I am certain we’ll get a more in depth, “on the ground” recap from Jeff and/or other SFN bloggers shortly. But here is the thumbnail review from someone who just watched on TV (and based on the stadium shots ESPN showed, there were quite a few people who chose the same route that I did).
The Wolfpack defense was simply dominant. One would expect a physical, athletic defense should pick apart a one dimensional offense. That didn’t happen against Wake Forest, but undoubtedly did against the Bulls, who never found any sort of offensive flow. Unfortunately, the primary playmakers were either seniors or sure-fire early entrants for the NFL draft.
Aside from a 3rd quarter fumble, Marcus Stone avoided the turnover bug and generally did a good job not screwing up, which is all he really needed to do. He did throw a nice fade pass for the first touchdown of the game. It was classy for Amato to have Jay Davis close the game out, and he proved just as adept at handing off as Stone.
All of the scoring came in the 2nd quarter. It was remarkable to see such poor offensive play from both teams, with weather clearly not a factor. I can only imagine that this is how college football looked in the 1920s (except for the successful kicking of extra points), when you frequently saw scores like 12-0. I wonder if anyone without a rooting interest actually watched the entire game. If so, they probably need to seek professional help.
It was nice to get a win, allowing Amato and company to earn an overall “C” grade for the 2005 season. But the game did little to answer the questions that will linger for 2006 and beyond.
