2025 NC State Football Predictions: Wolfpack Ranked 53rd in RJ Young's Ultimate 136
This isn't your average college football ranking.
My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it's my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list:
- Who do I think is good?
- Why do I think they're good?
- What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations?
Here is a look at where NC State lands in my Ultimate 136.
Team ranking: 53
Last year’s ranking: 30
Top player: QB CJ Bailey: Second among all FBS true freshmen in pass yards with 2,413; ranked eighth in the ACC in total touchdowns with 22.
RJ’s take: If last season felt like an anomaly for the Wolfpack, that’s because it was. NC State has been bankable for at least seven wins in 12 of the last 15 years and suffered just three losing seasons during that time. And this season they could reach bowl eligibility by Week 6 with Duke being perhaps the toughest opponent the Wolfpack face before playing Notre Dame on October 11.
They’ll be helped by returning the same starter at quarterback as last year for the first time in seven years. Bailey entered midseason after Grayson McCall went down with injury and played admirably as a freshman, completing 64.9 percent of his passes for 2,413 yards with 17 TDs and 10 INTs. With the better part of a season of experience, he ought to be good enough to return the Wolfpack to the nine-win total they’re used to seeing.
NC State Win Total Odds: Over 6.5 (+110) Under 6.5 (-134)
Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school's rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young, and I'll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article.
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young.
[Check out RJ Young's Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here]