The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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and capped the in-state sweep by thrashing UNC 41-10 in Chapel Hill. Following the UNC triumph, The News and Observer led its sports section with the headline: "NC State Owns the State." NC State will travel to Wake Forest and Duke in 2013, and host UNC and ECU. On paper, the two home games would appear to be the toughest challenges in a quest for another mythical state title. Recent history would suggest otherwise, though. The last time NC State won in Winston-Salem was when George W. Bush was just a few months into the job as president in 2001. Even that win was a nail-biter in which State prevailed 17-14. The series with Duke has been littered with close games in the past. In the previous 15 contests, NC State has won 13 of them, but nine of the 15 were decided by seven points or less. Expect the Pack to have a better chance at holding serve at home. 3. The Pack will have a much-improved run game in 2013. The offensive line has question marks, and NC State has not had a rusher reach 1,000 yards since T.A. McLendon ran for 1,101 in 2002. In the past 20 years, Tremayne Stephens was the only other Wolfpack runner to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards in a season when he compiled 1,142 in 1997. However, the new offense being installed at NC State has proven to be good for rushing numbers. In 2011 at Northern Illinois, quarterback Chandler Harnish ran for 1,379 yards and running back Jasmin Hopkins nearly eclipsed 1,000, finishing at 956 yards. As a team, the Huskies rushed for 234.1 yards per game. The following year, quarterback Jordan Lynch ran for 1,815 yards and NIU averaged 238.2 yards rushing a contest. NC State's offense has not generated at least 200 yards rushing per game since 1992 (205.3), and you have to go back to 1980-81 to find back-to-back campaigns reaching that mark. Over the past 15 years, NC State has rushed for at least 140 yards per game in a season only twice, and never more than the 147.0 yards it averaged in 2004. Doeren put a heavy emphasis on running the football during State's final scrimmage, which was Aug. 16. "The run game to me is the only way you can be a successful team in the fourth quarter, to be able to run the football and hopefully we can get better at it," Doeren noted. Expect that emphasis in the new offensive schemes to show marked improvements in NC State's rushing attack this fall. punter to average at least 40 yards a punt since John Deraney averaged 40.1 yards in 2005. Sade was not as accurate in 2012 as he had been as a rookie, making just 13 of 23 field goals. He made only 3 of 6 from 3039 yards, after making all five tries from that range as a freshman. However, Sade also made five field goals of 40 yards or longer, including a 50-yarder with 1:58 to go in the fourth quarter to temporarily tie the game at Miami. That was not Sade's only clutch field goal last season. He nailed a 43-yarder with 32 seconds left to seal a 20-18 win at Maryland. Expect that the pieces will really start to come together nicely in 2013. Junior Niklas Sade will be entering his third season as the Wolfpack's starting placekicker after having gone a combined 24 of 39 on field goals in 2011-12. Photo by Ken Martin 4. The kicking game will come together this fall. The kids are growing up on special teams. Placekicker Niklas Sade, punter Wil Baumann and long snapper Scott Thompson all entered college together in the fall of 2011 practically guaranteed they would be handling all aspects of the kicking game as true freshmen. Over the next two years, there have been some growing pains. Thompson's snapping has been consistent, but both Sade and Baumann have not. Sade is 24 of 39 on field goals for a 61.5 percent conversion rate, while Baumann has averaged 37.5 and 38.9 yards per punt the last two years. Both, however, are headed in the right direction. Baumann improved his punting average by 1.4 yards in 2012, and a similar jump would make him the first NCSU 5. NC State will go bowling in 2013. The ACC has two more teams in 2013 to compete for its eight bowl slots. The number of bowl opportunities will expand beginning in 2015. However, the two newcomers — Pittsburgh and Syracuse — are not projected to be among the top teams in the ACC. Syracuse was picked to finish sixth in the Atlantic, while Pittsburgh was tabbed to place fifth in the Coastal in the ACC media's preseason poll. There is no question that NC State is in a rebuilding mode. The Wolfpack lost some of its most talented performers from last season, faced an uncertain situation at quarterback heading into the opener and made big changes on offense after the coaching change. That combination does not typically translate to a successful season capped with a bowl game. NC State, though, is not alone in rebuilding. The Pack will likely be heavy underdogs when hosting Clemson Sept. 19 and traveling to Florida State Oct. 26. The other 10 games on the schedule do not include nearly as daunting a task. When CBS Sports released its preseason top 126, NC State checked in at No. 50. Clemson was No. 6 and FSU No. 11. The only other State opponent ranked ahead of the Pack was UNC at No. 38, and the Heels have to travel to Raleigh this year — a place they have not won since 2005. The next ranked opposition was ECU at No. 56, and the Pirates also have to play at NCSU. The Pack plays eight home games this year. State has not had a losing season at Carter-Finley Stadium since 2007. Over the five years since, NC State has gone 25-9 at home, including 16-3 the last three seasons. Against ranked opponents at Carter-Finley since 2007, NC State is 6-3. Expect the Pack to use the schedule to its advantage and play in a bowl game despite being in rebuilding mode. ■ 44 ■ the wolfpacker 42,44.FB Five Predictions.indd 44 8/23/13 3:02 PM