Big injury update and afternoon football bytes

'09 Football23

WRAL: Eugene & Vermiglio not on current two-deep
WRAL is reporting that neither Jamelle Eugene nor Jake Vermiglio were ‘listed on the N.C. State depth chart for the Pittsburgh game, which was released by the school Monday afternoon.’

I’m not going to lose any sleep over this yet as: (1) I haven’t seen this two-deep listed on any other websites and (2) it wouldn’t surprise me for Coach O’Brien to have policy of not listing players on the two-deep before they even attend a single practice after returning from injury.

Of a little more concern is this update from the N&O that was just posted and provides a lot more insight than WRAL. Of particular note is the following:

N.C. State starters Owen Spencer at wide receiver and Rashard Smith at cornerback are unlikely to play Saturday against Pittsburgh because of injury.

The Wolfpack’s injury report won’t be released until Thursday, but coach Tom O’Brien indicated during his news conference that Smith and Spencer won’t play.

[snip]

Jake Vermiglio, the regular starting left tackle, has missed the last two games with a leg injury, but O’Brien did not address his status.

We will keep our eyes out on this for a little more detail.

 

Pitt Panthers
Meanwhile, community members are already starting to share some insight and ‘talking Pitt’ in this entry on our message boards. The Vegas lines are out and the Wolfpack is teetering between a one point and one and half point favorite at home against the favorite to win this year’s Big East Championship.

Pitt Blogs:

Pitt Blather

Pitt Panthers Gameday

 

The Elephant in the Room
Folks, I know that this entry is super long. It is more like a magazine feature that you have to commit real time to reading. But, that doesn’t make it any less interesting or less full of facts and it really is something that you need to read and take the time to pass to other websites on the internet.

 

October 3rd: NC State @ Wake Forest set for 3:30pm on ESPNU
Other games listed on that day are as follows:

Virginia at North Carolina, RAYCOM, 12 noon
Clemson at Maryland, ESPNU, 12 noon
Virginia Tech at Duke, ESPN360.com, 12 noon
NC State at Wake Forest, ESPNU, 3:30 pm
Georgia Tech at Mississippi State, CSS, 7:30 pm

 

NFL Sunday
It was quite a day in the NFL for a lot of former Wolfpackers and local players of interest. Philip Rivers had a career day in stinging loss to the Baltimore Ravens’ whose margin of victory was provided by former Wolfpack kicker, Steven Haushka. Mario Williams & Frank Bush’s Houston Texans won a huge one over Stephen Tulloch’s Tennessee Titans (link to conversation). UNC’s Jeff Reed cost the Steelers a big win in Chicago. And, there is growing talk of Bill Cowher being a fit for the Carolina Panthers!

We’ve got a lot the NFL stuff and tons of other ‘byte-like’ topics covered on our growing message boards and we would encourage you to also make visiting those forums a part of your SFN experience. Link to forums

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'09 Football

23 Responses to Big injury update and afternoon football bytes

  1. choppack1 09/21/2009 at 3:46 PM #

    Regarding injuries – R. Smith is the biggest loss right now. I’m wondering Spencer’s being held out of upcoming game has to do w/concussion and perhaps a university or NCAA policy.

    Regarding Wake kick-off time – that’s good news. It’s not quite prime time but 3:30 is the next best possible time for a kickoff (the night time being the best option.)

  2. Alpha Wolf 09/21/2009 at 3:54 PM #

    Good thing for 3:30. I can keep an eye on the Pack in Winston whilst I tailgate outside CFS for U2.

  3. tvp1 09/21/2009 at 3:56 PM #

    I’m pretty sure that Bowens and Morgan weren’t on the 2 deep last week and still played, so I’m holding out hope that Vermiglio and Eugene will be able to play. If not, Andrew Wallace at LT against Pitt’s D-line really scares me.

  4. BJD95 09/21/2009 at 3:59 PM #

    I’m happy that I’ll see the Wake game in HD and won’t have to attend live. Huzzah!

    Awful news re Spencer. If we also don’t have Vermiglio, my optimism for this game will really start to wane. And if we lose this one, we need 5-3 in ACC play just to be bowl eligible.

