They Say That First You Lose By A Little: Boston College 38- NC State 31

Following an exciting fourth quarter comeback, the NC State defense wasn’t able to keep Boston College out of the end zone after the Wolfpack tied the game at 31-31 with about 3:30 left in the contest in today’s ACC matchup at Carter-Finley Stadium.

That’s no surprise considering that BC had pretty much played through NC State’s defense with ease most of the afternoon, but still, it was a frustrating loss for Wolfpack fans because the team didn’t quit and had fought their way back in a game they were clearly outmanned and outgunned.

Some things I noticed this afternoon…

The good news:

  • With the exception of the USF and USC game, NC State seems to always find a way to hang around and make things interesting.  Given    that the team has more injuries than a typical M*A*S*H unit, and that it has three walk-ons starting, that’s a good thing.  It shows that the coaches have instilled an esprit-de-corps in the Wolfpack players that doesn’t allow them to quit.
  • NC State finally has a decent quarterback, and at times the offensive line blocks for him long enough to let a receiver break wide open and get a big gain.  Russell Wilson makes freshman mistakes once in a while, but he is the best thing under center since some guy who wore #17 played for NC State.  Let’s hope he doesn’t pursue a baseball career immediately, because it would be nice to have to put Mike Glennon under the gun as the only quality QB on the roster next season.
  • The Wolfpack also has a pretty decent set of backs, even without Toney Baker back on the field.
  • T.J. Graham is turning into the next Devon Hester, and his 103 yard touchdown return against Boston College was one of the most exciting Wolfpack plays in the last ten years.  You could almost see it coming after he had nearly gotten a free run into the end zone on the previous BC kickoff.
  • George Bryan will be one helluva tight end by the time he leaves NC State.
  • Carter-Finley can get pretty loud in its new configuration…even for 12pm games.

The bad news:

  • NC State’s defensive backfield is simply awful.  They seem to be four steps behind every decent receiver.  Is this the Mike Archer soft zone or  personnel issues?  No matter what it is, call it what the secondary what they are: a sieve.  It’s almost like there are 5 Greg Goldens back there nowadays  A decent quarter-receiver tandem can eat them alive, which may not completely be their fault:
  • The pass rush has been almost non-existent lately.  It did show up in the second half, but on the clinching drive that won the game for BC, once again the BC line kept the Wolfpack at bay long enough for receivers to get open.  Bottom line: against USF and BC, QB’s have all day and receivers can and will eventually find the interstices of a zone pass defense.  Quite honestly, as bad as the pass defense has gone, I wonder why NC State doesn’t go man-to-man and bring a blitz.  It’s not like the receivers would be any more open than they have been against USF and Boston College.
  • The kicking game is highly dubious — it’s hard to believe that at a university the size of NC State there’s no one that can kick a ball seventy yards in the air.  Or anyone that can punt a football farther than the kids out in the parking lot at the tailgates.
  • Dare I say it: why do people say that Anthony Hill has NFL skills as a tight end when he seemingly drops every important pass thrown to him?  I love the guy, don’t get me wrong, but he needs to get stickier hands if he plans on playing for money on Sundays after his days at NC State.  And before you say that this is due to him just coming back from injury, think again — he has done this through most of his career.
  • Maybe one day NC State will replace the beat up jambox they bought at Reliable Pawn and stuck in the scoreboard and put a decent PA system in.

Your thoughts?

'08 Football

71 Responses to They Say That First You Lose By A Little: Boston College 38- NC State 31

  1. coppertop 10/04/2008 at 2:36 PM #

    frustrating loss, however you can not expect to win when your defense gives up over 500 yards a game… Glad we have the off week to recover… that is assuming no one gets hurt in practice!

  2. Dogbreath 10/04/2008 at 2:41 PM #

    My thoughts?

    I think we can find a better defensive front over at the Farmhouse. Our linebacking corps features a 205lb walkon manning the boundary, which means he gets to cover 260lb tight ends. We have a 220 middle linebacker who should be a safety, and 2 true freshman playing the weakside, and they are completely lost. To boot, our defensive coordinator thinks its a great idea to never bring any support to muster some type of pressure, and drops our safeties 20 yards off the ball.

    We scored 31 pts today and lost.

