N.C. State’s season ticket sales are off slightly, The News & Observer reported Wednesday, which is always one of those signs of concern among the fan base. The Wolfpack sold 38,000 season tickets last year and is 1,800 off that number now.

The recession is obviously a factor – another may be that two of the Pack’s six home games come on Thursday nights. But this is a trend worth watching this fall. State hasn’t averaged fewer than 56,000 fans since 2005, when it averaged 52,925. Even that number is deceiving because one game, Middle Tennessee, drew only 37,000.

Here are State’s home-attendance averages the last four years:

2009: 56,422
2008: 56,665
2007: 56,356
2006: 56,540
2005: 52,925

Those aren’t SEC numbers but are strong for an ACC team. UNC, by comparison, has sold 35,100 season tickets this year, up from 34,500 last season.

Duke has sold out of season tickets, but the Devils aren’t giving that total. This much we do know – Alabama fans are doing all they can to get tickets, and you can bet some Duke, uh, season ticket holders will be wearing Crimson Sept. 18.

Les Miles

LSU is ranked No. 16 in the USA Today coaches’ poll – the third-highest SEC team – and if you only saw that, you’d think the Tigers were their usual juggernaut.

They are not, which makes their Sept. 4 game with North Carolina particularly intriguing. In the Triangle, attention has been focused on the NCAA probe and which Tar Heels will be eligible. But in the Bayou, there’s rising concern that LSU has dipped since Les Miles led them to the national title in 2007.

LSU was 8-5 in 2008 and 9-4 in 2009 but a combined 8-8 in SEC play over those two seasons. It’s interesting that reporters who cover college football overall and the SEC in particular aren’t as convinced about LSU’s potential. The Tigers are ranked No. 21 in preseason in the AP poll, their lowest showing in that poll since 2000.

The SEC media picked the Tigers for fourth in the SEC West. In fact, the media vote total for LSU was only the seventh-highest in the league and only one reporter picked the Tigers to win the SEC.

LSU wide receiver Russell Shepard told the New Orleans Times-Picayune, “A lot of teams would kill to be there. At the same time, our expectation levels here are very high.

“You can’t get caught up in them. We’re going to take it one game at a time and make our statement Sept. 4.”

Miles’ reputation as a game manager took a hit with LSU’s goofy ending in a 25-23 loss at Ole Miss in November. The Tigers recovered an onside kick at their own 42-yard line with 1:16 left and started driving, but squandered their chances with incredibly poor decisions. They got sacked to get knocked out of field goal range, wasted 17 seconds before calling time-out and, when a long pass put them at the 6-yard line, had no plan to kick a field goal as time ran out.

“I know there was a lot of confusion on the sideline,” quarterback Jordan Jefferson said after the game. “Nobody knew what to do.”

Miles accepted blame, but those blunders don’t play well in the frenzy that is the SEC. So LSU faces real scrutiny as the season opens, and fields a team with real questions.

Jefferson, for example, didn’t endear himself to Tiger fans with some tentative play and was sacked 34 times. LSU averaged only 305 yards of total offense, ranking a dismal 112th nationally. Jefferson will work with talent and depth at receiver and running back, so LSU hopes to improve on offense.

“He’s starting to realize that it’s more than a position, that it’s not just: Call the play and throw the ball,” Miles said of Jefferson in USA Today. “It’s a responsibility to function the offense and to give us an opportunity at victory, and to see the defense, and to understand the call.”

The defense is strong, led by two preseason All-SEC picks in cornerback Patrick Peterson and linebacker Kelvin Sheppard.

When you look at the Sept. 4 game objectively, you can easily see Carolina’s defense being dominant. LSU is still a legitimate SEC power, but the Heels might be catching them at the right time. A win in Atlanta would be a huge statement for Carolina and the ACC – and exactly the kind of statement LSU followers fear.

T.J. Yates is North Carolina’s starting quarterback, at least for the opener Sept. 4 against LSU. Now, the hard part for Yates may be hanging onto the job.

Yates has been pushed hard in preseason by redshirt freshman Bryn Renner. UNC coach Butch Davis has raved about Renner’s arm, and you can’t help but be impressed when you see Renner roll out and throw. But Davis told reporters Monday that Yates remains No. 1.

“Clearly, as I said the other day, T.J. Yates is still the starting quarterback,” Davis said. “And I think that he’s done a very, very good job. I think that Bryn has pushed him and Bryn has earned the respect. …”

Davis said it “wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that [Renner] could certainly play in the first game.”

But he hedged that by saying he didn’t know how the game would unfold, and there was no set plan to play Renner.

You can’t help but like Yates if you meet him. He’s patient, quotable, funny, and smart enough to handle any hard question. You’d have to imagine his teammates respect him and want him to succeed. The real question on Yates isn’t whether he’s a good quarterback. Obviously he is – his 2,655 yards passing in 2007 was a UNC record, and he had a strong sophomore year despite missing five games.

