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Backing The Pack

https://www.backingthepack.com/ | 282 entries published

Cheering for anyone else is for quitters.

Latest Entries

Maui Game 2: NC State plays Boise St

When: Tuesday November 25 – 2:30 PM ET Where: Lahaina Civic Center in Maui, Hawaii TV: ESPN2 Opponent: Boise State Broncos (Mtn West Conference) Prediction – KenPom (KP) / Bart Torvik (BT): NC State 78-74 / NC State 78-76 Wolfpack Snapshot: Wolfpack Player Notes: Opponent Overview: Leon Rice enters his 16th season as head coach of Boise State men’s […]

4 months ago | 7 reads

Maui Invitational, Day 1: Oops, I broke the basketball team

I can say with great confidence that Monday was my first chance to watch a college basketball game begin at 9:30 a.m., and as disorienting as that was, it was nothing compared to what happened over the next two hours. On the bright side, win or lose, it’s still Hawaii outside. The Lahaina Civic Center […]

4 months ago | 5 reads

Game thread: Seton Hall vs. NC State, Maui Invitational

When I floated the idea with my family that we might spend Thanksgiving in Hawaii with NC State basketball, I had no idea that we’d end up trading Kevin Keatts for a chance at being actually good at basketball. Here we are now, the circumstances turned 180 degrees for the trip of a lifetime. The […]

4 months ago | 5 reads

Highlights! We’re just watching the punt again, mostly

I was working on about three hours of sleep on my way to the airport early Saturday because I watched the football game until the end, and was it all worth it, to watch the ol’ pigskin clonk off a man’s head and careen backward 25 yards for a turnover? It was, yes. I would […]

4 months ago | 5 reads

Maui Game 1: NC State vs Seton Hall

When: Monday November 24 – 2:30 PM ET Where: Lahaina Civic Center in Maui, Hawaii TV: ESPN2 Opponent: Seton Hall Pirates (Big East Conference) Prediction – KenPom (KP) / Bart Torvik (BT): NC State 75-67 / NC State 77-69 Wolfpack Snapshot: Wolfpack Player Notes: Team Statistical Comparison Opponent Overview: Shaheen Holloway was a four-year player at Seton Hall, starting […]

4 months ago | 8 reads

NC State women win 2025 cross country national championship

Well, they went and did it again. After a one-year hiatus, the women’s cross country team is back on top. The Wolfpack beat BYU (and everyone else, but mainly BYU) on Saturday morning to nab their fourth national championship in the last five years. Hannah Gapes and Grace Hartman finished fifth and sixth overall to […]

4 months ago | 4 reads

College football Saturday open thread

The week before rivalry week means that tomato cans are back on the menu for a lot of power-conference schools, sadly. Still there are a number of potentially entertaining matchups throughout the afternoon. Noon Missouri vs. OklahomaLouisville vs. SMU 3:30 USC vs. OregonArkansas vs. Texas After Dark Pitt vs. Georgia TechTennessee vs. FloridaBYU vs. Cincinnati

4 months ago | 9 reads

NC State bests mistake-prone FSU, 21-11

NC State and FSU had themselves an, um, interesting game on Friday night—not so much from good football, but moreso from weird football. Which is fine when it works out the way it did. NC State had a pretty tough time moving the ball, but the difference was that it avoided big mistakes, while Florida […]

4 months ago | 3 reads

Game thread: FSU vs. NC State

Fell down a bit of a rabbit hole when I noticed that an NC State win tonight would bring the Pack’s record against FSU in Carter-Finley to 11-11. The only ACC schools with winning home records against the Noles are Clemson and Georgia Tech, s0 .500 would be some pretty good work! (FSU is 8-1 […]

4 months ago | 9 reads

Maui Invitational Preview

*** BREAKING NEWS *** It was announced Thursday that Terrance Arceneaux has been cleared to play in Maui. Off to Maui NC State arrives in Maui Friday night to have a little fun before getting down to work next week. Three games in three days, the Pack’s endurance and ability will be tested. Best case […]

