It Begins.

10-2 or bust

12/27/2016 9:29:55 AM

OOC we play South Carolina (in Charlotte), @ND, Furman, Marshall.

Home ACC games vs UNC, UL, Clemson, Syracuse

Road ACC games @FSU, @Pitt, @BC, @Wake

This should be DD's most veteran and talented and deep team. Hoping for 8-4, 5-3 at a minimum. 7-5 feels like we're stagnant. Definitely need to get over that 3-5 hump in the ACC.

12/27/2016 10:55:18 AM

5-3 MINIMUM in the ACC? That would be great considering games vs Clemson, UL-Lamar, @fsu @ Pitt , UNC , @BC etc.. 5-3 leaves us no margin for error. I am cautiously optimistic we can get to 5-3 but thats probably a ceiling not a min expectation.

A magical 10 win season would probably involve us doing the unheard-of.... Dominating at CF. I just know I'm a happy fan at the moment.

[Edited on December 27, 2016 at 11:29 AM. Reason : D]

12/27/2016 11:23:49 AM

Me thinks 7-6 or 8-5 are likely

12/27/2016 11:28:51 AM

I feel like the programs ceiling is probably an 8-4 regular season

12/27/2016 11:29:27 AM

Quote :

"5-3 MINIMUM in the ACC?"

...

Quote :

"Hoping for 8-4, 5-3 at a minimum."

i'm not saying anything less is a disaster. i'm just saying that i don't think that's completely unrealistic.

3-1 OOC is reasonable. South Carolina is not particularly good. @ND is tough even if they were bad this year. we should beat Furman and Marshall.

UNC loses a lot...that's a totally winnable game. Syracuse, BC, Wake *should* be wins, but of course there are no guarantees. Pitt will have a new QB and no James Connor. Sure, they'll be solid and it's on the road, but not unwinnable. DeShaun Watson-less Clemson at home isn't totally unwinnable either...Clemson should take a step back next year. Still a very good team...but no national title contenders.

Honestly, it's super early to know. But I wouldn't be surprised to see us favored in 7 games (SC, Furman, Marshall, Wake, BC, Cuse, UNC).

We'll be a relatively deep, veteran team. The type of team that can get an upset or two and take care of business against inferior competition. Ignore for a minute that we are NC State and we as fans are prone to be constantly pessimistic and waiting to be letdown. We should return most everybody from our defense (Josh Jones just announced he's officially gone, hoping Chubb stays) that was a top 25 D this year. And we return most everybody on O as well. Losing Dayes hurts and I think we'll have to lean on the pass game more next year. But OL should be fine. WRs should be improved. Finley proved to be a perfectly competent if unremarkable QB. And he can still improve.

We need to make significant improvement in our red zone scoring. And of course some of that falls on the kicker...maybe we'l get an upgrade via grad transfer or something this year.


[Edited on December 27, 2016 at 11:56 AM. Reason : d]

12/27/2016 11:44:59 AM

I'll be curious what the kicking game situation is next year.

12/27/2016 12:21:44 PM

^^
Good post

^
Yeah that can throw a wrench in even the most optimistic prognostication.

12/27/2016 12:43:24 PM

yeah there are certainly things to be concerned about going into next year...and the kicking game is probably the biggest question mark. it lost us two games this year and hurt us in multiple games where we either missed kicks or tried to go for it on 4th down in the red zone and didn't get it because we couldn't trust the kicker in the first place. losing josh jones hurts, he really stepped up this year and improved a lot. the secondary could have been a real strength with him next year, now the unit won't be as experienced, but should still be ok.

12/27/2016 12:50:46 PM

was looking around online and found the following about JaySam in the record books.

currently #7 in TDs from scrimmage, tied with Torry Holt. Ted Brown is #1 with 51. realistically, JaySam could finish #2…Stan Fritts is currently #2 with 42.

JaySam is currently 6th in receptions with 126. he should definitely finish in the top 3 there…only needs 21 catches to get to #3, but would need 74 to catch Cotchery at #1.

you can filter for all-time leaders at state on sports-reference...fun to play around with http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/north-carolina-state/

[Edited on December 27, 2016 at 8:06 PM. Reason : a]

12/27/2016 7:57:26 PM

Quote :

"Pack Pride ?@PackPride 3m3 minutes ago NC State safeties coach Clayton White to be named defensive coordinator at WKU... "

also the PP people have been saying that we definitely will bring in at least one kicker for next year, probably walk-on but possibly a grad transfer

12/27/2016 10:59:11 PM

thank god that coach is gone, the defensive secondary is and will be a big liability next year.

