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Musings on Armstrong, KC, Wilson and Doeren after NC State’s Win Over VT

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NC State is now 8-3 after defeating Virginia Tech 35-28 today, and 5-2 in ACC play. 8 wins didn’t seem like a possibility after the Duke loss. Vegas picked the Wolfpack to win 6.5 games before the season began.

Brennan Armstrong won his first game against the Hokies. While Armstrong was the starting Quarterback for Virginia, he lost in the two games he played against them.

Armstrong was unbelievable today, passing for over 200 yards, and rushing for over 100 yards. He rushed for 2 touchdowns, and threw 2 touchdowns. On the night, he was 18 of 26 for 203 yards with a Passing Efficiency Rating of 160.2. Armstrong also rushed the ball 21 times for 89 yards, averaging 4.2 yards per carry. These rushing numbers are massively skewed, because he lost 21 yards rushing kneeling the ball on the final 3 plays. In reality, he rushed for over 100 yards.

Kevin Concepcion continued to show why he’s the best True Freshman in the nation. What can the kid not do? He had 7 receptions for 63 yards and 2 touchdowns. KC also rushed the ball 9 times for 44 yards. Did I mention he threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Tight End Trent Pennix? Concepcion already holds the record for most Touchdown Receptions and Receptions by a True Freshman in school history. Tonight, he passed Bo Hines, and now has the 2nd most receiving yards in NC State history by a True Freshman, trailing only Koren Robinson (KC – 636/Robinson – 853).

Payton Wilson was flying all over the field, finishing the evening with 11 tackles, a sack, and 3.5 tackles for loss. Wilson passed Vaughan Johnson tonight, claiming sole possession of 6th place in NC State history in career tackles (Wilson – 287/Johnson – 384). He also passed Isaiah Moore, Carl Reeves and Willie Young tonight in career Tackles for Loss, and now sits in 4th place, trailing his former teammate Drake Thomas by half a Tackle for Loss (Wilson 46 TFL/Thomas 46.5).

The Wolfpack has now won 8 games or more in 4 consecutive seasons, which has never been done in the history of the NC State football program. Let that sink in.

After losing his first two in Blacksburg, Head Coach Dave Doeren won his first game against the Hokies on their turf.

The Wolfpack managed to go on the road, and win in a place that few NC State teams have. Today’s game was the 17th time the two teams have played in Blacksburg, and this is only the 3rd Wolfpack team to come away victorious (1951 and 2004).

Matthew is Publisher and Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He is also the Lead Pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

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NC State Football

Does the Addition of the UVA Series Equal the Elimination of NC State’s Series with App St.?

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Earlier this week it was announced that NC State and Virginia would play one another in a home-and-home series, with the Wolfpack hosting in 2025, and the Cavaliers hosting in 2026.

Prior to the announcement, NC State already had their non-conference slate booked for both of those seasons.

As a result of the addition of the Virginia series, a previously scheduled non-conference game from each season would need to be dropped. While it hasn’t been officially announced by the school, Joe Giglio and David Glenn seem to think that the series with Appalachian State is going to be dropped.

It would make the most sense, considering the Mountaineers were the only opponent the Wolfpack was scheduled to play in both 2025 and 2026. It would also make sense, considering the fact that ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips isn’t a fan of ACC teams playing Group of 5 schools on the road.

I will tell you this much. The Mountaineer faithful certainly believe NC State is dropping the series with App State, and it just takes a little scrolling on X (formerly Twitter) to get a read on their feelings on the situation.

This situation brings to mind the bill that has been proposed in the North Carolina House of Representatives that would force NC State and UNC to play App St., ECU and UNC Charlotte in Football, Men’s Basketball and Women’s Basketball.

If the addition of UVA means the elimination of App St. on NC State’s schedule, what are your thoughts? Share in the comments.

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CBS Sports Ranks Dave Doeren as 1 of the Top-20 Coaches in College Football

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CBS Sports released their Top-25 Power 4 Coaches in College Football, and NC State’s Dave Doeren came in at #16. Heading into last season, he went into the season ranked #25.

16) Dave Doeren: The NC State coach finally gets some overdue credit. He’s always hovered around the bottom of our top 25 or just outside it, and now he finds himself firmly entrenched in it thanks to all the changes at the top. Coaches who take mid-tier programs and overachieve never get enough credit, in my estimation, and the consistency Doeren has established at NC State — where he spent most of his time in a division with Clemson and Florida State — is one of the most impressive things any coach in the country has done. I’m glad to see Doeren getting closer to the top 15. 2023 rank: 25 (+9) (CBS Sports)

Numerous CBS Sports’ analysts voted in the poll, and Tom Fornelli actually ranked Doeren #8.

ACC Coaches that made the Top-25

3. Dabo Swinney (Clemson)

8. Mike Norvell (FSU)

16. Dave Doeren (NC State)

19. Jeff Brohm (Louisville)

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NC State vs. Tennessee Kickoff Time & TV Network Revealed

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Kickoff time and TV Channel details have been revealed for NC State and Tennessee’s game in the Duke Mayo Classic in Week 2 of next season.

The game will be a primetime game on Saturday 7th, at 7:30pm on ABC.

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This game has the makings to be a Top-25 matchup.

Here’s a look at some of the Way-Too-Early Preseason rankings for the Wolfpack and the Volunteers:

Action Network: NC State #24/Tennessee #17

ON3: NC State #22/Tennessee #15

247: NC State #21/Tennessee #11

ESPN: NC State #17/Tennessee #15

DraftKings released their way-too-early odds for the game, and Tennessee is currently a 5.5-point favorite.

Here’s the deal, as NC State fans, if we want to be a big time Football program, NC State fans need to gobble up tickets to this game. Let’s do our part and make sure that Bank of America Stadium is painted RED. Buy Tickets HERE.

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NC State and UVA Agree to Home-and-Home Non-Conference Games

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NC State announced this morning that the Wolfpack and UVA will play in a home-and-home non-conference series, with the game in 2025 being in Raleigh, and the game in 2026 being in Charlottesville.

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To reiterate, despite the fact that both teams are in the ACC, these games are considered non-conference games, and won’t count toward conference records. This is similar to what UNC and Wake Forest did a few years back.

Here’s what’s interesting about the addition of these games in 2025 and 2026. Prior to the announcement, NC State already had 4 non-conference games scheduled for both years.

It would be my assumption that one of the previously scheduled non-conference games for each season will not take place now.

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