Saturday Stuff

I’m still licking wounds and dealing with depression from Thursday and I just want to turn my attention forward. So, we are NOT going to re-hash all of the post-mortems from Thursday night. The Wolfpack should have no problem heading into the Pitt game on September 26th with a little rust worked off the machine and a 2-1 record with a little momentum. I think that the realistic expectation was to exit September with a 3-1 record, and that opportunity will still exist in the last week of September.

With this said…the following are a few pertinent points that we wanted to make today as we start to look forward:

 

========== Game Commentary ==========

  • There is no doubt that Coach O’Brien will have a stigma/challenge of being a ‘slow starter’ until NC State can have a couple of years of not laying eggs in the first game.  Heck…its not just the first game – it is the first play.  In 2007, Central Florida’s Kevin Smith broke off a 77 yard touchdown run against the Wolfpack on the first play from scrimmage of the season; in 2009, Toney Baker fumbled inside the USC 20 on the Wolfpack’s first play from scrimmage.  Ouch!
  • No matter how frustrated you may be about Thursday night, you have to be pleased about the Wolfpack’s defense.  Wow!  We could have easily given up 24+ points and instead found a way to hold the Gamecocks to seven points.  Names like Ray Michel, Audie Cole, Rashard Smith and Earl Wolff all signaled that we may be hearing a lot more from them.  WolfpackPigskin.com highlighted the play of some of these guys in this entry that is worth emphasizing.
  • While discussing new names, we have to recognize the burst of energy and strong running that James Washington provided the Wolfpack in the 4th quarter.  I guess this means that Curtis Underwood has been pushed to #4 on the depth chart?  Or, is he now 5th because of Brandon Barnes?  Regardless, it is nice to have that much quality depth at the tailback position.
  • The injury bug continues to hit the Wolfpack in a significant manner.  Ken Tysiac has some comments and observations that are worthy of note in this entry and he doesn’t even reference Jake Vermiglio and Justin Byers (two starters) dings.  Let’s hope that all of these injuries heal quickly because our (a) secondary can’t stand the loss of another starter and (b) offensive line really struggled without with Vermiglio.

 

========== Interactive ==========

  • Check out this entry and please share some of your gameday experiences and thoughts with the community.
  • We are going to ‘talk football’ today on this open thread on the message boards.  Check us out.
  • We are running a poll asking for your thoughts on the ECU-ASU match-up today.  It is interesting to see how the voting.  As much as I would love to see ECU lose in this type of game, the ASU fans I encounter are almost more ECU-like than ECU fans!  Believe me, there is value in kicking the Mountaineers ass so that they can’t even remotely try to support their delusions that they are ‘the best football team in the state’

 

========== Pictures ==========

Photo courtesy of News & Observer/Ethan Hyman

Photo courtesy of News & Observer/Ethan Hyman

The N&O’s photo coverage of NC State games continues to be second to none. In various blog entries they had as many as 200+ pictures on their site. This link will take you to the fifty or so that were logged as the the main entry after the game.

 

 

 

========== BJD’s Take on Today’s College Football ==========

College football returns in earnest today. Here’s your national TV schedule.

If you think the early games suck, you would be correct. But most of us won’t be able to help watching something, so I’ll recommend Minnesota at Syracuse. Greg Paulus will play QB for the Orange. Hilarity may very well ensue.

In the 3:30 window, people in the ACC viewing area get royally screwed. For some stupid reason, ABC decided not to make the best game of the day (Georgia at Oklahoma State) a national broadcast, instead adding 2 regional telecasts of negligible interest (Baylor at Wake, Western Michigan at Michigan). ESPN2 shows a secondary game, but this apparently must be the Big Ten offering if you aren’t getting that on ABC. So, we get both stinkers. On behalf of all of ACC country, I extend my middle finger. If you can’t hit a sports bar or shell out for Gameplan, I weakly endorse Illinois vs. Mizzou. That’s usually a high-scoring affair, at least.

Fortunately, there are two interesting night games. Virginia Tech takes on Alabama in Atlanta (8:00, ABC), and will try to avoid humiliating the league like Clemson did last year (UNC and State will get their chances to do so in the next few years). But my sleeper offering of the day is BYU vs. Oklahoma in Arlington (7:00, ESPN). Oklahoma could be a bit rusty in Week One, and you know the Stormin’ Mormons have been preparing for this game since it was scheduled. By the time one can tell whether this will be interesting or a blowout, VT/Alabama will kick off, so you’re covered either way.

