Disclaimer: Technishit is purely satirical. Don’t take it too seriously.
With the newest round of College Football Playoff Rankings comes yet another week of Alabama sitting on top, and fans everywhere making you want to punch them when they greet you with a smug smile and a hearty “roll tide.”
Joining the boys from Tuscaloosa in the playoff positions are Ohio State, Clemson and Washington. However, one can’t help but notice though, that the mighty NC State Wolfpack is nowhere to be found in that top four, or in the Top 25 for that matter. It seems like this has to be an oversight by the all-knowing playoff committee, but fear not Wolfpack nation, as there is still one last ranking to come out.
The committee should consider State for a playoff spot, if they are truly the experts they say they are. The resume for the Pack stacks up to any other team in the country, with some good wins and a number of quality losses. The case for State is a strong one, and the reasons for its inclusion are endless.
For starters, with its glorious victory over bitter rival UNC-Chapel Hill, the Pack now has six wins. That is all a team needs to be bowl eligible, so why not one of the two playoff bowls for State? Additionally, the win gives the Pack a stellar victory to put on its resume. The committee loves when teams win true road tests, and State’s victory in front of all 35 diehard Carolina football fans who fill Kenan Stadium on a weekly basis is sure to impress.
The Pack’s other wins are almost as impressive, as the team topped great ACC opponents in Syracuse and Wake Forest. In addition to the conference wins, State played well against formidable opposition in the likes of Old Dominion and William & Mary, and also toppled the almighty Fighting Irish of Notre Dame in a hurricane.
Wins are important, but the committee also values quality losses. And this season for the Pack, like so many before it, was filled with quality losses. Start with the game against East Carolina. State went on the road to battle the Pirates, and missed a few late opportunities to fall just short of an ECU team that would go on to win three whole games this year.
Another incredible loss for State came on a trip to the middle of nowhere in South Carolina to take on Clemson. Again, the Pack failed to capitalize on a great opportunity to win against a great team. The Tigers look poised to make the playoff themselves, so pretty much beating them shows how worthy State is of a top four spot.
Looking beyond the resume for the Pack, the individual performances of the players make it clear that this team is special. Senior Matt Dayes rushed for 1,119 yards this year, the first 1,000-yard rusher for State since T.A. McClendon did it in 2002.
Wolfpack football prides itself on a rich tradition of winning and glory, like that time it won the prestigious Bitcoin Bowl in St. Petersburg in 2014 or the Belk Bowl in 2011. Dayes being the first player in this storied program to reach this milestone in 14 years clearly makes the team deserving of a run at the national title.
Other standouts for State this year have been redshirt sophomore quarterback Ryan Finley, who threw a whopping 15 touchdown passes on the season, and junior Jaylen Samuels. Samuels was a dual-threat weapon for the Pack, racking up 10 combined rushing and receiving touchdowns. Samuels was definitely utilized fully by the coaching staff all year, and is one of the main reasons State should break the top four.
The sky is the limit for this extremely talented Wolfpack team, and it is time for the playoff committee to stop disrespecting the program. State deserves its spot in the top four, and a chance to compete for the title. Assuming the Pack is justly awarded that chance, it should have no problem dominating its inferior competition in the playoff. Bring on Bama, the Pack is ready.
