CBS Sports has NC State in a place few Wolfpack fans probably expected to see it this preseason: among the 10 college football teams with the best chance to go undefeated in 2026.
Brad Crawford’s ranking put NC State at No. 9, ahead of Texas and behind Ohio State, with Texas Tech, Notre Dame, Miami, Oregon, Indiana, Georgia, Penn State and Ohio State also on the list.
That placement is less about the Wolfpack being a blue-chip juggernaut and more about the road ahead. Crawford’s case centers on the schedule, and that’s where NC State starts to look interesting.
He notes that four of NC State’s nine ACC opponents did not make a bowl game last season, and the Wolfpack miss Miami, Clemson, SMU and Virginia Tech entirely. In Crawford’s view, Louisville is the only opponent on the schedule ranked in his post-spring Top 25. Beyond a home date with the Cardinals, he sees the Sept. 19 trip to Vanderbilt as the other major obstacle.
The early stretch may decide whether this stays a fun preseason exercise or becomes something more. NC State opens at Virginia, and Crawford points to that Week 1 road game as the first key test.
If the Wolfpack can leave Charlottesville with a win, the path begins to open. If they then handle Louisville and reach 5-0, Crawford believes the odds of a perfect season rise sharply.
That’s a long way from actually getting to 12-0, of course. And nobody around Raleigh is about to start planning an undefeated parade.
NC State fans have spent 24 years waiting for another 10-win season, and the only Wolfpack team to reach double figures was Philip Rivers’ 2002 squad, which finished 11-3. Getting back to 10 wins alone would be a major milestone.
Still, the premise behind Crawford’s ranking isn’t crazy. NC State avoids a chunk of the ACC’s most intimidating teams, returns an experienced quarterback and carries one of the easiest schedules in the Power Four, according to ESPN’s FPI, which ranks the Wolfpack’s preseason strength of schedule as the second-weakest among those programs.
As Crawford put it: “Opponents in post-spring top 25: Louisville
In terms of talent, NC State stands as an outlier on this list. However, the Wolfpack have a golden opportunity to surprise in the ACC thanks to a favorable schedule.
Four of their nine conference opponents missed bowl games last season, and NC State avoids Miami, Clemson, SMU and Virginia Tech. The toughest test outside of a Week 6 home game against Louisville is a Sept. 19 trip to Vanderbilt.”
No one is forecasting 12-0 in Raleigh. But if NC State is ever going to make noise in a big way, the 2026 schedule at least gives the Wolfpack a real opening.
In Other News...
Germaine Pratts Return Gives NC State A Familiar Voice Fans Will Love
Germaine Pratt is back around NC State this offseason, and for a program trying to steady and reshape its linebacker room, the timing feels about right. The former NFL linebacker has returned as a volunteer coach for the position group, giving the Wolfpack a familiar face who knows exactly what the standard looks like in Raleigh and how it connects to the next level.
After seven years in the NFL, Pratt is using this stretch to give back to his college program while also getting a taste of the coaching side of the sport. He is working alongside former teammates and helping guide a retooled linebacker group, which gives NC State a little continuity in a room that needs it and gives Pratt a chance to see whether this could be more than just a short-term stop back home. [Read more 🡒]
NC State Just Got A Temporary Roster Break From NCAA Chaos
The roster math around college sports keeps getting messier, but NC State got a small bit of breathing room this week. A Colorado judge declined to pause a court order tied to the NCAAs ongoing eligibility fight, keeping alive an injunction that lets seniors from the class of 2022 pursue an extra season under the so-called 5 in 5 rule while the appeal process plays out.
For a program like NC State, the practical effect is a temporary window to think a little differently about roster construction, especially with players from that 2022 group who had already been penciled in as out of eligibility. The bigger issue, of course, is that the legal fight is far from settled, so whatever flexibility exists now could shift again before the Wolfpack has to make real plans around it. [Read more 🡒]
NC States Final Roster Spot May Come Down To One Backcourt Call
NC State still has two roster spots to sort through, and the picture is starting to come into focus with one of those openings likely tied to the backcourt. The Wolfpack are said to be weighing a big man and a veteran guard, a combination that would give the staff a little more balance as it rounds out the roster. Among the names in the mix is Alfred Worrell, the Morgan State transfer who has already attracted attention from multiple programs and fits the profile of an experienced guard who could help with depth right away.
What makes the guard spot especially interesting is how the staff appears to view its current options. Preston Edmead, now a sophomore, is held in high regard and seems to have a strong case to open as the starter, which would shape how much of a role any addition could realistically have. That leaves the final decision less about adding a headline name and more about whether NC State wants one more proven backcourt presence behind Edmead or to take a different route with the last scholarship opening. [Read more 🡒]