Toughest and most important games remaining for Wolfpack

Now that State has reached the halfway point in its season, here's a look at what to expect from the next six games

Rob Kinnan/USAToday

NC State has reached the midway point in its 2019 football season with a 4-2 record (1-1 in the ACC). With a still-unsettled quarterback situation, a rash of injuries to key players and a difficult schedule remaining, there's still work to do for the Wolfpack to reach its first goal of six wins and bowl eligibility.

Here's a breakdown of the remaining games and how they rank in order of difficulty and importance:

Most difficult

Nov. 9 vs. Clemson: This one goes without saying. The Tigers are the defending national champions and while they haven't been quite as impressive as expected to this point in the season -- coming within a missed 2-point coversion of losing at UNC -- they're still undefeated with a roster full of 5-star players. With the glaring exception of last year's 41-7 annihilation at Death Valley, the Wolfpack has actually hung in there well against Clemson despite having lost seven straight in the series. But even at home, State will have its work cut out for it just staying competitive in this one.

Nov. 2 at Wake Forest: Not only are the Deacons unbeaten and ranked 19th in the nation, but they've traditionally given State trouble. Adding to the degree of difficulty is the fact that BB&T Field has been the Wolfpack's own personal house of horrors in recent years. Wake has held serve on its home field in seven of the last eight meetings there, with the only State win coming in 2015. Jamie Newman and his offense are averaging 38 points and 312 passing yards per game, so this will be a stern test for State's defense and a game the offense might have to put up a big number to win.

Oct. 19 at Boston College: The Eagles might be 3-3 (1-2 in the ACC) with a three-touchdown loss to Kansas at home this season -- Kansas, for crying out loud -- and have dropped two straight conference games heading into this week's open date. But they have shown definite signs of improvement in those two closes losses to Wake Forest and Louisville. And A.J. Dillion is still an explosive back, averaging 124 yards per game and capable of going the distance every time he touches the ball. On the other side of the line, Bailey Hockman will have his hands full against a BC defense that has already intercepted eight passes this season. The game is also on the road, a place that hasn't always been kind to the Wolfpack, especially this season.

Most important

Nov. 21 at Georgia Tech (Thurs.): This is the one game between now and the end of the season that would figure to be a gimme for the Wolfpack. But that's what makes it so important. The task of getting to six wins and bowl eligibility will be considerably earlier if State can go to Atlanta and take care of business against a Yellow Jackets team in the early stages of a complete rebuild. New coach Geoff Collins is replacing precedessor Paul Johnson's triple option attack with a more mainstream offensive philosophy. Tech is 1-4 with a loss to The Citadel on its ledger. Simply put, this is a must win for the Wolfpack.

 Nov. 30 vs. UNC: It doesn't get any more important than Senior Night at Carter-Finley Stadium against a hated rival. Above and beyond the importance of the rivalry game is that it could potentially be one the Wolfpack needs to qualify for the postseason. Not only is the matchup with the Tar Heels an important one, it will also be a lot more difficult than originally expected. UNC under new/old coach Mack Brown is a much different animal than UNC under Larry Fedora ... and with freshman quarterback Sam Howell much farther along in the development process than State's one-time Florida State commit at the position, the Tar Heels have already proven they can hold their own against anyone (even Clemson).

Nov. 16 vs. Louisville: Assuming the Wolfpack gets the job done against Georgia Tech, it will still need at least one more victory to get to the six-win threshold needed for bowl eligibility. While it stands a reasonable chance at winning four of the other five games remaining on the schedule (excluding Clemson, of course), each of those contests is also eminently loseable. And of those games, a rebuilding Louisville would figure to be the most likely to put into the W column. Like UNC, though, the Cardinals are better than first thought in their first season under new coach Scott Satterfield, so it's not the slam dunk it was once thought to be.