Can NC State beat the College Football odds and win more than 7 games this season?

2018 Wolfpack Preview: Assessing the NC State Schedule

Is there a tough road ahead for the Wolfpack in 2018? The ACC is no cakewalk, not with Clemson, Florida State, Miami, and Virginia Tech in the mix. When looking at college odds, they have NC State projected to win just seven or seven-and-a-half games. But the 2018 schedule favors the Wolfpack, and this should be another exciting season.

How Many Games Can The Pack Win?

It might sound overly optimistic, but the Wolfpack could start the first half of the season 6-0. The biggest challenge early on comes in the form of the No. 17 West Virginia Mountaineers. But the Mountaineers are starting their season a little banged up. That could very well get compounded given the fact that they go straight into a tough game against a resurging Tennessee Vols squad in Week 1. 

The Mountaineers are riddled with injuries, especially on defense. And when dealing with a team who already has a lot of question marks surrounding the defensive unit, this isn’t a good thing. WVU is fast and has a powerful offense, but holes in the defense are going to be picked apart by Ryan Finley, Kelvin Harmon, Jakobi Meyers, Reggie Gallaspy and a solid offensive line.

This is one of the toughest games on the schedule, and it is winnable. When looking at WVU fan forums, this is one of two games that is making Mountaineer fans nervous. It’s being said that in Week 3, we’ll see what WVU is made of. Even ESPN’s matchup predictor favors the Wolfpack in this showdown.

The pack lost a good chunk on defense since last year, nine starters to be exact. Chubb will obviously be missed in the middle but having Darian Roseboro back to lead the defensive line and Germaine Pratt holding it down at LB, the front seven is still going to be a force to be reckoned with. Comparing WVUs defense to NC State’s, the edge goes to the Wolfpack by a mile or more. And in what is going to amount to an offensive shootout, the team that gets key stops is the one that will walk away the victors. But toughness just isn’t West Virginia’s forte, and NC State will win this game on the solid defensive play.

There is a very good chance that the Wolfpack enters their Week 7 game against Clemson at 6-0 and possibly ranked. Clemson has arguably the best defense in all of college football and is an offensive powerhouse as well. It is unfortunate, but this could be the first loss of the season. That said, Syracuse did manage to upset the Tigers last year; so the Wolfpack will be barking dogs with the possibility of an upset.

Speaking of Syracuse, they could show up to play. But this is should be another solid win for the Pack if everyone is healthy. The Orange dropped their last five games of the season after their miraculous 27-24 win over No. 4 Clemson. Wake Forest, Louisville, and Boston College combined for 162 points against the Orange in the last three games of the season and their defense has gotten much better over the offseason.

Next in line is No. 19 FSU and Wake Forest. Then Louisville and UNC. All of the games are winnable. The Pack beat the Noles 27 to 21 last time around and shredded the Cardinals 39 to 25. The only loss from these four teams that close out the season came from Wake Forest.

Florida State and Wake Forest will both be tough games. But if all goes well, we could be looking at a 10-win season for NC State. And another 9-wins season seems easily within reach.