4 months ago | 4 reads

NC State and FSU are ready to match inconsistencies

The Friday night matchup between NC State and Florida State has the look of a who-the-hell-knows sort of affair, what with both of these teams caroming between good and bad performances on the way to matching 5-5 records. FSU hasn’t won a road game since 2023, and Mike Norvell hasn’t beaten NC State. NC State […]

4 months ago | 3 reads

NC State holds off Coastal Carolina, 71-58

Playing without Tilda Trygger, NC State nonetheless got off to a nice start against Coastal Carolina, thanks in large part to Maddie Cox, who replaced Trygger in the starting lineup. Cox hit a couple of threes in the first quarter to help the Pack establish a double-digit lead that it would extend to 21 at […]

4 months ago | 5 reads

NC State is playing UVA in Brazil to begin 2026 season

NC State’s home-and-home with Virginia has become a home-and-Southern-Hemisphere, apparently. Pack Pride reported Tuesday night that the two schools are going to play a Week 0 game in Brazil next season, and if that’s not the most random sports development of the week, I don’t know what is. The game reportedly will count as a […]

4 months ago | 3 reads

Week 13 Football: What to Watch

What is this? Where am I? What year is this? Wait, do I still work here? Is that a squirrel?! Well, after missing seven straight weeks of doing this, let’s resurrect this thing and see if it still has legs. Hey, even if NC State isn’t having a season to remember, there’s still plenty of […]

4 months ago | 4 reads

NC State Beats VCU 85-79

Game Summary: This is exactly the kind of game NC State needed to play. VCU was a talented, well coached, team that pushed the Wolfpack to the edge. Based on current KenPom metrics, VCU is ranked on a similar level to many ACC teams. The first half looked very familiar. Another game, another technical foul. […]

4 months ago | 3 reads

Game thread: VCU vs. NC State

Gonna need the fellas to rescue us from a dreary couple of sports days. Failure is not an option. Rams vs. Wolfpack Tip time: 7 p.m. ET TV: ACC Network (Jay Alter, Randolph Childress) Online streaming: ACCNX

4 months ago | 2 reads

NC State is a 4.5-point underdog to FSU

The end of the regular season is just around the corner, and NC State is intent on taking its postseason fate right down to the wire, it appears. The suspense is … well actually there’s not that much suspense. I’m not sure I even care that much about getting to a bowl game. It’d be […]

4 months ago | 4 reads

NC State’s offense continues to struggle in 69-59 loss to TCU

It’s too early in the season to smash the Panic Button, but I would say it’s fair to hit the Seriously Concerned Button. The shooting struggles persisted again on Sunday, in the form of a 17-50 effort inside the arc, as NC State dropped a rare home game under Wes Moore. Generally you can count […]

4 months ago | 4 reads

NC State Hosts the VCU Rams

When: Monday November 17 – 7:00 PM Where: Lenovo Center TV: ACC Network Opponent: Virginia Commonwealth University Rams (Atlantic 10 Conference) Prediction – KenPom (KP) / Bart Torvik (BT): NC State 84-74 / NC State 86-78 Wolfpack Snapshot: Wolfpack Player Notes: Wolfpack Stat Leaders: Opponent Overview: VCU is a launch pad for D1 coaches. Their previous six head coaches […]

4 months ago | 7 reads

NC State clocked by Miami, 41-7

What a ride its been, from winning five games, to losing five others. On Saturday afternoon, NC State lost its fifth of the season, a non-competitive matchup at Miami. The loss wasn’t surprising, but watching another utterly non-competitive effort was disappointing, and a stark reminder once again just how much talent it takes to be […]

4 months ago | 5 reads

Game thread: NC State vs. Miami

It worked last time, which is why it’s a cool hat. Today we find out if it has legitimate powers. Wolfpack vs. Hurricanes Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. ET TV: ESPN (Mark Jones, Roddy Jones, Quint Kessenich) Online streaming: WatchESPN

4 months ago | 4 reads

The BTP degeneracy dungeon, Week 12

The dungeon’s acolytes have allowed me to dabble too much in foolish parlays this season, and I must be stopped. But I will not be stopped! As for the single-gamers this week, let’s get to it. The Obligatory Bet Against UNC Of The Week In this era of payouts based on television ratings and other […]

4 months ago | 3 reads