Official NC State Win Predictions For 2025

On the latest episode of the NC State Insider Podcast, the hosts give their final predictions for NC State's win total before the season opener.

Jan 2, 2021; Jacksonville, FL, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren leads his team onto the field before the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at TIAA Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

NC State is set to kick off the 2025 season this Thursday in a rematch against East Carolina. The last time these two teams got together, ECU stole a win in the 2024 Military Bowl. The game ended in an ugly brawl and left a bitter taste in Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren's mouth.

The Wolfpack rebuilt the staff and roster around some crucial pieces, including sophomore quarterback and team captain CJ Bailey, as well as linebacker Caden Fordham. The team is hungry to bounce back and improve in the coming season.

On the latest episode of the NC State Insider Podcast, our hosts give their official predictions for NC State's end-of-year record in November.

Watch the episode here

NC State head coach Dave Doeren spoke to the media twice in the last two weeks about the team's progress and preparation for both the season and ECU. His comments helped give a sense of where the team sits ahead of the season, as the program and staff prohibit media from viewing practices.

What Were Doeren's Most Interesting Thoughts?

On what NC State needs to do to be better in 2025

• "To be the best team, we have to put a premium on execution and how we play 11-man football, 11 guys playing together and eliminating unforced errors, preventable mistakes, the turnover margin and all the things that go into it. Managing the clock well, doing a good job with how we use our timeouts, being physical on short yardage on both sides of the football, getting in the red zone, getting points, denying points on defense.

• And then just playing really, really good special teams. Getting points when they're there, flipping the field with our punter, covering punts and kicks, and then getting momentum plays, whether it's returns or blocked kicks. Those are all things that we spend a lot of time on."

Nov 21, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren after a game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Where did the defense show growth?

• "We have a new coordinator, a new scheme, a lot of new pieces, just that thing coming together. There's a lot of competition on that side of football. And so being able to watch those competitions and get guys to where we think this is our best 11 and our guys that are going to rotate.

• There are some guys that, in some cases, if there are two of them out there, we look at the third guy as a starter that's going to also play a lot. Sometimes you need games to settle the competition. But I think that side of the ball is where the biggest unknowns have been answered for us as a staff."

Ensure you follow on X (Twitter) @WolfpackOnSI and@SennettTucker to keep up with the NC State Insider Podcast every day.

Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.