William & Mary football opens at N.C. State on Thursday

The No. 9/10 William & Mary football team will open the 2016 season when it plays at NC State on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

The contest will be broadcast on ESPN 3 and is available here.

Fans can also listen to the live broadcast on the Tribe’s flagship stations 92.3 FM The Tide and 107.9 Bach FM, while a live audio stream will be available at TribeAthletics.com. Live stats will be available at GoPack.com, while fans can follow the action on Twitter at @TribeGameDay.

Tickets can be purchased at TribeAthletics.com or by calling the ticket office at 757-221-3340.

W&M returns 16 starters (eight offense/six defense/two specialists), including 10 all-conference standouts, from last season’s team that claimed a share of the CAA title, advanced to the second round of the NCAA Playoffs and finished the year ranked 12th nationally. NC State returns 16 starters from last year’s team that posted a 7-6 record and earned a bid to the Belk Bowl.

Thursday’s season opener between W&M and NC State will mark the 19th all-time meeting between the two programs, as the Wolfpack owns a 10-8 edge. While NCST has won the last three matchups, the Tribe claimed eight of the previous 10 meetings – including a stretch of six straight from 1948-53. The teams last met in 2008, which the Wolfpack won, 34-24, in Raleigh.

W&M has performed well in most of its recent contests against FBS opponents, as its last seven matchups versus the top-level competition include a win and four narrow losses. In those seven FBS matchups, W&M has owned second half leads in four of those games.

W&M opened the 2009 season with a 26-14 victory at Virginia, while it led North Carolina by 10 points with less than 10 minutes remaining in 2010 before two late touchdowns helped the Tar Heels earn a narrow 21-17 win. In 2012, the Tribe held Maryland scoreless until midway through the fourth quarter when a late go-ahead touchdown proved to be the difference in the 7-6 decision. Three years ago, W&M led West Virginia by 10 points midway through the third quarter before eventually falling, 24-17.