NC State Football: Wolfpack are ACC’s biggest mystery in 2018
An underrated team expected to contend in the ACC is NC State football following a nice undefeated start through two weeks.
The two opponents that NC State football started off the 2018 campaign with haven’t given fans around the ACC much insight into how good this team will actually be this fall. Many expected the Wolfpack to contend in the upper echelon of the ACC with star senior quarterback Ryan Finley returning for one more year in Raleigh.
In the first two weeks of the season, NC State took on FCS James Madison Dukes and the Georgia State Panthers. While you can’t argue with the strength of JMU for being an FCS program, it shouldn’t be an issue for a team that is considered to be borderline top 25 like NC State. Georgia State didn’t give NC State too much trouble either.
NC State steadily controlled its Week 2 matchup with Georgia State for the entire game. It took a 10-7 lead in the first quarter and shutout the Panthers for the rest of the game. Finley racked up 370 passing yards and two touchdowns to just one interception. Meanwhile, junior NC State wide receiver Kelvin Harmon led the way for the receiving corps with 129 yards on eight catches.
Despite so many off-season losses on the defensive side of the ball, the NC State defense is holding up quite nicely to start the 2018 campaign. NC State has allowed just 20 points through the first two weeks of action this year.
After this victory over Georgia State, NC State should be very close to cracking the top 25 in both the AP and Coaches Poll. NC State has garnered a significant amount of votes in the first two editions of each poll but still remains outside the top 30 at this point.
Things ramp up in a big way for the Wolfpack in Week 3 as superstar quarterback Will Grier and the West Virginia Mountaineers come to Raleigh to try and knock off Finley. Both West Virginia and NC State look to come into Week 3 undefeated since the Mountaineers are facing Youngstown State in Week 2.
dark. Next. Top 30 breakout candidates for 2018 season
Once the West Virginia matchup is over, NC State only has one more game before it will move into ACC play. NC State is looking to make its mark by competing with the Clemson Tigers and Virginia Tech Hokies at or near the top of the ACC standings. Up to this point, NC State is the hardest team to figure out that could compete for a conference title in the ACC.