Aug 277 min read

2024 NC State Football Preseason Predictions!!

Intro

The 2024 NC State football season is nearly upon us! The TRT crew has gone through each game on the schedule and given their takes on how they think each game will shake out this year. The team gets 12 opportunities to prove themselves on the field, and we get 12 opportunities to prove how good we are at predicting said games. Let's get started!

Week 1 vs Western Carolina - Thu, 8/29/24

For the season opener, the staff was unsurprisingly in sync with how the game would turn out. We are most excited to see the new offense get going.

Name	Points For	Points Against	Outcome (W/L)	Result
ESPN Predicto-Bot	99%	1%	W	0.99-0.01 (W)
Alec Lower	52	14	W	52-14 (W)
Essad Malik	41	9	W	41-9 (W)
Trey Lower	38	24	W	38-24 (W)
Joel Seagle	54	17	W	54-17 (W)

Week 2 vs Tennessee - Sat, 9/7/24

Things get serious down in Charlotte as the Pack goes to town for hopefully the first of two trips this season. Unfortunately, neither the crew or the ESPN odds machine predicts a positive outcome for the Wolfpack, but here's hoping we're all wrong.

Name	Points For	Points Against	Outcome (W/L)	Result
ESPN Predicto-Bot	30.10%	69.90%	L	0.311-0.699 (L)
Alec Lower	28	40	L	28-40 (L)
Essad Malik	17	34	L	17-34 (L)
Trey Lower	35	56	L	35-56 (L)
Joel Seagle	35	38	L	35-38 (L)

Week 3 vs La Tech - Sat, 9/14/24

The schedule breaks out nicely for NC State here. Win or lose against Tennessee, the Pack get another tuneup game prior to the monster matchup in Week 4. Expect a (hopefully) relatively comfortable win in this one.

Name	Points For	Points Against	Outcome (W/L)	Result
ESPN Predicto-Bot	90.70%	9.30%	W	0.907-0.093 (W)
Alec Lower	55	10	W	55-10 (W)
Essad Malik	37	10	W	37-10 (W)
Trey Lower	63	21	W	63-21 (W)
Joel Seagle	38	21	W	38-21 (W)

Week 4 @ Clemson - Sat, 9/21/24

NC Starts off their ACC campaign with inarguably the biggest game of the year. Dave Doeren has yet to win a game in Death Valley, will this be the year? Most of the team is thinking positively about the matchup this time around. And yet the matchup predictor still leans heavily towards Clemson

Name	Points For	Points Against	Outcome (W/L)	Result
ESPN Predicto-Bot	29.80%	70.20%	L	0.298-0.702 (L)
Alec Lower	31	24	W	31-24 (W)
Essad Malik	24	31	L	24-31 (L)
Trey Lower	42	27	W	42-27 (W)
Joel Seagle	35	24	W	35-24 (W)

Week 5 vs Northern Illinois - Sat, 9/28/24

A recurring theme with the schedule will be how favorable it is for NC State. Not just with the lack of upper echelon matchups in conference, but also with how the first half the schedule breaks out. Each of the premiere games vs Tennessee and Clemson have winnable game both before and after prior to the conference schedule getting rolling in earnest. The panel feels this will be a great opportunity to get the whole team rounding into midseason form.

Name	Points For	Points Against	Outcome (W/L)	Result
ESPN Predicto-Bot	89.60%	10.40%	W	0.896-0.104 (W)
Alec Lower	38	24	W	38-24 (W)
Essad Malik	27	10	W	27-10 (W)
Trey Lower	41	18	W	41-18 (W)
Joel Seagle	42	21	W	42-21 (W)

Week 6 vs Wake Forest - Sat, 10/5/24

Old friends NC State and Wake Forest meet once again in one of the last matchups in the century-long streak before conference realignment causes this matchup to be played more infrequently. The panel is confident that this will not be a similar case to 2018 when the Pack were the more talented team and lost a home game to an upstart Deacons team.

Name	Points For	Points Against	Outcome (W/L)	Result
ESPN Predicto-Bot	75.80%	24.20%	W	0.758-0.242 (W)
Alec Lower	45	17	W	45-17 (W)
Essad Malik	37	17	W	37-17 (W)
Trey Lower	38	24	W	38-24 (W)
Joel Seagle	42	17	W	42-17 (W)

Week 7 vs Syracuse - Sat, 10/12/24

Another favorable factor of the 2024 schedule is that the Wolfpack get a three game home stand after going to Clemson before playing three out of the final five games on the road. The Pack should be able to take care of business in this one.

Name	Points For	Points Against	Outcome (W/L)	Result
ESPN Predicto-Bot	77.40%	22.60%	W	0.774-0.226 (W)
Alec Lower	34	20	W	34-20 (W)
Essad Malik	37	31	W	37-31 (W)
Trey Lower	31	28	W	31-28 (W)
Joel Seagle	38	14	W	38-14 (W)

Week 8 @ Cal - Sat, 10/19/24

Classic ACC matchups in back to back weeks between Cal and Stanford (I look forward to seeing the Cal-Stanford band-on-the-field game in a future ACC Network montage). This one has trap game written all over it, so beware! Cal might not be that good this season but they're going to sneak up somebody this year, and it's likely going to be one of these teams traveling cross country without a bye week the week prior (they're off the week after this). Even the matchup predictor, always a rubicon of accurate predictions, has this one uncomfortably close, leaning to Cal currently. NC State could very well lose this game, even though they really really really shouldn't.

