No one expected Dave Doreen to come into NC State and magically make them a contender in his first season. With that being said, last season was a tough pill to swallow.

Six out of the eight experts at CBS picked the Wolfpack to finish 3rd in the Atlantic division in 2013. Athlon projected a 7-5 (3-5) season, with a 4th place finish in the Atlantic, and a #51 overall ranking. USA Today followed suit and predicted nearly identical #53 overall ranking.

As we are all fully aware of, these predictions would have been a dream in hindsight, and what actually took place in 2013 was nightmarish. The Wolfpack failed to attain 5 wins for the first time since 2006, finishing the season with a 3-9 record. They also were winless in ACC play for the first time since 1959, going 0-8.

Now in 2014 we take a look at the projections once again, in hopes that this year they will be closer to the truth. Keep in mind…no one this year is predicting a Wolfpack world takeover…but all of the projections would at least be slightly better than last year.

CBS ranks NC State 51st overall heading into the 2014 season They also give Jacoby Brissett the top newcomer award in the ACC.

“Top newcomer: Jacoby Brissett, QB, N.C. State. The Dave Doeren era can begin in earnest now. He has his quarterback. The Florida transfer has the size and the arm. Can he rally a young team?”

Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports picks he Pack to finish 4th in the Atlantic and his counterpart Stewart Mandel picked them to finish 5th. Athlon thinks that they will finish 6th in the Atlantic, with a 6-6 (2-6), ranking 65th overall and saying this:

There is nowhere to go in the ACC but up for NC State in 2014. After a winless run through the conference in 2013, the Wolfpack have a chance to be much improved thanks to a nice nucleus of returning talent. Just how many of the league rungs they climb remains to be seen.

USA Today is still feeling burned from last year. After predicting a #53 overall ranking in 2013, they had to re-rank them #102 at the end of the season. This season they are projecting them to be the #88 FBS team overall. They also project roughly 5 wins and saying this…

What’s funny about this team is this: N.C. State isn’t good – no, not good – but don’t be surprised if the Wolfpack sneak into bowl eligibility. Thank the schedule, which should leave the Wolfpack no worse than 3-1 heading into ACC play and could – thanks to home games against Boston College and Wake Forest – yield two or three additional wins during conference action. The end result could be one of the flimsiest, least impressive six-win teams in all of college football … and that’d be cool, wouldn’t it? I mean, all six wins aren’t created equal; that doesn’t mean Raleigh wouldn’t smile all winter after a six-win finish

Here’s to the experts. I’ve always dreamed big, and predicted much better for much of my life. But this year, here’s to hoping not finish worst than any of the projections.