CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2011 NC State

8–⁠5 (4–⁠4 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Tom O’Brien.

Schedule and results

NC State in 2011, game by game: won vs. Liberty 43–21; lost at Wake Forest 27–34; won vs. South Alabama 35–13; lost at Cincinnati 14–44; lost vs. No. 21 Georgia Tech 35–45; won vs. Central Michigan 38–24; won at Virginia 28–14; lost at Florida State 0–34; won vs. North Carolina 13–0; lost at Boston College 10–14; won vs. No. 7 Clemson 37–13; won vs. Maryland 56–41; won vs. Louisville 31–24+24−34Won 43–21 vs. Liberty+22LibertyLost 27–34 at Wake Forest-7Wake ForestWon 35–13 vs. South Alabama+22South AlabamaLost 14–44 at Cincinnati-30CincinnatiLost 35–45 vs. No. 21 Georgia Tech-10No. 21 Georgia TechWon 38–24 vs. Central Michigan+14Central MichiganWon 28–14 at Virginia+14VirginiaLost 0–34 at Florida State-34Florida StateWon 13–0 vs. North Carolina+13North CarolinaLost 10–14 at Boston College-4Boston CollegeWon 37–13 vs. No. 7 Clemson+24No. 7 ClemsonWon 56–41 vs. Maryland+15MarylandWon 31–24 vs. Louisville+7Louisville
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsLibertyW 43–⁠2180%
Sep 10atWake ForestL 27–⁠3466%
Sep 17vsSouth AlabamaW 35–⁠1384%
Sep 22atCincinnatiL 14–⁠4453%
Oct 1vs21Georgia TechL 35–⁠4549%
Oct 8vsCentral MichiganW 38–⁠2467%
Oct 22atVirginiaW 28–⁠1451%
Oct 29atFlorida StateL 0–⁠3432%
Nov 5vsNorth CarolinaW 13–⁠050%
Nov 12atBoston CollegeL 10–⁠1457%
Nov 19vs7ClemsonW 37–⁠1339%
Nov 26vsMarylandW 56–⁠4182%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvsLouisvilleBelk BowlW 31–⁠2452%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Louisville 31–⁠24 in the Belk Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 7th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 13th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
4–⁠4 7th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
367–⁠321
Coach
Tom O’Brien
Elo
1612 +31 this season
SP+ rating
-1.1 No. 70 of 120; offense No. 81, defense No. 49, special teams No. 100
SRS
−0.3 No. 62 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 71
Offensive coordinator
Dana Bible
Defensive coordinator
Mike Archer
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense109th of 120
  • Defense22nd of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted120th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted27th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0435%0.91109th of 120
Defense0.0040%0.9422nd of 120
Opponent-adjusted-0.00 off
0.02 def		37% off
41% def		—120th off
27th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.3own 332% allowed
Defense-0.4own 333% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Player leaders are hidden for this season: our source’s player stats for NC State are missing players (they add up to less than 85% of the team’s passing or rushing yards).

Top recruits in the 2011 class

Brandon Pittman OLB★★★No. 975
Dave Mann WDE★★★No. 993
Brian Taylor PRO★★★No. 1120
Benson Browne TE★★★No. 1140
Wil Baumann K★★★No. 1178

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2011 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.832
Receivers13.00.831
Offensive line22.50.802
Defensive line32.70.807
Linebackers22.50.797
Defensive backs12.00.733
Athletes and specialists62.70.792
Whole class162.60.798

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2012

The 2012 draft
Rd 3T.J. Graham WRBuffalo Bills
Rd 5Terrell Manning OLBGreen Bay Packers
Rd 7Audie Cole ILBMinnesota Vikings
Rd 7J.R. Sweezy DTSeattle Seahawks
Rd 7Markus Kuhn DTNew York Giants

Roster 116

The 2011 roster

116 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2011 line; 29 have a stat line. See the roster

2011 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Virginia Tech7–⁠111–⁠321
Clemson6–⁠210–⁠422
Florida State5–⁠39–⁠423
Georgia Tech5–⁠38–⁠5
Virginia5–⁠38–⁠5
Wake Forest5–⁠36–⁠7
NC State4–⁠48–⁠5
North Carolina3–⁠57–⁠6
Miami3–⁠56–⁠6
Boston College3–⁠54–⁠8
Duke1–⁠73–⁠9
Maryland1–⁠72–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.