Central Florida Live Blogging
As we told you earlier today, this game is huge for our future. The opportunity cost of failure is immense. No excuses – if Tom O’Brien is going to succeed as NC State’s head football coach, he must have a successful 2010 season. If we are to have a successful 2010 season, we must beat the likes of Central Florida. Even if the entire ACC played as if it should trade places with the Colonial Athletic Association – this is still must-win territory. So, although history demands that I expect our usual bed shitting – it’s really not an option tonight, boys (meaning players and coaching staff).
Tonight also marks our second straight “heavyweight” tilt in the post-Mangino era. George O’Leary could still eat his way to the top, if he puts some effort into it. Let’s roll.
7:40 – Wow, we held on 3rd and short. My jaded heart thawed a little.
7:44 – OK, Owen Spencer 10 yards in the clear for an east six. Yes, I did halfway expect him to drop it, because the catch would be too easy. I did NOT expect Wilson, under no duress, to overshoot him by a couple of yards. You have to think that will come back to haunt us, even after a surprisingly effective Ruiz punt.
7:48 – Sorry for the slow start. Blackberry version was hiding the “edit” function. Pack forces another punt.
7:51 – Hopefully, no more gift TD’s dropped. Pretty cool to hear the CBS music again for a State football game. Reminds me of the beatdown we put on Clemson in 1986, with Musberger in the house.
7:53 – Hey, Ron Cherry. The 1870s called, and they want their accent back. And a huge play is nullified by penalty. Pack is killing itself early on. What else is new.
7:55 – And we still can’t run for shit. Go with what we can do, TOB.
7:56 – Did anyone else see a facemask there? Mike Leach, auditioning for our coaching job for 2011. No conservative 3rd down calls from him! LMAO
8:00 – UCF’s running back has a girl’s name. Na-ha! (h/t, Nelson Muntz).
8:02 – Great tip drill from the Pack front line leads to an Earl Wolff pick and deep return. And Greene actually makes a positive play in the rushing game! Need six here. Three will not do
8:04 – I hope Haynes is a great blocker. Otherwise, I would like Greene to get more reps. Wilson sucks in the early going. Bad.
8:06 – And Haynes makes me look like an asshole, showing great burst twice on that same delay draw we used so effectively against Pitt last year (IIRC).
8:09 – In other news, Penn State looks like dogshit. Perhaps they should apply for ACC membership.
8:11 – Kuhn! The red eye is gone, and he’s disrupting the running game. All of a sudden, we look pretty good. Even making tackles. 4th and 1, Pack holds!!
8:13 – Hey, if you’re going to block in the back, might as well double your pleasure. The penalty is the same.
8:20 – Nice work to grind out the first down. Need to keep the momentum.
8:22 – Good ball control offense. Keeping the D off the field.
8:24 – This looks like an 8-win team right now. Nice to see such crispness in the second game of the year.
8:27 – Very difficult throw across his body, and Wilson makes it perfectly. 14-0. No, really – 14-0, our way!
8:30 – Wow, our kickoffs and coverage unit are even doing solid work. Well, except for being offsides.
8:33 – Doesn’t it seems like UCF should have better looking cheerleaders? I’m divorced, so I’m allowed to make observations like that again.
8:35 – The defensive containment and discipline are off the charts tonight. Even without hearing Nate Irving’s name once.
8:37 – The home crowd boos. We actually made a September road crowd boo! I never thought I would live to see that day. Time to go for the kill shot.
8:43 – Well, no kill shot. But Ruiz is punting great. Everybody wants in on the action tonight. Dear God, please let this last.
8:45 – Oh shit, we are going to get the ball. Kill shot may be coming after all. This is a beautiful game!!
8:48 – Kill shot delivered! 20 yard TD run by Mustafa Greene on 3rd and 10. NC State 21, UCF 0. Asses are being kicked. Names are being taken. This feels good.
8:52 – …and then they run the kickoff back for a touchdown. Back to Charlie Brown football?
8:57 – As long as UCF doesn’t score again before the half, I think we are in pretty good shape.
9:00 – But a semi-fluky big play, and the Knights have marched to the State 30. Not good.
9:02 – Who the shit is #37 (Monk)?
9:03 – State gets away with PI twice, and the FG is no good. Expect us to run out the clock – especially after a scary fumble.
Halftime (with bullets dodged) – NC State 21, UCF 7. Me gusta.
9:26 – Terrible start to the second half. Didn’t need a hangover from the last few minutes, but we have it.