  5. LKNpackfan 09/21/2009 at 4:24 PM #

    As I said in the forums, Pitt gave up 400 passing yds and 4 passing TDs to Buffalo, who’s QB had only started a single game prior to that one. If the play-calling is aggressive enough and if he gets just a decent amount of protection, I think Wilson can get close to that figure.

  6. GAWolf 09/21/2009 at 5:07 PM #

    I had no clue The Chin could play quarterback… that’s awesome! Until that gets fixed, I’m not sure he’d want a piece of that. It starts to make you wonder why Peppers wanted out so badly. Maybe he could see the writing on the wall… or at least his agent could.

  7. GAWolf 09/21/2009 at 5:09 PM #

    BJD: Serious question —

    Would you take a loss to Pitt in exchange for 5-3 or 6-2 in the ACC if it meant a birth in the ACC Championship game?

  8. SeaWolf 09/21/2009 at 5:14 PM #

    From Pitt Panthers Gameday:
    “The Panthers (3-0) will travel this Saturday to Raleigh, N.C. for a date with the North Carolina Wolfpack at Carter-Finley Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and will be televised on ESPNU.”

    Excuse me? I realize it could be a typo, but now it’s personal.

  9. bradleyb123 09/21/2009 at 5:30 PM #

    ^^^ “Would you take a loss to Pitt in exchange for 5-3 or 6-2 in the ACC if it meant a birth in the ACC Championship game?”

    I’m not BJD, but I know I would!

    But I don’t really see how losing to Pitt would somehow help us win more ACC games than if we were to beat Pitt.

  10. tvp1 09/21/2009 at 5:30 PM #

    “BJD: Serious question –

    Would you take a loss to Pitt in exchange for 5-3 or 6-2 in the ACC if it meant a birth in the ACC Championship game?”

    For me the answer is hell yes.

  11. wolfonthehill 09/21/2009 at 6:10 PM #

    I’d rather see a berth in the ACC Championship game than a birth.

    But that’s just me. Some guys are into that kinda thing…

  12. BJD95 09/21/2009 at 6:18 PM #

    Absolutely. Winning the division would be a huge leap forward for our program.

    I view this as a “must win” because a loss doesn’t set a good tone for recruiting season and puts a tremendous amount of added pressure on each ACC game.

    But yeah, we’ll still have a chance to make up for a loss on Saturday. Unlike SC, though, I feel like we’re physically capable of winning this one. I’ll be disappointed if we don’t.

  13. highstick 09/21/2009 at 7:18 PM #

    This is so funny but is so true of Clempson Football! Let’s be sure we beat the crap out of them and torment this kid some more!

  14. Plz2BStateFan 09/21/2009 at 7:35 PM #

    BJD95

    Those are the exact words I would use to describe this game. They have known weaknesses, and we dont know if we have fixed ours from the USC game. I was getting used to coming to a game knowing we would win. I have seen so few Pitt games I really dont know how good they tend to be.

  15. 61Packer 09/21/2009 at 8:51 PM #

    I used to think our injury thing was just an excuse, but seems I was wrong. We seem cursed!

    Spencer’s fall took most of the fun out of Saturday night’s game for me. That’s as bad a fall as I’ve seen in years at CFS. Yeah, Wilson got the passing record, but it came against a horrible team, almost as bad as Murray State two weeks ago. Pittsburgh will not allow our primary emphasis to be on setting or extending records.

    I’ve watched our basketball program hit the bottom of the ACC, largely because of weak nonconference schedules that do little to prepare us for better opponents and league play. I don’t want to see the same thing in football. It’s ok to have a Murray State or a Gardner-Webb on the schedule, but one’s enough, and it ought to be our season-opener.

    We might win Saturday’s game, and I sure hope we do, but I just don’t see anything gained in the way of preparation during the past two weeks other than us overrating ourselves due to the wide victory margins. Saturday may be a really tough afternoon for us.

  16. StateofthePack 09/21/2009 at 10:20 PM #

    The thing that worries me the most about this game is do we have an adjustment period going from two FCS teams to a legitimate BCS team and how we respond. The speed of the game will no doubt be closer to the SC game than the two glorified scrimmages we just played. Hopefully we can start out quick and get a working margin and keep the crowd in the game. If we start out by scoring on one of our first drives of the game, I really like our chances. If our offense moves like it’s stuck in the mud and doesn’t get going until the 3rd quarter, we could witness a repeat of the SC game.