Although the afternoon slate kind of sucks, there are surprisingly two possibly interesting late night games (Maryland at Cal, 10:00 ESPN2; LSU at Washington, 10:30 ESPN). Cal and LSU should roll, but Maryland can be tricky, and LSU could be sluggish after a cross-country trip to play an opponent it likely doesn’t take seriously.

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'09 Football

29 Responses to Saturday Stuff

  1. roandaddy 09/05/2009 at 12:57 PM #

    Two comments on the stadium..
    1. WHY WHY WHY was the wave started. Fourth quarter, team driving, game on line, and some idiot starts the wave?!?!? You are adding noise when it should be quiet. Plus, who does the wave? You don’t see that in The Swamp.
    2. No passouts. Its middle of the third quarter before the stadium is refilled. It just looks bad and you lose the crucial crowd noise. Most schools don’t allow it.

  2. choppack1 09/05/2009 at 1:07 PM #

    I was going to mention the first play bug, but I figured the siteowners or other posters on this site would beat me to it. I said in the other thread, we should schedule accordingly.

    Thursday really dampened my enthusiasm. I would have had a better time in the hospital waiting room. (Good news is that my Dad is doing great -thank heavens he isn’t a huge state fan.)

  3. wolfpack95 09/05/2009 at 1:36 PM #

    Regarding the wave, we talked about that after the game and again over dinner last night. I was shocked to see the stadium doing the wave during a crucial 4th quarter drive.
    Absolutely moronic…as were those that participated.
    Shame on you, Wolfpackers!

  4. StateFans 09/05/2009 at 3:15 PM #

    ^apples and oranges.

    You have to think that Brandon Barnes might be going to defense?

  5. wolfonthehill 09/05/2009 at 4:39 PM #

    legacy – Your post makes no sense. None.

    To the point at hand… I agree that it’s nice to have a plethora of talent at tailback. I’d personally prefer to see them on the field a bit more… give Washington 5-10 carries, and line Baker up at fullback in front of him (& Eugene) some.

    And Paulus played a reasonable but unspectacular game today – til his spectacularly awful game-losing pick in overtime. Nicely-done, Greg.

    And finally, the O-line struggled mightily WITH Vermiglio. He had three of our first four penalties, and all three of his were drive-killers. I would’ve been happy to see him sit for a bit to think about those, and I would’ve liked to see it before the third one… or before the injury.

  6. 1.21 Jigawatts 09/05/2009 at 4:52 PM #

    sorry wolfonthehill but that wasn’t Vermiglio that committed those penalties it was R-Fr Andrew Wallace. I’m positive of this because it all happened at my endzone and I borrowed some binos to confirm who it was.

  7. WolfpackSteelersFan2 09/05/2009 at 4:53 PM #

    Has TOB been coach 10 years? Or, even 5? Not really the same, especially since TOB is undefeated against the Holes.

  8. tj foose 09/05/2009 at 5:46 PM #

    wolfonthehill – “the O-line struggled mightily WITH Vermiglio”

    ???

    How can you miss something that obvious? Did you start tailgating at 10AM? Is this an example of how we should gauge all your comments, or would you like a mulligan?

  9. old13 09/05/2009 at 6:04 PM #

    Hey, I watched the game on ESPN west of the Mississippi and I still know that Andrew Wallace committed 3 of the 4 penalties committed by the Pack on Thursday night!

  10. wolfonthehill 09/05/2009 at 6:56 PM #

    So 2 things…

    1 – Then we got the numbers screwed up. Thought we had them straight, and we didn’t. Apologies for that.

    2 – No, I didn’t start tailgating at 10am. It was 11am, and it was a roving, three-stop tailgate – before we got to Carter-Finley. Do you happen to have a problem with that? Given that I’ve had season tickets for 15 consecutive years and have attended every game where it has been physically possible to do so, not sure I’m the guy you wanna be pulling a superiority complex on. I screwed up the number. That’s it. Move on.

  11. 61Packer 09/05/2009 at 9:13 PM #

    SFN: “Believe me, there is value in kicking the Mountaineers ass so that they cannot even remotely try to support their delusions that they are the best football team in the state.”

