Clemson Football Oppo Research: North Carolina State Wolfpack

With the expansion of the league and moving away from divisions, Clemson Football is seeing some rival ACC teams less than in the past. There are two main exceptions: Florida State and their Week 4 opponent, the Wolfpack.

What: NC State Wolfpack at Clemson Tigers

When: September 21st, time to be determined

Where: Clemson Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina

Series History: Clemson leads the all-time series 60-30-1. The Wolfpack won last year’s contest 24-17 and the past two games played in Raleigh. NC State has not beaten Clemson in Death Valley since 2002.

North Carolina State 2023 Statistics

All stats per teamrankings.com against FBS competition only

Points per game: 24.7 (74th)

Yards per game: 337.9 (95th)

Points allowed per game: 21.9 (29th)

Yards allowed per game: 343.9 (34th)

NC State’s defense was good, but not great. You can’t even put their 2023 offense in the good category. So how did this team go 9-4 last season?

As distasteful as some Tiger fans might find it to be, head coach Dave Doeran deserves credit for how he navigated the 2023 season for his team. The Wolfpack indeed caught Clemson at their lowest point of the season, but it wasn’t just that weekend. Doeran also guided the Wolfpack to victories over Miami and North Carolina. Like Clemson, they finished the season on a five game winning streak.

Doeran does deserve his fair share of criticism though for the way he handled the quarterback position last year. Both players he danced around in 2023, Brendan Armstrong and MJ Morris, have departed. The Wolfpack have brought in former Coastal Carolina quarterback Grayson McCall to run the offense for OC Robert Anai.

The primary target for McCall should be Kevin Concepcion, last season’s Rookie of the Year in the conference. The Pack has also added wide receiver Noah Rogers from Ohio State. Rogers was highly rated out of high school but he was buried on the depth chart in Columbus. This will be our first chance to see if he will live up to his billing.

The third major transfer on the offensive side is Jordan Waters from Duke. Waters was the leading rusher for the Blue Devils last season, coming in just over 800 yards and 12 touchdowns.

If all these pieces gel under Anai, the State offense could be potent. The catch is the same could be said last season, and things never gelled.

Don’t be fooled by the departure of Payton Wilson. The Wolfpack still has plenty of talent spread across the defense. There are five returning regular starters and several players who filled in when injuries crept up. Aydan White was a 2nd team All-ACC cornerback in 2023. Safety Devan Boykin was their leading tackler last season, but he is recovering from an ACL tear from December.

NC State has a high ceiling if all the pieces fall together. It isn’t a slam dunk, though. McCall has never competed in a Power conference and Rogers has barely seen the field after redshirting his first season with the Buckeyes.

With regards to this matchup with the Tigers, there is that stat mentioned above: it has been over two decades since NC State has won a game in Death Valley. It isn’t beyond their capabilities – Doeran has gotten multiple monkeys off the Wolfpack’s back during his tenure – but Clemson will be able to match their strength (defense) to State’s strength (offense).