The D line will be good still, but they won't have much help on the backside

12/27/2016 11:28:30 PM

I'm thinking 7 or 8 wins:

Wins: SC, Furman, Marshall, UNC, Syracuse, BC, Wake
Losses: ND (revenge game), UL, Clemson, FSU
50/50: Pitt

It's a favorable schedule against Coastal opponants (avoid GT, VT, and Miami). Maybe, just maybe we get a WTF win against one of the divisional top 3.

12/28/2016 4:25:47 AM

Quote :

"thank god that coach is gone, the defensive secondary is and will be a big liability next year."

ehh...shawn boone and josh jones improved a lot this year. he gets credit for that. he was hired away to be a DC, he must be well-thought of as a coach.

but, yes, fortunately a secondary coach is pretty replaceable

12/28/2016 7:34:29 AM

Eh, we should have a legitimate shot at 8-4. Obviously if we start losing players to the pros or transfer, then that really changes things.

Only clear losses on that schedule are UL, CU, and @FSU.
Yeah Clemson loses Watson but they are loaded with talent across the board, so they're going to be favored to beat us. Louisville and FSU will still be favored by double-digits over us. Only hope at beating UL is that Lamar Jackson gets dinged up early and pulls a Fournette and basically skips his final season to prep for the NFL.

12/28/2016 8:56:43 AM

Or Jackson becomes a WR like braxton miller...bc that's his future in the NFL if he has one

[Edited on December 28, 2016 at 7:07 PM. Reason : M]

12/28/2016 7:06:39 PM

I think Lamar Jackson definitely goes the Randle El/Braxton Miller/Denard Robinson route and becomes either a RB or WR.

That being said, I fully expect him to go balls-to-the-wall next year trying to get a 2nd Heisman.

12/29/2016 8:45:21 AM

bring back the helmet stickers dave...

12/29/2016 12:02:45 PM

Week 1 opponent South Carolina currently on espn about to get their butts pushed in by an AAC team. We should be at least a touchdown favorite.

12/29/2016 2:29:02 PM

muh Cocks will win today

12/29/2016 2:52:03 PM

jk

12/29/2016 4:22:53 PM

Meh, USC will be tough next year. Their biggest "stars" on offense were mainly Freshmen and they'll lose some on D but bring back plenty of experience.

Offense, they lose 1 starter(LT).
Defense, they lose 5 starters(DE, DE, LB, LB, S) but get back 1 from injury(LB).

Their D will still be probably starting 7 seniors next year(currently juniors and starting). Their entire starting D this year were upperclassmen.

[Edited on December 30, 2016 at 5:47 AM. Reason : .]

12/30/2016 5:46:55 AM

They also have a terrible coach.

12/30/2016 6:45:41 AM

The SEC East aint the SEC

12/30/2016 7:34:30 AM

I see another 6-6 year

12/30/2016 8:28:51 AM

Chubb coming back...

1/4/2017 12:45:30 PM

^ Yes, UUUUUGE

There was a presser about 1/2 way through the season I watched and I was positive he was leaving. I just kinda felt like DD has lost the team based on Chubb's non-verbals.

What was his stock looking like?

1/4/2017 12:58:04 PM

Chubb was likely a 3rd rounder with potential for late 2nd with a great combine/interview.

I've already seen a mock for next year that has Chubb in the top 10.

1/4/2017 2:00:19 PM

So he will sit out the Armed Forces Bowl?

1/4/2017 2:06:29 PM

top 10? of which round?

1/4/2017 2:22:31 PM

8 wins, and we win the bowl game to make it 9 on the year.

DD gets an extension and we fire him 2 years later.

1/4/2017 3:03:53 PM

Top 10 of the first round: https://walterfootball.com/draft2018charlie.php

Obviously it's extremely early, but I'd say if he was a 3rd round guy with 2nd round upside this year, that next year if he stays healthy he should be a 2nd round guy with potential for late 1st if he has a strong year/combine.

Pretty sure last year was his first year playing DE and he was #1 in the nation for TFL this year.

1/4/2017 3:10:15 PM

^that's the point i was gonna make...i think it was his second year playing DE, but regardless of it being his 1st ro 2nd...he's still learning the position.

this is very good news. our front 4 should again be one of the best in the ACC. run d was pretty great this year and should be even better in '17

1/4/2017 3:34:38 PM

so barring anything very unexpected, we'll lose 2 starters (Tocho and Dravious) and 2 back-ups (Nelson and Clark) on our defensive two-deep... not too shabby.

1/5/2017 12:15:48 AM

^ josh jones?

1/5/2017 12:45:08 AM

yeah jones has already announced

[Edited on January 5, 2017 at 6:50 AM. Reason : that he's nfl bound]

1/5/2017 6:50:34 AM

haha oh yeah, oops. I knew there was a reason we were more concerned about the secondary.

