A national outlet recently took a look at College Football Playoff dark horse contenders, highlighting teams from the Power Five conferences that could crash the four-team playoff party this season.

CBS Sports defined those “dark horse” teams as teams with worse than 50-1 odds to make the playoff according to Caesars Sportsbook, and CBS Sports named NC State as that dark horse playoff contender from the ACC.

Here’s what CBS Sports’ Shehan Jeyarajah wrote about the Wolfpack (250-1 odds):

“NC State earned a spot on this list last season for being among the national leaders in returning production. After quarterback Devin Leary went down with an injury, however, the Wolfpack lost four of their last seven games. They rank among the lowest teams in returning production entering this season, but a shrewd set of offensive decisions by coach Dave Doeren just might push NC State back into contention. 

“Two years ago, quarterback Brennan Armstrong led the nation with 4,449 yards and 31 touchdowns while playing for coordinator Robert Anae at Virginia. Now, the pair reunites in Raleigh with a chance to revitalize the NC State offense. Doeren’s defenses have ranked top 25 nationally each of the past two seasons, so Armstrong and the Wolfpack offense holding up their end of the bargain could push NC State into contention.”

NC State finished the 2022 season 8-5 (4-4 ACC). Last season, Clemson and NC State played the highest-ranked game in the teams’ 90-game series history, as the fifth-ranked Tigers topped the 10th-ranked Wolfpack, 30-20, at Death Valley.

This season, the two teams will meet on Oct. 28 in Raleigh, where the Tigers are 7-2 in their last nine games despite a double-overtime loss in their last visit in 2021.

NC State has never made an appearance in the College Football Playoff, while Clemson is looking to return to the playoff for the first time since the 2020 season and the seventh time overall. The Tigers made six straight CFP appearances from 2015-20.

Dear Old Clemson has added the Tiger Sack Pack to our online store.  Save by getting the Two Pack of signed cards from two of the nation’s top defensive ends, Myles Murphy and Xavier Thomas.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. 

Dear Old Clemson is doing NIL the ‘Clemson way’, but we need your help to make sure we build a sustainable, repeatable model that will help keep Clemson competitive with the other top programs around the nation.

Dabo Swinney: “We need your assistance more than ever to provide meaningful NIL opportunities. Tiger Impact, Dear Old Clemson and other collectives allow student-athletes to utilize their voice and platform to maximize their NIL opportunities and strengthen their impact in the community.”

Graham Neff:
“Tiger Impact, Dear Old Clemson and other collectives need your support to help provide meaningful NIL opportunities for our student athletes. We are doing things the right way, the Clemson way with integrity as a non-negotiable and we fully support the mission of these groups.”

Join the Tiger Club or Lady Tiger Club to help these great student-athletes and help the Tigers compete at the highest level!