Football Diversion

'08 Football28

ACC

I just can’t think about NC State basketball anymore. And – after the NC State women ALSO inexcusably lost in Greenville to ECU this weekend – I am not speaking solely about the men’s program. (Lee Fowler has got to feel GREAT about where he has taken the NC State Athletics Department in his tenure, eh?)

After some telephone conversations and discussions today I need to check out for a bit. So, if for some reason you want/ need basketball conversations then you scroll down our front page to find all of the ‘graduate level’ conversation that you can stomach. For me…I’m grasping at staws to think of anything that is not our trainwreck of a basketball season.

So…why not turn to football?

Of course, NC State football hasn’t offered much refuge from losing over the last four years – the 50% of Lee Fowler’s tenure where his ‘leadership’ would have the most impact on the program. But, we can all have some dreams that a capable quarterback will magically appear in Raleigh for the 2008 season!

In that light, Caulton Tudor has shared his way-too-early-prediction on the 2008 ACC football season in this article Here’s an early guess at how next year’s final standings will look:

ATLANTIC DIVISION:
(1) Clemson
(2) Wake Forest
(3) Florida State
(4) Maryland
(5) N.C. State
(6) Boston College

COASTAL DIVISION
(1) Virginia Tech
(2) Virginia
(3) North Carolina
(4) Miami
(5) Georgia Tech
(6) Duke

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'08 Football

28 Responses to Football Diversion

  1. GoldenChain 12/10/2007 at 3:04 PM #

    I know that BC is losing a lot of guys but 1st to last? No sure about that. However if that does happen it says something about TOB and his influence on the program.

  2. melikesncsu 12/10/2007 at 3:22 PM #

    I wish I could argue with that UNC at 3rd, but the Coastal is just not very good.

  3. Noah 12/10/2007 at 3:36 PM #

    It all depends on the QB. If we find a guy who can throw the deep out and not throw 45 interceptions and can just be AVERAGE, we’ll be miles ahead of where we are right now. We don’t have to have a great QB. Just a mediocre one will do.

  4. Par Shooter 12/10/2007 at 3:41 PM #

    In all fairness, if that were to happen I think it would say a lot about the depth of BC’s recruiting during TOB’s last couple of years at BC. I know they had a ton of 5th year seniors this year but I don’t pay enough attention to know what was in their other classes. While it would be fun to see them struggle next year, I don’t think it speaks very well for TOB if they immediately fall to last. We’ve all put a lot of stock in the argument that he built a team that was #2 in the country for a brief spell this year as validation of his ability to build a program. A first-to-worst right after cannot be totally off of TOB’s legacy at BC.

    My guess is that he left some talented, smart, hard working kids in the younger classes and that they will contiue to be a pretty good team as those kids work though the system. As we are all too familiar, it will really depend on what they’ve got at QB. Next year will tell a lot about Logan, IMO.

  5. ruffles31 12/10/2007 at 3:53 PM #

    The concerns about the QB override everything else.

    However, I am real concerned about the lack of news of recruiting possibilities on kicking specialists for 2008. I am not sold on either punter on scholarship (from watching them warm up before the game or at halftime). Also, we have 0 scholarship placekickers (I have Cjakowski as a punter). We were real fortunate with Hauschka this past year. Special teams determine more games than you think. And it isn’t necessarily points you put on the board. I can’t tell you how much hidden yardage we lost this year on punts, kickoff returns, etc. That is a combination of the kick, tackling, blocking, and penalties.

  6. backinpack 12/10/2007 at 4:16 PM #

    Par Shooter, You never know about TOB and the depth left at BC. We all thought we were glad to see HS gone, but after the beginning of the BBall season last year it became clear to me that one reason Herb left because the cupboard was pretty bare. If the two freshman that opted out after HS left stayed, I’m not sure we would have been much better.

    TOB may have seen the exact same situation at BC. He may have told himself he needed to get a new job after 2006 or 2007 at the beginning of the 2006 season and the NC State job may have seemed like a good fit at the time, so he jumped earlier than absolutely necessary. I don’t think it was a bad move and I don’t think he does either, but I do think it’s interesting to think about.

  7. Sam92 12/10/2007 at 4:31 PM #

    Tudor seems awfully sanguine about UNX’s prospects – better than Miami and Ga Tech; I’m not so sure about that.

    i’m not shy about our prospects though, i think we can play with maryland.

    is our 2008 football schedule available anywhere?

  8. old13 12/10/2007 at 4:47 PM #

    Let’s see – our ONLY strengths for 2008 are RB, WR and DB. It all starts with DL and OL, which could be OK with some returnees, but are now unknowns overall. QB is a big issue but has potential for improvement. Looks like a good guess FOR NOW to me for the 2008 Pack. I don’t see how anyone could pick us higher until after the first game, which should give us a good idea right off the bat.

    As for BC, who knows. There may be rising RSrs/RJrs ready to step in. But then there’s the coaching question (which would relieve TOB of all responsibility), which may be abigger issue.

    GaTech, UNX and UM will be in coaching transition, although UM and UNX will be further along. UNX, and UM especially, have some returning talent – maybe they will be better for 2008.

    Should be an interesting season.

  9. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 12/10/2007 at 4:48 PM #

    I remember the good old days when Marcus Stone was quarterback.

  10. Astral Rain2 12/10/2007 at 4:52 PM #

    Looking at the Army All-American rosters- there’s a good freshman QB coming in, but he’s scrawny. 6’6″ 195

    #58 overall prospect though

    I say give him the ball, and let him see if can be a Philip Rivers. At the very least, he’ll take lumps and be better then Daniel Evans. (No offense intended to Evans- he’s a class act and a good guy, he’s just not an ACC-caliber QB)

  11. Wolf-n-Atl 12/10/2007 at 4:58 PM #

    I don’t see Tech falling that far esp. if they keep the majority of their commitments. They have finished above 500 in the conference for the last 6-7 years IIRC.

