A Dose of Perspective for NC State Fans After Syracuse

Let’s take a deep breath and put some things in perspective.

In 2017, NC State finished with a 9-4 record, won their bowl game against Arizona State, landed at #23 in the final polls, and had 7 players taken in the NFL Draft this summer. The Wolfpack won 9 games for only the 11th time in school history. They won 6 ACC games for the first time since 1992, a feat that has only been done 6 times ever.

Heading into 2018, no one was projecting NC State to match their win total from the year before, and that was no insult to the current roster. They lost 8 starters on defense, and some key weapons on offense in Nyheim Hines and Jaylen Samuels. The Band of Brothers also lost All-ACC Offensive Linemen Will Richardson and Tony Adams.

The Vegas odds prior to the start of the season was for NC State to win 7 games in 2018. David Hale of ESPN picked the Wolfpack to win 7. At most, people were murmuring about 8 wins. The idea of 9 wins was a stretch.

The possibility of finishing with 9 wins again would have been a major feat heading into the season. Only TWO TIMES in NC State history has NC State had back-to-back seasons with 9 wins.

As the 2018 season began unfolding, expectations shot through the ceiling. NC State started 5-0, a didn’t have to face a dangerous West Virginia team due to Hurricane Florence. Florida State and Louisville, two of the Wolfpack’s Atlantic Division foes who normally are superior, were all out of sync.

With that in mind, an ACC Championship became all the more enticing. The loss to Clemson was disappointing, and losing should always be disappointing.

Wolfpack fans should desire to get the monkey off of their back, and win their first ACC Championship since 1979.

With that being said, beating Clemson would have been an upset. Expecting to beat the Tigers, or be on their level at this point, isn’t realistic. Not yet.

Even after the loss to Clemson, the idea of an 11-1 record was still a possibility…maybe even what people thought should happen.

NC State was a 2-point favorite over Syracuse, and was likely to be a favorite the rest of the season.

Reality: the past two weeks were always going to be the hardest part of this years schedule. Even when the Wolfpack was 5-0, ESPN’s FPI projections still had the Syracuse game as a toss-up.

NC State has played 4 ACC games, and all 4 of those teams are currently ranked in the Top-25, and the Wolfpack has a 2-2 record against them. The Wolfpack is one of 7 schools that have beaten 2 teams currently ranked in the Top-25.

NC State has 5 regular season games left, with a likely bowl game on the horizon. The Wolfpack will likely be favored the rest of the way, but every game has to be played, and no conference game is a gimme.

A 9 win season is still very likely. That’s winning 4 of the next 6 games. Again, back-to-back 9-win seasons has happened TWICE in school history. Would that be disappointing?

A 10 win season is still likely. That’s losing 1 of the next 6 games. Again, NC State has only won double-digit games ONE TIME ever (2002). Would that be disappointing?

If NC State finds a way to win out (which will be EXTREMELY hard), and finishes with an 11-2 record, and you’re still griping about the Clemson and Syracuse losses at the end of the year, I don’t even know how to begin to help you.

If NC State finds a way to finish the season in the Top-25 for the second straight year, which they will likely do, it would be the first time in 26 years that the Wolfpack have done so in back-to-back years.

If the Wolfpack finishes with less than 9 wins, I’ll admit that I’ll be disappointed, but according to realistic preseason expectations, maybe I shouldn’t be.

I know NC State fans want to be on Clemson’s level. I’m one of them. But building a program like that takes time. It takes many years repetitively ranked in the Top-25, and many years with repetitive Top-25 recruiting classes. This year could mark year only the 2nd consecutive year.

Until they get to that next level, there are going to be losses along the way, but that doesn’t mean that things aren’t still moving forward.

Breathe.