(The following entry was originally logged by BJD and then “piggybacked” with more from Jeff.)
* First, I don’t know squat about William & Mary. I assume this is a team that 99% of BCS opponents would beat easily, so we must have at least a 50/50 shot. Know something about the Tribe? Put it in the comments. UPDATE: Section Six has one of their great previews that provides some mathematical insight into the match-up (Thanks, Trip). Pack Pride has the good old SID released generic game notes. CFN seems pretty accurate with their prediction…except for the part about Jamelle Eugene playing as he is questionable and probably won’t be risked in a game with William & Mary.
Last night, the 11 pm ESPN ticker had a wealth of one-liners of general interest. Here are the ones that caught my attention and a few more that I’ve run across today:
Although Beecher, a junior with the highest grade-point average on South Carolina’s roster, might make a couple of rookie mistakes when he makes his first career start Thursday night against N.C. State, the Gamecocks are betting he won’t repeat the off-field blunders that have haunted their quarterbacks the past couple of years.
In a few days we’ll renew our rivalry with South Carolina after a nine year hiatus, which is a real shame because it’s a fun rivalry that should be played annually. It would never be the Red River Rivalry or the Cocktail Party, but it’s a mutually-beneficial opportunity to capitalize on a spirited and profitable regional rivalry beyond each program’s natural rival.
If you have an interest in Steve Spurrier - the man who doesn’t want to hear clapping after losses - then you will most definitely appreciate this link from the SFN archives. Not only is there a lot in the entry but the comments section provides some interesting articles and comments. (Update: This entry was subsequently removed by the author)
Additionally, the ACC-SEC Blog also put together an entry on Friday focused on the AJC’s recent article surrounding the rumors of how long Spurrier will be coaching in Columbia. That entry can be seen by clicking here.
Once again, South Carolina will take the national stage for its Thursday opener against North Carolina State at Williams-Brice Stadium. The Gamecocks have been installed as 13-point home favorites. ESPN will have the telecast at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.”The Gamecocks have a decided advantage over the Wolfpack in the experience department,” VI handicapper Christian Alexander said. “Playing on the road in a very hostile environment and facing a South Carolina defense with 10 returning starters, I imagine points will be hard to come by for an N.C. State offense that was less than impressive in 2007.”
Wolfpack downs South Carolina by a score of 2-1 while only allowing 3 hits for second time this weekend!
Baseball America has a nice article that can be read by clicking here.
In our NCAA tournament preview podcast last week, I said North Carolina State’s pitching was very good, but not great. John Manuel disagreed.
I was wrong, and John was right.
The Wolfpack has a solid starting rotation, but what makes its staff truly great is its deep, versatile bullpen. The strength of that pen was on full display at the Raleigh regional this weekend, and it came up huge again in Sunday’s regional-clinching 2-1 win against South Carolina.
Great night at the Doak as a horrendous umpiring crew still were not able to keep the Wolfpack from notching an important and impressive win over Ray Tanner’s South Carolina Gamecocks in Raleigh.
In fact, this win was so impressive and so important that it will easily rank in the Top 5 wins of the 2007-2008 season for all NC State sports.
N.C. State got everything it needed Saturday night to beat South Carolina. And for the Pack, it took a little of everything.
We’ve known the participants since Monday, we might as well meet them and look for things to watch for in the first regional hosted by the Wolfpack since 2003 (and the first in Raleigh, as the 2003 regional was in Wilson). Let’s take a look at some team stats first. RPIs are from warrennolan.com. State’s matchup with James Madison is slated for 7:00 tonight. Charlotte tackles South Carolina in the 2:00 opener.
In a just world, USC basketball would have something in common with SMU football in the near future.
The death penalty.
It’s not going to happen, because NCAA bylaws don’t work that way. And besides, they’re not likely to ever again disband a program for a year after the smoking crater it left at SMU.
In light of the diversity of experiences and connections to Raleigh, Wyrick - along with App State’s Charlie Cobb - would most definitely be leading candidates for the NC State Athletics Directorship if we would ever be so lucky as to have “Coach” Lee Fowler disappear into the abyss.
At South Carolina, Chris Wyrick’s job as director of the Gamecock Club the past two years was to help run a $200 million capital campaign for the USC athletics department.
While the Wolfpack is off this weekend we will have a time to look around at some other items of interest.
Since NC State will be battling the USC Gamecocks in a coulple of years we thought that it would be relevant to focus on something that came out of Columbia this weekend.
As a part of this…we ask that you start by clicking here to set the stage on some of our thoughts regarding Steve Spurrier and what is developing in Columbia.
Those of you that just can’t breath air without making sure that NC State has the toughest football schedule in all of America are one step closer to getting your wish.
The Charlotte Observer is reporting an update on some things that we discussed last month about NC State’s future football schedule. (Link). If the Observer’s information is correct, NC State will scheduled themselves one of the most brutal football schedules that I have seen and would inlcude games:
vs Florida State
vs Miami
@ South Carolina (coached by Steve Spurrier)
@ Tennessee
vs Boston College
at North Carolina
at Clemson
at Maryland
Over the years, many different debates on NC State Message boards have traveled so many tangents that it became hard to remember the original premise & topic. In light of NC State’s historical propensity to hire coaches that seem to struggle to deliver success on par with our peers, and desire to retain these coaches longer than other programs, the topic of “coaching” has long been a favorite amongst Wolfpackers.
I am a staunch free market capitalist who believes mightily in the power of individuals and innovation. I believe that each human is unique, and that special people have the ability to produce very special & unique results in different situations. All men were created equal, but all men do not perform equal.