  3. SaccoV 10/04/2008 at 3:02 PM #

    I was also a bit curious that we didn’t attempt to run the ball more with Eugene when we had some opportunities to eat the clock, especially on our last TD drive. I thought the coaching staff was aware of the fact that we had forced ONE punt all game. Second, why didn’t they warn the defense to just let Crane score on the 2nd fake run and give the ball back to the offense to get the tie again or go for the win? I know that coaches aren’t really cool with that strategy but it was obvious that BC with 3:00+ on the clock was going to score again in some fashion and our defense was incapable of stopping them. Speaking of the defense, it’s hard to believe that Nate Irving means that much to the defense, but he does. With him, we have a good defense. Without him, we are awful.

  4. McPete 10/04/2008 at 3:13 PM #

    i don’t think we have a good defense with irving and cash. it was better, but we played poor offensive teams when those two were in. it was a bit misleading. now we have two of the more prolific acc offenses in the second half of this season in Maryland and UNC. they should score 50 points apiece on us.

    last year we went into our by 1-5 and managed to win 4 more games. this year 2-4. i hope we can see similar results. maybe even get a couple of players back (Irving, Julian Williams, Cash?).

  5. redfred2 10/04/2008 at 3:18 PM #

    The not so unbelievable news is

    “…and (we) lost” to the BC Eagles.

    Let’s just try to remember the unbelievable news is that

    “We scored *** 31 pts *** today”

    Some people can’t see anything good in any losses, but as for this offensive unit, these kids are gaining confidence in a leader. That will pay more dividends in the long run, than the damage done by one more (expected) check in the losing column.

  6. SEAT.5.F.2 10/04/2008 at 3:20 PM #

    Is Willie Young approaching Miguel Scott/Jimmy Sutton III territory?
    If we are going to be shelled on D then I for one want to see more of TOB’s guys in there trying to fight for anything moving forward.

    Does anyone else here have same question about him? He hasn’t sniffed the pocket since the first qrt of USC. Just by mistake he would have made it past an OT since then, but NO DICE!

  7. BJD95 10/04/2008 at 3:22 PM #

    Sobering thought – this was the best chance we had for an ACC win. And we flat-out blew it. Bad turnovers, dumb decisions by BC – and State didn’t capitalize. The turning points in the game were: (i) BC’s fumble near the end of the first half; and (ii) the Clem Johnson interception. Why? Because State went 3-and-out following both of them. Those were the killers.

    I don’t recall an NC State linebacker make a single impact play this afternoon. That’s just sad.

    If only we had 22 Russell Wilsons out there. And hand it to that kid – in the post-game, he said there was no excuse for losing this game.

    That’s how a true leader would view what happened today.

  8. BigRed 10/04/2008 at 3:23 PM #

    Offense was effective, even if our QB had to do a _lot_ of scrambling to make it happen.

    Defense was very soft against the pass, but they did well in one department: getting turnovers.

    Progress.

  9. RBCRowdy 10/04/2008 at 3:26 PM #

    If we keep scoring ~30 points when Russell starts I think we are in pretty good shape as the season goes on.

  10. McPete 10/04/2008 at 3:28 PM #

    i’ll admit i don’t see much improvement right now and i’m a little pissed about this loss. i don’t think we were outmanned, but we were outplayed.

    russell wilson is a player though. it might be difficult for glennon to unseat this guy. tj graham and owen spencer also give me hope for the future.

    but i wonder about our defensive coodinator and his schemes. they seem to suck. that’s worrisome. BC is getting 25 yard gains off our safe defenses. i bet they had 15 plays of 25 or more yards. and the same plays kept working against us. was there any adjustment made? what is the philosophy there? bend but don’t break, or bend and then break?

  11. SEAT.5.F.2 10/04/2008 at 3:29 PM #

    Red is totally right on with that one. Just a few weeks ago no one could stop with the X amount of plays vs. BCS team w/o TD.

    Unfortunately the yards per game vs our last two opponents looks like their will be more ridiculous stats used by media, fanbase, ect to prove our ineptitude.

    But again, RW and the offense showed up and playd their heart out. He seems to be getting better with each snap which is scary considering his youth and inexperience. I like how Bible has set this offense up so he can succeed by using his assets. In my book Bible has started to really gain my confidence, and Archers is sliding down.

  12. redfred2 10/04/2008 at 3:29 PM #

    “Why? Because State went 3-and-out following both of them. Those were the killers.”

    I totally agree. The offense came out looking totally flat and like they were shell shocked, after receiving what amounted to a gift in both of those turnovers. That was even more deflating then watching Crane and the BC receiving corp walk all over us at will.

  13. Noah 10/04/2008 at 3:46 PM #

    I saw plenty of blitzes today. I saw us blitz from different positions. I saw us zone-blitz.