9:28 – That was a huge first down.
9:32 – Wilson making some awful decisions. Very lucky not to have multiple turnovers.
9:35 – This is “Bizarro Wolfpack” – everybody playing great except RW. Cole makes another huge play, and it’s Pack ball at the UCF 18. Review won’t overturn.
9:37 – Leach disagrees with my assessment. But I’m 1 for 1 so far.
9:38 – Shit, Leach was right and I’m 1 for 2. That was huge.
9:41 – Then we drop an INT. Still, have to like how we are always around the ball. And still have it around midfield after the punt. Things are still good.
9:44 – One more score and I would be confident. But it aint happening on this possession.
9:48 – Audie Cole is playing the game of his life. You will never see a finer pick by a linebacker, on any level. Just brilliant.
9:51 – Real missed opportunity for points there. That could hurt.
9:53 – Shitty punt by Ruiz. Hopefully the worm isn’t turning.
9:57 – CJ Wilson runs it back for a score. Our defense has scored 7, given up ZERO. I never thought such a performance was possible. Not in a million years.
10:01 – Just noticed that I haven’t raised my voice in anger or frustration all game. Not once.
10:06 – UCF finally moving the ball a bit. The triple option throws us for a loop. Still don’t like how we match up with GT.
10:10 – Still don’t see how UCF scores 3 TDs in the 4th quarter. Not convinced they will even punch this one in.
10:14 – But punch it in they do, and it’s down to 28-14. Watch for onsides kick here.
10:20 – TJ is back to running poor routes, and State has to punt. Not good. Defensive intensity needs to ratchet back up a few notches.
10:23 – Yikes, that was scary bad coverage. But passing isn’t this QB’s forte. Then Audi Cole blows up the next play. Ooohs from the hostile crowd, even.
10:33 – God only knows why Ron Cherry thought we might decline the offsides call to bring up 4th down. But we don’t get any better results on the do-over. Need one more defensive stop to salt this one away.
10:38 – No idea where we found this defense. But I like it. Until a blown coverage gives UCF an easy 25 yards.
10:42 – Things got shitty all of a sudden. This would be a collapse of epic proportions. At bare minimum, it will be a tense ending.
10:45 – It’s a one score game with 4 and a half left. Pack will need two first downs or the palpitations start.
10:49 – Bad decision on his cut by Greene. Gain goes for 5 instead of 8 or 9. 4 on the next play and it’s a HUGE 3rd and 1.
10:50 – The QB keeper is sniffed out and crushed. Time to worry. Just under 3 minutes, UCF still has one timeout. Crucial punt coming up.
10:52 – And Ruiz f–king shanks it. 15 yard punt.
10:53 – Irving has lost more than a step. Heartbreaking.
10:55 – 4th and 1 converted. Easily.
10:57 – Pack lucks out, forcing a fumble inside the 10 yard line. Very poor 4th quarter, Manning saves our bacon with the recovery (after Brandon forces the fumble). Too bad, the first 3 quarters were exceptional.
10:59 – Still, I take any road win when RW plays like absolute garbage.
Your Final Score – NC State 28, Central Florida 21.
Wilson with two bad passes early on- accuracy on the long ball seems off early.
How many drinks DID Leech have before the game?
Wow, that (non)tackle looked familiar.
Yea, our boys still can’t always tackle
Vermiglio and Sweezy are in. I assume Kuhn too. Good news. Blocking looked pretty good first series.
I like the aggressiveness of the defense early. I don’t think we saw that in one game last year.
Outta here. Off to Jax. Good luck Pack!
Tenuta’s influence is already on display!
And ANOTHER BLITZ!! YES!
Not sure I can handle Leech in the booth. Will he slur more as the drinks I mean game goes on?
Lucky that last pass was overthrown a step. Th
Ron Cherry !
Crap, should say, though I like to think the blitz helped. Gebus, cherry is calling
Justin Byers alone will cost us 5 losses this year at a minimum.
Does anyone know of a link to the game? I don’t have the channel that it is playing on.
Two poor penalties killed us.
Link:http://www.justin.tv/frankcal22
Password:redskins
http://www.justin.tv/frankcal22
password:redskins
Amato really needs to get these guys to reduce the penalties.
Check page 1 of packpride forum for stream site and pwd
Two red stripes on the britches and our uniforms would be tight.
Same zone crap. Different year same pass defense.
Wolff with the INT!!!
Holy Crap a INT
Nice INT. Then got rocked.
Check that
Wolff got ruined