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NC State looks to start their season with a win as they face Western Carolina. It is time to continue our college football odds series with a Western Carolina-NC State prediction and pick.
Western Carolina finished their 2-23 season with a 7-4 record in their third season under Kerwin Bell. They did open the season last year on the road with an FBS school. It would be a 56-13 loss to Arkansas in that game.
Meanwhile, NC State just completed its 11th season under Dave Doren. They would finish the regular season at 9-4, but not make it to the ACC championship game, finishing the year in third in the conference. They would then go to the Pop-Tarts Bowl and there they would fall 28-19 to Kansas State.
Here are the College Football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Football Odds: Western Carolina-NC State Odds
Western Carolina: +33.5 (-115)
Moneyline: +3500
NC State: -33.5 (-105)
Moneyline: -20000
Over: 60.5 (-110)
Under: 60.5 (-110)
How to Watch Western Carolina vs. NC State
Time: 7:00 PM ET/ 4:00 PM PT
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TV: ACC Network
Stream: fuboTV (Click Here for a free trial)
Why The Western Carolina Could Cover The Spread/Win
For Western Carolina, it all starts with Cole Gonzales. The quarterback was great last year, completing 65.8 percent of his passes, for 2,803 yards. He also threw 28 touchdown passes last year, with just eight interceptions. Further Conzales ran for 203 yards last year. Still, he will be missing many of his top targets from last year. Censere Lee led the team in receiving, but he is now on Pitt. David White was second and is also now gone. AJ Colombo will need to step up. He had 438 yards last year and five touchdowns. Calvin Jones will be the second option after he had 27 receptions and 348 yards plus two scores last year.
At running back, Desmond Reid went with Censere Lee and their offensive coordinator to Pitt. He led the team last year with 897 yards and 13 scores. Branson Adams will be looking to step up. He ran for 539 yards and three scores on 89 rushes last year. He also had three scores last year on the ground, which was second on the team.
On defense, the Catamounts will also be replacing a lot. Jayelin Davis, their top defensive lineman, is gone. He had 3.5 sacks last year and a forced fumble. They do bring back Curtis Fann though. He had 2.5 sacks last year while forcing three fumbles and recovering one. Further, Rod Gattison is gone, and he led the team with eight passes defended and also had an interception. They do bring back CJ Williams, who had six passes defended and an interception.
Why The NC State Could Cover The Spread/Win
For NC State, the offense will be led by Grayson McCall. McCall comes in from Coastal Carolina. Last year, he passed for 1,919 yards and ten touchdowns but had six interceptions. He also ran for 48 yards and a touchdown. He will be looking to rebound to his 2022 form. In 2022, McCall threw for 2,633 yards and 24 scores with just two interceptions. He also scored five times on the ground.
He will be throwing the ball to Kevin Concepcion. Last year Concepcion was great for NC State. He brought in 71 receptions for 839 yards and 10 scores. Further, he ran 41 times for 320 yards last year. Dacari Collins will be back as the deep threat. He had just 14 receptions last year, but averages for 15 yards per catch and had two scores. Still, NC State needs to find a run game. Former quarterback Brennan Armstrong was the team's leading rusher with Concepcion sitting second. They bring in Jordan Waters from Duke. He has run for over 1,400 yards and 20 touchdowns over the last two years.
On defense, Davin Vann will be back. He was third on the team with 5.5 sacks last year. Further, he forced a fumble and recovered one. They also bring back Sean Brown, a hybrid safety and linebacker. Brown had two sacks last year, five passes defended, and two interceptions. Aydan White is also back. He has been great for NC State. He had ten passes defended with two interceptions last season.
Final Western Carolina-NC State Prediction & Pick
NC State has an upgrade at quarterback with Grayson McCall coming in. Further, their defense is solid and should be great in this game against Western Carolina. NC State will be able to grab an early lead in this game and hold on to it. Western Carolina is going to have trouble scoring and does not have the talent to stop Kevin Concepcion. Still, the best play in this game is that NC State grabs and lead and then runs out the clock. Take the under in this one.
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Final Western Carolina-NC State Prediction & Pick: Under 60.5 (-105)
