by Garrison Wester
The strength of the wolf is the pack, and the strength is the pack of the wolf.
Going into this year’s football season, North Carolina State University was not supposed to be frontrunners for their division.
But they have proved otherwise.
State is in the Atlantic division of the ACC, and they are currently second behind a very talented Wake Forest team. N.C. State and Wake Forest are each a top 25 football team, and they will play each other on November 13th, which will likely decide who will represent the Atlantic Division in the ACC championship game.
As the season has gone on, I have realized that this team is filled with very talented players and coaches. Now, what has this team gone through this year to finally start to be recognized around the nation?
N.C. State had a fairly easy schedule to start off the year, and they certainly took advantage of it. The only game they have lost this year is to Mississippi State, and they beat themselves that game.
The game that finally started to light up State's season was when they played Clemson, then ranked 9th in the nation, at home on September 25th. N.C. State controlled most of the Clemson game, though it did go into overtime. Wolfpack quarterback, Devin Leary, absolutely balled out against Clemson and he was named national quarterback of the week. He threw the ball for 238 yards and four touchdowns against a very talented Clemson defense. His accuracy was astonishing; he completed 32 out of 44 pass attempts. He also got help from star running backs, Ricky Person Jr. and Zonovan Knight. They rushed for a combined 170 yards. Top tier receiver, Emeka Emezie had fourteen receptions for 116 yards and capped it off with a touchdown.
Now let’s not forget about the defense because they were flying around the field making all types of plays. They had two sacks and five tackles for loss. Linebacker, Drake Thomas, had a clutch interception that helped the pack come out with the win. The game was sent into double overtime after both teams scored in the first overtime and State was to start with the ball. I was at the game and there was never a dull moment. The fans were confident that State was going to make a play and they did just that. Devin Leary threw a dime to Devin Carter to take the lead and it made the crowd explode. The defense followed up with a clutch stop that sealed the deal and then the fun began. The fans stormed the field and partied like it was 1999.
After this win, State became ranked 23rd in the nation. They followed with a win against Louisiana Tech and then a bye week. After all of that, they were ranked 22nd in college football.
Their next opponent was Boston College, a game that was played this past Saturday. This was supposed to be a close game, but State absolutely dominated.
The Pack started off slowly with only a 10-7 lead going into half but when it hit the third quarter, they blew it up. They scored 21 points in the third quarter and didn’t let Boston College score again. The final score was 33-7. After this game, I felt that this team earned and deserves their respect.
This team has worked their tails off this year, and they are finally starting to shine. They are now ranked 18th in the nation, and I feel they will reach top fifteen in the coming weeks.
State's head coach Dave Doreon feels like his team deserves more respect and I feel that way also with the great performances they have shown us.
Note: all op-eds do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Knight's Post or Greenfield School.
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