  12. Mr O 12/10/2007 at 5:01 PM #

    TOB’s program at BC was if anything very consistent. BC has won 9+ games for four straight seasons IIRC, so I don’t see them falling to last all of a sudden. However, considering they are replacing one of the best QBs in the country I guess anything can happen. BC was a couple of lucky plays(BC and Clemson) from going 8-4 this year and a return trip to a minor bowl game, so maybe last place isn’t such a stretch.

  13. CarnifeX 12/10/2007 at 5:03 PM #

    So what happened to CTC being next in line for the FSU head coaching gig. I thought he was next to be donned king thug. Looks like Jimbo Fisher will be taking over next. I can imagine they had to make a move like this in order to keep Jimbo Fisher happy; I’m surprised he’s not already a head coach somewhere (Dook could probably score with an offensive guy like that). But thought it was a curious move since CTC came back to be the next guy.

  14. VaWolf82 12/10/2007 at 5:42 PM #

    So what happened to CTC being next in line for the FSU head coaching gig.

    Whoever said that? No one that I ever heard. I always thought B Bowden gave his old friend a job when his old one came open (LB Coach).

    We’ve dissected the weaknesses of this year’s FB team enough. I just don’t see where any of the weaknesses (except for RB depth) is sure to improve next year. If I were doing the rankings, I would have State last in the division and move BC ahead of UMD. If FSU can find a QB, then I would move them ahead of WF….but not until then.

    The other division is hard to pick….but UNC is probably a little high. Miami will be as good as whichever freshman QB they decide to use….ie impossible to pick until we see them play. UVA maximized their potential this year and you would think that they would be unlikely to do that well again next year….but which team would you pick above them?

  15. choppack1 12/10/2007 at 7:28 PM #

    BC and State are toss ups.

    It will be interesting to see if/how the line improves in the offseason. I was impressed w/their work the second half of the season. I think if we can have a QB whose INTs don’t exceed his TDs, we’ll have a shot at a good ACC season. If memory serves correct, we’ve got a fairly difficult schedule.

    Here’s also where I mention that TOB has been saying some very positive things about Russell Wilson. Hopefully, he will do what he has to do to earn the job. (Because TOB is also hinting that if Wilson wants the starting job, he’s got to attend all the spring practices – this in spite of him having a chance to start at 3rd Base.)

  16. WestCoast 12/10/2007 at 7:43 PM #

    We open up at USC in Columbia 8/28/08.

  17. PackerInRussia 12/10/2007 at 9:47 PM #

    Maybe Tudor picked BC to finish last after seeing how State nose-dived after Rivers left. State did not make a bowl despite having one of the best defenses in the country and it was almost all because of QB. Will BC have a strong enough defense to counter what could potentially be a weak offense with a new QB? Do they have a decent QB who will be game-ready to replace Matt Ryan? If the answers are “no” and “no”, then do they have good enough coaching to overcome both of those. I think Tudor is also answering that question with a “no”.

  18. DFMo 12/10/2007 at 9:55 PM #

    Sam92, here’s a neat site for schedules:

    http://cfbpalace.decro.net/currentsched.cgi?tid=63&season=2008&submit=Show+Schedule

  19. Pack92 12/11/2007 at 6:59 AM #

    What if WIlson throws as many INT’s as TD’s but also makes first downs with his feet? There has to be a tradeoff instead of standing in the pocket and taking sacks or just making stupid throws. Maybe Beck will show some improvement as well after having a year to learn the offense. No way Wilson should have to choose football over baseball at this point in his life.
    Paul Johnson will not finish behind unx.

  20. RAWFS 12/11/2007 at 7:07 AM #

    ’92, what I have heard from some folks is that in practice, Wilson has been incredibly accurate and has a strong arm.

  21. PackMan97 12/11/2007 at 7:28 AM #

    I imagine that folks are questioning BC because of the large number of seniors leaving the program and feel that Jags is a drop off in coaching talent. It goes without saying that they won’t be as good next year. I wouldn’t drop BC as far as Tudor has, but definitely to 3rd or 4th in the division. They lose 14 (?) Senior starters. That’s a huge hit.

    As far as Herb Sendek goes, when he resigned we still had Ced Simmons and Brackman on the team plus recruits Davis and Werner. Now, do you already assume that Herb read the writing on the wall with regards to Simmons and Brackman? Oh well, water under the bridge and let’s all start yelling at the new coach. Different day, S o S.

  22. Sam92 12/11/2007 at 8:09 AM #

    thanks for the link DFMo; our schedule looks brutal

  23. BoKnowsNCS71 12/11/2007 at 8:29 AM #

    5 games into football and I was saying :wait till basketball season.” Now 6 games into basketball season we are talking football. Go figure.

    Based on the fact that WF, Clemson, MD, FSU all beat us this year – I don’t see an upset next year, But BC at the bottom is just hard to accept. Surely TOB had good strong guys in the pipeline and the coaching staff aren’t fools.

  24. pakfanistan 12/11/2007 at 10:51 AM #

    Here’s your football diversion…

    Cedric Hickman arrested for breaking into cars in Cary.

    What an idiot.

    http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=5827313

  25. Noah 12/11/2007 at 12:37 PM #

    He got caught at the scene of the crime…so no hope of mistaken identity.

    More wonderful press.

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