NC State football finishes the season ranked #24 in ESPN coaches poll

For the first time during Dave Doerens’ tenure, NC State will finish the season ranked in the Top-25 coaches poll.

The Pack, who finished 8-3, came in at #24 in ESPN’s final coaches poll, finishing off what was, for many, an unexpectedly successful season.

While 8-3 is great, and finishing 4th in the ACC is outstanding, we will always be left to wonder what this team would have done with a full season of healthy Devin Leary. This is not to scoff at the job Baily Hockman did. In fact, Hockman was a huge reason the Pack finished in the Top 25. But all 3 of NC State’s losses came when Leary wasn’t on the field.

However, no matter how you slice it, NC State had a great season and likely would have cracked the top 20 if they had held on to upset #11 Miami.

This was supposed to be another rebuilding year, but it seems that process has been expedited. Now it’s about handling expectations and building on the success of 2020.