Name	Points For	Points Against	Outcome (W/L)	Result
ESPN Predicto-Bot	45.30%	54.70%	L	0.453-0.547 (L)
Alec Lower	28	25	W	28-25 (W)
Essad Malik	23	13	W	23-13 (W)
Trey Lower	17	34	L	17-34 (L)
Joel Seagle	52	38	W	52-38 (W)

Week 9 vs Stanford - Sat, 11/2/24

After eight straigh weeks, NC State will finally get a bye week, the longest such streak in Dave Doeren's tenure. They get to be rested and welcome in the other former PAC-12 team (RIP) . Doeren teams have generally come out very focused post-bye, and this is a favorable matchup to see in this spot, given the last three weeks will be challenging. Hoping for a comfortable day at the office in this one.

Name	Points For	Points Against	Outcome (W/L)	Result
ESPN Predicto-Bot	79.10%	20.90%	W	0.791-0.209 (W)
Alec Lower	55	16	W	55-16 (W)
Essad Malik	37	24	W	37-24 (W)
Trey Lower	56	13	W	56-13 (W)
Joel Seagle	48	10	W	48-10 (W)

Week 10 vs Duke - Sat, 11/9/24

Manny Diaz got a raw deal at Miami, and his Duke teams will be highly competitive. The panel is split on who they think will be coming out on top in this one. Either way, thankfully the game is at home this time around...

Name	Points For	Points Against	Outcome (W/L)	Result
ESPN Predicto-Bot	69.50%	30.50%	W	0.695-0.305 (W)
Alec Lower	29	17	W	29-17 (W)
Essad Malik	13	27	L	13-27 (L)
Trey Lower	34	17	W	34-17 (W)
Joel Seagle	35	17	W	35-17 (W)

Week 11 @ Georgia Tech - Thu, 11/21/24

Prior to the season, this stunk to high hell like a trap game. But after GT beat FSU in the week 0 game in Ireland, they've put the whole conference on notice. After beating Miami last year (thanks, Mario!) and FSU this year, the Yellow Jackets aren't sneaking up on anyone this year. They're going to put the usually stout NC State run defense to the test, as they had the Noles in the spin cycle last Saturday. Between Clemson, Cal and UNC among others, the Wolfpack will have their hands full with containing the run this season. The ESPN bot has now shifted this game slightly towards GT, perhaps things will shift back as the season rolls along? We'll see. A saving grace in this one is NC State gets. to play two games after a bye then has another bye heading into these last two games against GT and UNC (both road games).

Name	Points For	Points Against	Outcome (W/L)	Result
ESPN Predicto-Bot	47.5%	52.50%	L	0.475-0.525 (L)
Alec Lower	41	38	W	41-38 (W)
Essad Malik	24	21	W	24-21 (W)
Trey Lower	30	24	W	30-24 (W)
Joel Seagle	45	37	W	45-37 (W)

Week 12 @ UNC - Sat, 11/30/24

Maybe NC State should let UNC win this game just to play the long game and rope them into keeping Mack Brown long term? Hmm, nahhhhh, blast them fools. One of my favorite running jokes right now is when the new CFB '25 video game shows the rivalry matchup of NC State @ UNC, the stadium is: A) fully packed, and B) fully blue in the stands. The reality, obviously, is how much blue there would be in an otherwise empty stadium. All that being said, you never know what may happen in this game. And if the Wolfpack need a win to go to Charlotte, then know that Mack will do everything he can to play the spoiler if they otherwise have nothing left to play for. In other words, hold on to your butts.

Name	Points For	Points Against	Outcome (W/L)	Result
ESPN Predicto-Bot	52.30%	47.70%	W	0.523-0.477 (W)
Alec Lower	35	23	W	35-23 (W)
Essad Malik	45	17	W	45-17 (W)
Trey Lower	44	21	W	44-21 (W)
Joel Seagle	42	10	W	42-10 (W)

Summary of Season Predictions

We've already gone through our personal definitions of what constitutes a successful vs disappointing season. How did the panel predict the Wolfpack season results will align with their expectations of what makes a successful season?

Schedule	Name
	ESPN Predicto-Bot	Alec Lower	Essad Malik	Trey Lower	Joel Seagle
Week 1 (Thu, 8/29) vs WCU	W	W	W	W	W

Week 2 (9/7) vs Tennessee	L	L	L	L	L

Week 3 (9/14) vs La. Tech	W	W	W	W	W

Week 4 (9/21) @ Clemson	L	W	L	W	W

Week 5 (9/28) vs NIU	W	W	W	W	W

Week 6 (10/5) vs WtFU	W	W	W	W	W

Week 7 (10/12) vs Syracuse	W	W	W	W	W

Week 8 (10/19) @ Cal	L	W	W	L	W

Week 9 (11/2) vs Stanford	W	W	W	W	W

Week 10 (11/9) vs Duke	W	W	L	W	W

Week 11 (Thu, 11/21) @ GT	L	W	W	W	W

Week 12 (11/30) @ unc	W	W	W	W	W


Predicted Record	8 - 4	11 - 1	9 - 3	10 - 2	11 - 1
Predicted Conf Record	5 - 3	8 - 0	6 - 2	7 - 1	8 - 0

Both Alec and Joel are VERY high on the opportunities presented this season. Finishing with a lone loss to Tennessee plus an ACC championship would likely vault NC State to a top 4 CFP berth. Trey and I have more metered expectations. A final record of 10-2 (7-1) might get you to Charlotte, but the path requires a win at Clemson no matter what. With FSU already posting a loss, that game in Death Valley is already the marquee game in the conference through September.

How do you think we did picking the games? Where do YOU think the Pack will finish out this season??