    And every time we blitzed, they picked it up. I can’t remember the last time we sacked a QB. The hit McKeen put on the ECU QB in overtime, I guess (technically, a fumble, not a sack) is the closest thing. It does little good to blitz if you can’t get there.

    A couple of weeks ago, everybody was bitching about Dana Bible. Suddenly, he gets a few guys back and the OL starts to gel and suddenly, they have some life.

    Bitch about whatever you want, but it’s NOT the coaching.

  14. redfred2 10/04/2008 at 3:54 PM #

    ^One side of the ball, it’s only good/ bad on one side of the ball at any time. Ever since back in the Amato days, it seems that is the way with Wolfpack football.

  15. BoKnowsNCS71 10/04/2008 at 3:59 PM #

    I was there. Their O-line looked like giants compared to our young men. We were in the game at the end. As Coach V said 00 you have to be in the position to win. You don’t always but it was a whole lot better than the USF game.

  16. redfred2 10/04/2008 at 4:03 PM #

    That is a patented and HUGE BC O-line. I’ve seen them in person several times over the years, and they have always looked physically overwhelming.

  17. Greywolf 10/04/2008 at 4:26 PM #

    There are positives to take away from todays game. This team doesn’t quit. We can score. TJ Graham can motor.

    I totally disagree that Bible is “has this offense set up so can succed by using his assets.”

    What the offense looks like to me is a Pro-set or I offense run out of and option formation. 1st and goal on the nine and we bunch up and run into the line. We made nice gains on 1st and 2nd down but couldn’t gain a half yard. Remember the ECU game? That’s what ECU did and we stuffed it. No surprise to me we got it stuffed. And don’t fault Ant Hill for dropping a pass. How did he get in the game? A big lumbering TE is Pro-set stuff. Spread offense use skilled receivers.

    Any HS coach who runs the spread could teach Bible a lot.

    I really love Jamelle Eugene but when I’m 1st and goal on the 9, Andre Brown is in the game, espeicially if I’m going to run it inside. The reverse is true when I’m going to throw the ball at mid-field. Maybe Brown was hurt. Maybe he took the day off, I don’t know but he sure wasn’t used today.

    I think Bible KNOWS too much. According to people who study how the brain works, a lot of knowledge limits imagination. We already know what to do. Somebody please point out to me any imagination that Bible shows.

    As bad as the secondary looked, they are still learning to play zone. Maddox doesn’t read the play and is out of position a lot. The only time he was effective was when he blitzed — both times. I also wonder what the backs were told the last time BC got the ball> Lay-off and don’t get burned?

    Again, no imagination. Maybe Archer knows too much,

    Did anybody see any line stunts? I don’t recall any. And what did we have to lose? Do we think it doesn’t count unless we over power somebody>

  18. Ismael 10/04/2008 at 4:31 PM #

    hi guys…don’t get down. as the title of the entry so appropriately suggests the program, the foundation, the tradition, the wins all start from these close losses. If TOB et al can engineer these close losses and gutty performances from a rag-tag bunch of BadNews Bears types, imagine what he’ll be able to do once they get their players in and the injury report isn’t nearly as interesting and depressing as it has been these last two years.

    I saw two important stats in the box score, 1 penalty and no turnovers, and we had 2 fumble recoveries and an interception. We got beat by almost 11min in Time of Possession though.

    I know losses like this hurt, especially when you are so close and when you need a win, but just imagine how BC felt in 2006 when Daniel Evans beat them on the last play of the game; that and the miracle-win the next week, were the only thing that kept Amato from going 1-11 his final season.

    We are 1 game better (2-4 vs 1-5) than we were last year at this time with alot more injuries. We have a real QB, 3 good running backs, a backup TE whose better than the starter (who will hopefully come around) WR’s getting more confident, a legitimate kick-punt return threat and an OL who will hopefully get their assignments in order like they did last year at the break.

    We will/should get Nate and Cash back and now we have Clem Johnson who is eveyrthing he was billed to be. Hopefully Byers isnt hurt too bad but he was filling in for a starter anyways. Byers is also the smallest saftey ive ever seen us start.

  19. haze 10/04/2008 at 4:39 PM #

    We looked like 1AA defense out there; smaller, slower, unable to get pressure even with the blitz. We miss Cash and Irving terribly. BC must have converted about 10 3rd&Longs. It was incredibly frustrating. Good to see Clem Johnson though, easy to see why we had him starting back there. Also seems like Maddox is starting to make a couple of plays. Long term, this is going to make him a better player even if it’s killing him/us right now.

