.

Teams hurt Texas A&M's defense with a mobile quarterback, and that isn't NC State's Ryan Finley. The Aggies secondary is shaky on tackling and coverage, so expect a high scoring game, especially with two key players out with injuries. However, the absence of Pratt and Harmon are major factors for the Wolfpack.

I have Texas A&M winning 41-31.

——

• Talk about it inside The Wolves' Den

• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolfpacker

• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolfpacker

• Like us on Facebook