North Carolina State Wolfpack
Overall Rank: #52
# 7 ACC
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The Dave Doeren reign as head coach begins in 2013 for the North Carolina State football program. Doeren led the Northern Illinois program the past two seasons to unprecedented heights as the Huskies landed in the Orange Bowl against Florida State. Doeren has a big challenge ahead rebuilding an offense that lost quarterback Mike Glennon. However, with greater resources in Raleigh and a reasonable schedule, a trip to postseason play in year one is definitely reasonable to expect.
2012 Record: (7-6, 4-4)
2012 Bowl: Music City Bowl vs. Vanderbilt (L 24-38)
Coach: Dave Doeren (0-0 at NC State, 23-4 overall)
Offensive Coordinator: Matt Canada
Defensive Coordinator: Dave Huxtable
Returning Leaders:
Rushing: Shadrach Thornton, RB, 694 yards
Passing: None
Receiving: Quintin Payton, WR, 798 yards
Tackles: Dontae Johnson, CB, 70
Sacks: Darryl Cato-Bishop, DE, 6.5
Interceptions: Juston Burris, CB, 3
Other Key Returnees: QB Manny Stocker, LT Rob Crisp, RT Tyson Chandler, RB Tony Creecy, WR Rashard Smith, DT Thomas Teal, DT T.Y. McGill, LB D.J. Green, DE Art Norman
Key Losses: QB Mike Glennon, CB David Amerson, WR Tobias Palmer, LB Ricky Dowdy, S Earl Wolff, OL R.J. Mattes, S Brandon Bishop, LB Sterling Lucas
Strengths:
The pass rush, led by potential NFL players Thomas Teal and T.Y. McGill, is going to be a great place to build the foundation for the new coaching staff. In addition, the defense should improve with the return of senior linebacker D.J. Green, who served a season-long suspension for a positive test on a banned supplement. Green’s experience should help stabilize the line backing core and allow the Wolfpack to play a little more aggressively on defense. Senior cornerback Dontae Johnson will need to be huge in the secondary to create turnovers and create short field opportunities for the rebuilding offense. Offensively, Quinton Payton brings the most experience back at the skill positions and he will have to step up and be the go-to wide receiver early as the offense evolves.
Weaknesses:
The lack of experience coming back on offense is a concern. The running game has not been dominant in recent years, as the Wolfpack have not averaged over 3.5 yards per carry in a season since the 2008 campaign. Sophomore Shadrach Thornton and Tony Creecy will be the two-back combo counted on heavily to pick up the new offensive scheme and perform on the ground. The quarterback position is a question mark after losing Mike Glennon to graduation and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2013 NFL Draft. The leading candidate to replace Glennon is junior Pete Thomas, a transfer from Colorado State. Do not expect a carbon copy of Jordan Lynch in Thomas with the up-tempo offense. However, you could see a more pass oriented approach as Thomas is 6’6” and weighs over 230 pounds. The offensive line only returns two starters so building chemistry right away is going to be a key storyline to watch in fall camp.
The Bottom Line:
If the Wolfpack can learn the offense quickly and be consistent every week, they have a chance to get off to a fast start. The season opens with four straight home games, including Clemson on September 19. If the Wolfpack can get off to a 3-1 start heading into a swing game at Wake Forest then they will be in great position to compete for a seven to eight win season. The only other hostile road trip they have is to Florida State on October 26th. The Seminoles will be looking for payback after last year’s upset win in Raleigh. Overall, the defense should be improved enough to buy the offense time to get rolling and the Wolfpack should be in another bowl game once again in 2013.
Projected Bowl: Music City Bowl
2012 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 111.1 (108th in nation, 9th in conference)
Passing Offense: 310.1 (18, 2)
Total Offense: 421.2 (48, 6)
Scoring Offense: 28.1 (69, 7)
Rushing Defense: 154.8 (52, 7)
Pass Defense: 249.9 (83, 9)
Total Defense: 404.7 (68, 8)
Scoring Defense: 25.6 (52, 4)
Turnover Margin: -0.69 (99, 10)
Sacks: 2.54 (27, 4)
Sacks Allowed: 3.00 (106, 10)
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