  17. BassPacker 09/21/2009 at 10:32 PM #

    61Packer, Wilson didn’t throw 329 passes without an INT in just the Gardner Webb game, it started last season and record was set in the GW game. It does not deminish the accomplishment when you look at it started last season and was set in the GW game. Passes 100-295 came against some pretty stiff defenses.

  18. 61Packer 09/21/2009 at 10:49 PM #

    No knock on Wilson, BassPacker, but I believe the receivers are going to have a lot more trouble getting open than they did against MSU and GW. I could’ve gotten open for some of those passes against those defenses, although they still have to be thrown in the right place to have been caught. Credit is due Wilson, and I have no doubt about Wilson’s ability to throw the ball accurately, as long as the O line holds up, which is questionable against a bigger and faster opponent like Pitt.

    The post by StateofthePack, just before yours, pretty much sums up my feeling as well. I also saw those two games as “glorified scrimmages” that may not have done us much good as a team. Our offense needs to be more than just Wilson’s passing precision.

    I still want to see him run more by design, not running for his life.

  19. blpack 09/21/2009 at 11:24 PM #

    Saturday will be a tough game. We knew that going in. Time to see what we’ve learned from 3 weeks ago. First team to 21 may win it.

  20. Wufpacker 09/22/2009 at 12:34 AM #

    I agree that 2 I-AA games in the same season is too many, but don’t forget that it was not originally supposed to be that way. The 2nd I-AA was a last minute fill in for the ECU game that was moved.

    I don’t think we have to worry that this will be a pattern under TOB as it seemed to be in bball under HWSNBN.

    The one plus I had hoped would result from the 2 I-AA’s is a chance to heal up some injuries. Unfortunately it appears that any progress that was made was offset by additional injuries anyway.

    And as far as the receivers having a more difficult time getting open against Pitt, I suspect this will probably be true. But the passing stats given up by Pitt’s defense against Buffalo (QB in only his 2nd start) seems to indicate that if the O-line can give even a little pass protection, and we can establish even a decent running game (and RW can be mobile like we know he can be) and thus keep their secondary honest, then the opportunity for big plays will probably be there.

    But, as usual, it all starts on the O-line. Thats why I believe that the most important questionmark right now with regard to injuries is whether Vermiglio can return and contribute significant minutes. The O-line, especially the left side, has got to play well for us to have a chance.

  21. McCallum 09/22/2009 at 6:50 AM #

    None of that stuff matters folks, what really matters is REVENGE!!!

    After enduring the Pitt fans at the Tangerine Bowl years ago I want some payback.

    And no, I’m not talking about the game specifically but rather this large group of Pitt fans who played Tom Petty’s greatest hits loudly, random bits of Steely Dan, a sing along time to Rock and Roll Hoochie Coo, and a bits and pieces of Huey Lewis and the unbearable News all while we tried to cook ribs/chicken while we listened to our bluegrass and sipped our white likker beside the lake.

    So you think about this; here we are tailgating-doing it right and a bunch of gelled hair goombahs, in hockey jerseys, with the decency of an outhouse rat are disrupting our 3rd Time Out and fine cooking.

    McCallum

  22. bradleyb123 09/23/2009 at 4:23 PM #

    ^^^ “I’ve watched our basketball program hit the bottom of the ACC, largely because of weak nonconference schedules that do little to prepare us for better opponents and league play. I don’t want to see the same thing in football. It’s ok to have a Murray State or a Gardner-Webb on the schedule, but one’s enough, and it ought to be our season-opener.”

    But, isn’t that why we’re playing SC and Pitt this year? We had two weak teams, sure. But the only reason we had two instead of just one is because ECU backed out of this year’s matchup with us (apparently because they wanted to wait and play us after adding 7,000 more seats to their stadium). But we filled the schedule with what we could get on short notice. That’s my understanding of it. But still, we’re playing two pretty good OOC teams.

    I don’t remember the basketball team ever having 50% of their non-conference schedule be tough opponents like this year’s football team.

  23. VaWolf82 09/23/2009 at 5:01 PM #

    I’ve watched our basketball program hit the bottom of the ACC, largely because of weak nonconference schedules

    BS! The BB team’s problems over the last several years have absolutely nothing to do with the teams that they play.

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