22 ■ THE WOLFPACKER
BY MATT CARTER
he offseason buzz started
immediately.
Hours after Georgia won
the 2021 national cham-
pionship, the "way-too-
early" versions of top 25
polls started being released.
NC State found itself not
just in the top 25, but within the top 10.
The Pack, fresh off a 9-3 finish in a
season that had been cut a game short
when UCLA withdrew in the last hour,
literally, before the San Diego County
Credit Union Holiday Bowl, was No. 9
on The Athletic's list compiled by Stew-
art Mandel. Mark Schlabach of ESPN
had the Wolfpack one spot higher in his
first version.
When winter turned to spring, the
hype seemed to grow greater still. In a
post-spring reassessment of his way-
too-early top 25, Schlabach bumped the
Pack up a ranking to No. 7.
"With so many starters coming back,
there weren't many areas of concern for
the Wolfpack this spring," Schlabach
wrote.
Prior to spring practice, USA Today's
writers did not have NC State ranked
T
AIMING HIGH AIMING HIGH
NC State Is Embracing Lofty Expectations This Fall