    On O, you really have to love Russell; talent, heart and he’s a guy that won’t beat himself with stupid decisions. He has an easy strength on his throws that makes everything look incredibly smooth. Generally, the OL did OK given BC’s massive DL but I think Bible showed too little confidence in the running game and it left us in a lot of 3rd and longs. Receivers need to step up, way too many drops and the no-talent excuse doesn’t really work there. At TE, Hill is a man but his hands are below average, that hasn’t changed. Bryan? Wow. Crazy hands.

    Given that returns are part of the kicking game, it’s hard to complain. This was a great return game for us and the punting wasn’t all that bad, ditto the KR defense. The screw up on the fake punt hurt badly, however.

    Overall, it’s a shame to miss our chance at this game but you have to take the positives with the negatives. For what we are putting on the field, we’re doing better than I expected. Still, unless we get a lot of guys back, it’s hard to see 4 wins.

  20. wufpup76 10/04/2008 at 4:44 PM #

    “Maybe one day NC State will replace the beat up jambox they bought at Reliable Pawn … ” … that cracked me up 🙂

    I agree that there were positives from today’s game … First and foremost, a ‘never say die’ attitude – I would guess this attitude comes from your leader on offense – Russell Wilson … This marks two consecutive games (that he’s played in) that we needed a TD to tie the score late in the 4th qtr. and he led us right down the field for a clutch score … Not to mention that when it was 31-17 RW throws a strike for a long TD on the first play after a BC score … Love this kid, and I hope he’s around for at least a couple of more seasons

    Very frustrating loss, though … Any pressure at all on that QB and I think we win going away … I agree w/ Noah that you can’t necessarily blame Archer, but we have to find a way to generate some pressure or we will see repeats of this for the remainder of the season … I had been impressed w/ our D up until the USF game, but now we need some more ‘smoke and mirrors’ tactics to try with all of our walk-ons

    I said more-or-less the same thing RAWFS did about Hill to a friend while watching the game … Glad to have him back, but dropsies are apparently still a problem …

    Edit: Good point about the penalties and TO’s, Ismael

  21. Wulfpack 10/04/2008 at 5:04 PM #

    I am not nearly as disappointed with this loss as I was the loss to USF. I felt we battled pretty hard today. I did not feel that way last week. We were outplayed from start to finish and USF lost to Pitt the other night, so they aren’t exactly a top-10 caliber team. We had our moments today and the offense has found its way, finally. Yes, the defense was poor, but we were playing a very physical O line. The secondary is a serious issue, however, and the majority of our problems on D start and end there.

    All in all I think we made progress from last week to this week. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted a win badly. I very much dislike the Eagles and how they view TOB. If our D had played just a little better and not allowed that final drive, we may have found a way in OT with the momentum. But I do think some progress has been made and I am encouraged by that.

    We have some winnable games left on the schedule. I expect us to win a few of those assuming we continue to improve.

  22. leewolf 10/04/2008 at 5:11 PM #

    Even after we started blitzing more, we weren’t getting any pressure on Crane. Their O-line handled our D-line with little or no difficulty, this is where losing Cash really shows. Our secondary and LB corps lacks playmakers, and it is even more evident when our usually stout D-line gets pushed around.

    The offense played well though, Wilson has really come alive and our receivers were finally making some plays as well.

    There isn’t a team left on the schedule we aren’t capable of beating but the D needs to step it up.

  23. old13 10/04/2008 at 5:33 PM #

    I’m totally fed up with NCSU athletics – and not because of ANY coach in particular – but because of the second (or third or . . . ) tier AD occupying the office and the lack of any evident support or caring by the administration/BOT. And like it or not, the administration/BOT needs to realize, and start acting like, this is a D1 university with lots of potential in ALL areas of athletics!

  24. spanky 10/04/2008 at 5:54 PM #

    I think my favorite part about Russell Wilson (assuming he doesn’t commit fully to baseball after this year…) is that he is ONLY a RS-Freshman!! I mean to be that mentally tough and such a strong leader at such a young age (I use young awful freely as he is only a year younger than me) is pretty awesome.

  25. wolfpackdawg 10/04/2008 at 6:44 PM #

    Mike Archer has been going downhill ever since he coached LSU. Am I the only one that sees that? Even when we recruit some hosses I will worry about Archer’s performance/decisions.

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