1/5/2017 12:13:24 PM

I mean we lose 2 starters on offense and 3 starters on defense...that's a pretty big deal considering we were 2 plays away from 9-4 this year.

Now if only Bambard was going to be gone...finding a K will be a very important piece of the puzzle this offseason.

1/5/2017 2:13:03 PM

Quote :

"The GOOD news: NC State ranked 2nd nationally with FIVE different 100-yard receivers in 2016. The BETTER news: Four of them return in 2017 Those four returnees turned in SEVEN 100-yard games last season"

1/18/2017 10:23:43 AM

^ I wasn't really confident in our team next year but after seeing a statistic like that I don't see how we don't dominate the ACC with our ridiculous depth of average WRs.

1/18/2017 2:11:16 PM

i predict we have close wins against scrub teams, get blown out by a few decent teams, then scratch out a few wins to make it to a 6-6 bowl

1/18/2017 2:21:15 PM

Nah we're gonna be good next year.

1/18/2017 3:19:48 PM

NEXT YEAR IS OUR YEAR

1/18/2017 4:16:03 PM

I told a buddy that next year is for DD as this year is for Gott. The DLine analogous to DSJ in that it's a big talent that will be mostly gone after this year. Lots of weapons at skill positions. But poor overall defense could bring both down. People underrating loss of key player (Cat/Dayes). Previous season disappointing.

OK now everyone can tell me how stretched that analogy is.

1/18/2017 5:43:10 PM

Not exactly the same since gott has experienced some legit success with sweet 16s and stuff. But yeah I see the similarities. A put up or shut up year. Talent and experience and depth are there to win 8 or 9 games and take a big step forward.

1/18/2017 6:13:59 PM

Next year will decide what happens with DD because our new AD will be coming in and he's either going to want to keep a winner or find his own guy. So if we aren't at or above .500 in the ACC and looking at 7-8 regular season wins, it's going to be a hard sale to a new AD, though he might not want an immediate bball and fball coaching search.

I don't know why you'd think our WRs are "average", this is probably the best WR core we've had in a very long time in talent and depth. Hines was really coming on strong late last year, Harmon looked great a times, Louis and Ramos are both experienced and have shown big play capabilities. That's not even looking at our redshirt and injured guys coming back that had a lot of buzz, or mentioning JSam or Moss who can line up wide.

If you want to question any offensive position it should probably be RB, that's the biggest question mark for us right now on offense.

1/19/2017 8:59:19 AM

I think we have talent at RB, albeit mostly unproven.

My rankings of question marks
1) cb
2) nic
3) c
4)rb

K would be there but unless we get a grad, I think its just a known bad spot

1/19/2017 9:34:25 AM

^^

Are you implying that a woman is not capable of being the new AD?

1/19/2017 10:18:20 AM

2017 NC STATE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Sat., Sept. 2 vs. South Carolina (Charlotte, N.C.)
Sat., Sept. 9 Marshall
Sat., Sept. 16 Furman
Sat., Sept. 23 at Florida State
Sat., Sept. 30 Syracuse
Thur., Oct. 5 Louisville
Sat., Oct. 14 at Pittsburgh
Sat., Oct. 21 OPEN
Sat., Oct. 28 at Notre Dame
Sat., Nov. 4 Clemson
Sat., Nov. 11 at Boston College
Sat., Nov. 18 at Wake Forest
Sat., Nov. 25 UNC-Chapel Hill


http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/1/24/acc-announces-2017-nc-state-football-schedule.aspx

[Edited on January 24, 2017 at 2:08 PM. Reason : ]

1/24/2017 2:08:07 PM

Quote :

"The Wolfpacker ?@TheWolfpacker 5m5 minutes ago More NCSU's 2017 schedule: 9/2 vs. SC (Charlotte), 9/9 vs. Marshall, 9/16 vs. Furman, 9/23 at FSU, 9/30 vs. Cuse, 10/5 Vs. Lville (Thurs) (1/2) NCSU's 2017 schedule: 10/14 at Pitt, 10/21 BYE, 10/28 at Notre Dame, 11/4 vs. Clemson, 11/11 at BC, 11/18 at WFU, 11/25 vs. UNC (2/2)"

^that

[Edited on January 24, 2017 at 2:09 PM. Reason : 15-0 prolly]

immediate thoughts on the schedule: there's no 3 game stretch that is just terribly daunting. sure, UL on a short week is not ideal. the most daunting (UL, @Pitt, @ND, Clemson) stretch is broken up with a bye week and we get an extra couple days rest after UL since that's a Thursday game....and @ND then Clemson back to back is tough, but at least we get a bye prior to ND. bye week seems like it's in a good spot overall. i like playing unc in the last game of the year

[Edited on January 24, 2017 at 2:13 PM. Reason : 15-0 definitely]

1/24/2017 2:08:41 PM