Pack and Pirates Clash in Season Opener

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	NC State (0-0) vs. East Carolina (0-0)
Date	Saturday, Aug. 31
Time	12:00 p.m.
Location	Raleigh, N.C.
Stadium	Carter-Finley-Stadium \| A to Z Stadium Guide
TV	ACC Network
Streaming	WatchESPN
Radio in NC	Wolfpack Sports Network
National Radio	Tunein, Sirius 138, XM 193
Live Stats	GoPack.com
Social Media	Twitter: @PackFootball \| Instagram: PackFootball

RALEIGH, N.C. - A cloud of mystery will be prominently hanging over both the football teams from East Carolina and NC State when they meet for the 31st time on Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium.

The season opener for both teams is scheduled to kick at 12:00 p.m., and will be televised on the ACC Network.

Entering his seventh season on the job, Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren lost count of how many times he was asked about his quarterback situation during the offseason. He also fielded numerous questions about the ominous task of replacing an All-American center (Garrett Bradbury), two All-ACC receivers (Kelvin Harmon and Jakobi Meyers) and a 1,000-yard rusher (Reggie Gallaspy, Jr.).

The answers to those inquiries won't truly be known until the 2019 Wolfpack takes the field for live action in front of a packed house on Saturday.

"We are a young football team," Doeren said. "There are nine guys who will be starting for the first time in this game. We have 17 freshmen or redshirt freshmen in our two-deep, and 17 sophomores or redshirt sophomores in our two-deep. Last year I had eight grad students that were seniors starting for me. Now I have really just eight seniors total. It's different."

One of those graduates was quarterback Ryan Finley, who became only the second quarterback in school history to throw for better than 10,000 career yards. Finley's departure to the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals set in a motion a fierce quarterback competition that started in the spring. After careful consideration and evaluation, Doeren and his offensive staff selected redshirt sophomore Mathew McKay over redshirt sophomore Bailey Hockman and redshirt freshman Devin Leary. Of the three, only McKay is the only one to have thrown a pass at the college level, going 7-8 for 87 yards as Finley's backup last year.

"Matt's accuracy, his leadership and ability to protect the team with his decision making and his consistent play really is what prevailed," said Doeren. "This is game one, so at some point you have to name starters at a lot of positions, but it's a long season and a lot of things can happen. All of those guys are preparing to play"

NC State is just one of 12 teams in the P5 to have at least nine wins in each of the last two seasons. The Wolfpack's 11 conference victories over the last two years matches Miami for second most in the ACC during that time period.

The test of any consistent program is its ability to replace good players with other good players who have been developed during their time in the program. NC State's last two first-round draft picks, defensive end Bradley Chubb and Bradbury, are examples of the NC State programs developmental prowess. While neither entered State as highly-touted prospects, both ended their careers as the best players in the country at their respective positions.

Now new stars of the future will need to emerge if the Wolfpack is to post another successful season.

"It's different, but it's also a team that's hungry to prove itself," Doeren said. "We know we all have to earn our way and earn our record. We're going to have youthful moments, but I'm excited to go through that with these guys and to help them grow."

Said redshirt junior offensive tackle Justin Witt: "I think we do a great job of developing younger guys who become future NFL players. We have guys who came in here as one-stars and here they are getting drafted in the first round. This program has definitely done a great job of developing younger guys."

If there's a team on the field Saturday that may have as many or more question marks than NC State, it's East Carolina. Coming off a 3-9 campaign that necessitated a coaching change, the Pirates hired Mike Houston, who guided James Madison to a 37-6 record the last three seasons. One of those six defeats came at the hands of NC State on opening day one year ago, 24-13.

Meanwhile, the Wolfpack's regular season in 2018 ended with a 58-3 downing of ECU in Raleigh. Among other things, the Pack rolled up 655 yards of total offense in that matchup. With six starters returning on offense and seven on the defensive side of the ball, the Pirates will certainly be eager to put together a better showing on Saturday.

"Once the ball is kicked, it's about executing," Doeren said. "[The emotion] may carry you through a workout or give you a good pep talk, it's still about playing the game. They're not what they were last year. They're going to be a lot better. I know that and our team knows that. They're a different team and we're a different team. You have to play the game to find out how different."

NC State leads the overall series with ECU, 17-13.

Wolfpack Sports Network coverage begins Saturday at 10 a.m. Once again this season, former Wolfpack great and color analyst Johnny Evans will field questions from fans on 'Ask the Analyst' in the second hour of the pregame show. Send Johnny your questions on Twitter @packradio or by click here to submit them online.

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Players Mentioned

Garrett Bradbury

Bradley Chubb

Ryan Finley

Reggie Gallaspy, Jr.

Kelvin Harmon

Bailey Hockman

Devin Leary

Jakobi Meyers

Justin Witt

North Carolina State University Athletics