No. 13 NC State opens season at instate foe East Carolina

By The Associated Press

No. 13 North Carolina State opens the season Saturday with an instate trip to East Carolina. N.C. State has lost four of five games at ECU, the last coming in September 2016. The Wolfpack’s No. 13 national ranking matches the program’s best in The Associated Press preseason college football poll. The other came in 1975. The Pirates from the American Athletic Conference have won seven of their past 11 meetings with Atlantic Coast Conference opponents. The Wolfpack’s defense filled with returning starters faces a test in slowing dual-threat ECU quarterback Holton Ahlers.