Opponents 2022: NC State

North Carolina hosts in-state rival North Carolina State to wrap up its regular season.

A year ago, UNC lost a heartbreaker 34-30 in Raleigh after blowing a nine-point lead with 2:12 remaining in the contest. The Wolfpack scored twice in that span to steal a victory. In fact, the Pack scored two touchdowns in a span of 26 seconds to shock the Tar Heels.

State is Carolina’s biggest football rival, and so many of their games over the years have concluded in strange, and always exciting, fashion. Playing the day after Thanksgiving again this year, plenty could be on the line when they meet given State’s expectations and UNC’s potential.

Today we preview UNC's season finale with NC State:

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Nov. 25, Kenan Stadium

Head Coach:

Dave Doeren enters his tenth season as the leader of the Wolfpack. He owns a 64-49 record with the Pack, including three bowl wins.

Having the chance at his first ten-win season at the Power 5 level taken away not only motivated Doeren but everyone around the program.

"That is a huge factor," Doeren said. "It wasn't just losing the opportunity to play in the bowl, but losing the opportunity for a 10th win... It just didn't feel right for a team that is trying to do something special for their university. It has driven us this offseason. We came out of that very angry, very driven."

Noteworthy:

NC State has the second-most members on the preseason All-ACC team with five.

Returning starters:

The Wolfpack brings back the most starters of any ACC team with 17: seven on offense, and ten on defense.

Stars:

Media members picked quarterback Devin Leary as the preseason ACC Player of the Year. In 2021, Leary threw for 3,433 yards, 35 touchdowns, and only five interceptions.

Inside linebacker Drake Thomas is a first-team All-ACC performer. Thomas led the Pack in tackles and ranked fourth in the ACC with 99. He also snagged three interceptions and recorded six sacks last season.

Safety Tanner Ingle was the Packs' second leading tackler with 82. Ingle was named first-team All-ACC in 2021.

Payton Wilson returns after tearing his ACL. Before going down, Wilson was among the best linebackers in the ACC, recording 108 tackles in 2020.

Key stats:

NC State allowed only 19.7 points per game, ranking second in the ACC.

My thoughts:

NC State is the preseason darling in 2022 for good reasons. The Pack returns ten starters from a defense that snagged 15 interceptions last season, including one from Sam Howell.

By this point of the season, whoever UNC has at quarterback should be seasoned. The way things stand now, if UNC beat State, it would be considered an upset. But, as Carolina fans know, preseason expectations don't always translate to wins on the field.