But is Yates a great quarterback? Yates had some tough games in 2009, going 11 of 26 with two picks in the loss at Georgia Tech, throwing two more interceptions against Virginia with no touchdowns, and completing only 12 of 25 against Florida State.

Can he put Carolina in position to compete for an ACC title, which it hasn’t won since 1980?  Beginning with LSU, the Tar Heels will find out.

N.C. State hasn’t had a winning season since 2005, and looking over the schedule, it’s hard to see the Wolfpack finishing the regular season with a winning record this time.

A tough non-conference schedule should lead State to a 6-6 record, which should be just enough to squeeze it into a low-level bowl.

Here’s a game-by-game breakdown:

Sept. 4, Western Carolina: An easy win. 1-0.

Sept. 11, at Central Florida: George O’Leary is in his seventh season here and has 15 starters back. The defense allowed just 83 yards rushing per game and there is tons of talent in the secondary. The offense is a physical unit that has a powerful running game. A loss here moves State to 1-1.

Sept. 16, Cincinnati: ESPN is back for a Thursday night game with a Cincinnati team that lacks coach Brian Kelly but returns a superb offense.

GT’s Johnson isn’t worrying about Sept. 25

The Bearcats were 12-1 last year but their defense was simply horrible as the season progressed, as Florida showed in a 51-24 Super Bowl stomping. State has enough offense to win this one and move to 2-1.

Sept. 25, at Georgia Tech: State’s defense is the team’s biggest question mark and you can just see the Jackets grinding away in this game. State does have linebackers coach Jon Tenuta now, and he’s brilliant at figuring out how to plug gaps and stymie offenses. But even with Tenuta and Nate Irving back, you can’t see the Wolfpack winning here. Put the Pack down for 2-2.

Oct. 2, Virginia Tech: The Pack only rushed for 14 yards in last year’s 38-10 loss in Blacksburg. State puts up a better fight but the Hokies win to make State 2-3.

Oct. 9, Boston College: BC is always better than advertised, but Tom O’Brien finally beats his old team this time to make State 3-3.

Oct. 16, at East Carolina: O’Brien is 2-0 against the Pirates. This ECU team is hard to predict but certainly will play well at home against N.C. State. Still, this looks like a Wolfpack victory for a 4-3 record.

Oct. 28, Florida State: Hey, where’s Amato? He won’t be on either sideline this time. Won’t matter either way – the Seminoles are loaded. Make State 4-4.

Nov. 6, at Clemson: The Tigers won’t be the same offense that rang up 43 points on State last season. Running back C.J. Spiller is off to the NFL, but quarterback Kyle Parker didn’t depart for baseball and the Tigers still will be potent on offense. The Pack falls to 4-5.

Nov. 13, Wake Forest: Can you ever consider Wake Forest an easy win any more? No chance. O’Brien is 1-2 against the Deacons but should get this one to make State 5-5.

0-3 vs NCSU, TBA vs NCAA

Nov. 20, at UNC: O’Brien’s record against Carolina is a sparkling 3-0, but look for this to be Butch Davis’ turn. Carolina has much more depth than N.C. State on both sides and can better afford to withstand injuries. If State is having a poor season and stumbles into this game, say, 3-7, then the stakes here are enormous. Make State 5-6.

Nov. 27, at Maryland: The Ralph Friedgen years may be at an end by this point. Sometimes teams just come out flat, as the Wolfpack did in the 2007 finale against Maryland in a baffling 37-0 loss. State hasn’t won at Maryland since 2004 but should get this one to finish 6-6.

At the University of Alabama, you get a statue if you coach the Crimson Tide to a national football championship.

But around the Triangle, there’s no statue for Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Valvano or even Everett Case. But there will be a bust, at least, of Kay Yow, the legendary Wolfpack women’s basketball coach, when NCSU unveils its tribute to Yow on Tuesday at 3 p.m., a move that comes with a twinge of irony as new athletics director Debbie Yow will speak at the event.

Yow’s death in January of 2009 ended one of the most remarkable careers in Wolfpack athletics. Yow, especially in the early and middle years of her tenure, established terrific teams that always hovered at the top of the ACC standings. She was a fervent advocate of the women’s game, urging the media to cover events and working tirelessly to build up the sport.

Perhaps the only blemish on her mark was she only made the NCAA Final Four once. But that seems like a footnote in a career that will be remembered by her grace and dignity as she coached on with breast cancer.

The memorial will include a bust of Yow, on a pink stone base, and should be a fitting tribute to a coach who expanded and transcended her sport.

And by the way, if you never saw Yow’s video that she made before she died, you can view it here from WRAL.com. It’s an amazing commentary from her about her faith and it’s impact on her life.