The History:
The first time Clemson and NC State met on the gridiron was way back in 1899 in Rock Hill, SC where Clemson took the win 10-0. Clemson leads the overall series with a record of 60-29-1. While this has been a mostly lopsided rivalry, NC State always seems to be one of the hardest games on the schedule for the Tigers. Since 2000 Clemson leads the series 18-4. In the most recent meeting between these teams Clemson won by a score of 30-20 with College Gameday in town. Clemson will travel to NC State this season on October 28th for a road matchup with the Wolfpack.
Dave Doeren Era:
Dave Doeren has been the coach at NC State now for 10 years. Doeren has 72 wins as the head coach, which is good for second best in school history. Behind Dabo Swinney he is the second longest tenured head coach in the ACC and the seventh longest in all of Power 5 football.
NC State Offense:
NC State is losing their star quarterback Devin Leary (transferred to Kentucky) but hopes are still high for the Wolfpack offense this year. Veteran quarterback Brennan Armstrong transferred from Virginia to North Carolina State this offseason to pair back up with his former offensive coordinator Robert Anae. Armstrong and Anae made a very good pair in 2021 at Virginia, Where Brennan Armstrong threw for 4,449 yards, 31 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions. As for the rest of the NC State offense they are returning 5 starters from their offense last year and 62% of their offensive production. North Carolina State finished last season ranked 105th in total offense and averaged only 339.8 yards per game and 4.84 yards per play. The WR room for the Wolfpack will be another big question this season. The leading returning receiver is Keyon Lesane, who caught 31 balls for 342 yards and 2 touchdowns last year. The other two projected starters for NC State this season are Porter Rooks who had 19 catches for 151 yards and Terrell Timmons Jr who had just 3 catches for 79 yards. The addition of Robert Anae and Brennan Armstrong should give this offense a boost but we will really have to wait until we see this team on the field before we get a really good idea as to what this offense will look like.
NC State Defense:
NC State will obviously be bringing back defensive coordinator Tony Gibson for his 4th season with the program. NC State had a very good year in 2022 on the defensive side of the ball where they finished 20th in total defense, 11th in scoring defense, 71st in pass defense, and 11th in rush defense. The Wolfpack bring back 6 starters and 49% of their production on the defensive side of the ball. They do lose their leading tackler from last year in star linebacker Drake Thomas but bring back another star linebacker in Payton Wilson. This will be a veteran-led defense, with the youngest projected starter being juniors. This defense has an opportunity to be a very good unit this season and the offense may need to lean on them a good bit this season.
What To Expect This Year?:
The last time Clemson took the trip up to Raleigh, NC to play the Wolfpack, NC State walked away with the 27-21 victory over Clemson. Clemson’s offense will obviously be much better than the 2021 season and should be very well prepared to head on the road and get a victory. This game becomes a little bit more tricky when you step back and take a bigger look at the schedule and see a big home matchup against Notre Dame looming the following week. Clemson will be plenty battle tested by this point and ready to take care of business. I think this is a game that Clemson wins, but it is a game that could very well be closer than the experts think.