    To begin with, this State fan would NEVER pull for ECU unless they were playing the Holes or maybe the GD Carolina Panthers.

    I doubt that most ASU supporters really believe that App State is the state’s best football team since they are unable to give out nearly as many scholarships as ECU or the Big Four schools. However, in light of ASU’s accomplishments ON THE FIELD for the past 5 years or so, until one of the state’s so-called “Big 5” actually DOES something, ASU will continue to be the state’s best college football PROGRAM.

    I doubt that the Big Four or ECU would jump at the chance to go play in Boone. Neither would any of the other larger schools that struggle at home against the Mountaineers, who must ALWAYS play these bigger schools on the road.

    And judging from this week’s State, Wake and Duke performances, plus ECU’s home escape against a 3rd string ASU QB who’s never played that position until today, I don’t think anything is about to change anytime soon.

  12. wolfonthehill 09/05/2009 at 9:30 PM #

    App State got their asses handed to them last time they played State – and that was a BAD State team… in one of App State’s championship seasons. They play the big programs in the state routinely – and they lose routinely. Does that mean nothing? I mean, the Big 5 HAVE done something – they’ve kicked App State’s asses up and down the field on a regular basis.

    Enough of the App State hype. They’re a good FCS team. That’s all.

  13. 61Packer 09/05/2009 at 10:13 PM #

    wolfonthehill, the State team that beat ASU 23-10 at Carter-Finley was a BAD team, but the game wasn’t that one-sided. And ASU’s Armanti Edwards didn’t play that night. I was there.

    I’m not singing ASU praises, just trying to get across a point that ASU has had the most overall college football excellence in this state for the past several seasons. That’s all. And they’ve done it with far less in the way of talent, scholarships, or fuhcilities.

    The Big 5 hasn’t had a consistent “best team” among them for some time. Certainly not Duke, who continued its football tradition tonight by losing badly at home to Richmond, another FCS team. Certainly not UNC, who is up one year, down another. Certainly not Wake Forest, who has the only league title among these teams in the past several years and who also lost at home today to perennial doormat Baylor. Certainly not us, as we can’t seem to win when we need to anymore except vs UNC (thank God). And certainly not ECU, who still hasn’t won their league and who almost got beat today by a 3rd-string FCS QB in Greenville.

    And UVA lost at home tonight to another FCS school, by 2 TDs. We’d better be ready for the next two teams and quit worrying about Pitt. We can no longer take any game on our football schedule for granted.

  14. packfanatic17 09/05/2009 at 10:34 PM #

    61 packer: “And certainly not ECU, who still hasn’t won their league and who almost got beat today by a 3rd-string FCS QB in Greenville.”

    If Im not mistaken, ECU’s football team won Conference USA by beating Tulsa last year 27-24.

  15. stateman3030 09/05/2009 at 10:48 PM #

    Im surprised no one has commented on the horrible pre-game video.

  16. pyejam 09/05/2009 at 11:33 PM #

    to reply to the comments about the wave…Willie Young did say in the Technician that he wanted to see the wave at a game…I will agree timing was about as bad as it could have been.

    link to story
    http://www.technicianonline.com/sports/willie-young-s-guide-to-fandom-1.1864267

  17. packgrad2000 09/06/2009 at 7:40 AM #

    “I’m not singing ASU praises, just trying to get across a point that ASU has had the most overall college football excellence in this state for the past several seasons. That’s all. And they’ve done it with far less in the way of talent, scholarships, or fuhcilities.”

    You’re saying that ASU is a great team in the FCS, which is true. But do they have less talent, scholarships, or facilities than the other FCS schools? I don’t think so. So it’s not like their greatness in the FCS is despite their talent or scholarships or facilities. They’re on a level playing field there. And against the other Big 5, they haven’t really had much success, so it’s a pointless argument. As wolfonthehill pointed out, they’re a great FCS team, that’s it.

  18. TomCat 09/06/2009 at 8:46 AM #

    Sorry App State. Touting D1-AA (FCS) trophies is like bragging about being the tallest midget……. A horrible NCSU team routed your first title team. ECU dropped a 29-7 score on you with ease, then went to bench players like a pre-season game giving a few scores, refusing to crack their playbook to tip off West Virginia to their scheme for next Sat’s game. Ask Marshall what happens when leaving the bragging rights and safe confines of D1-AA playing Citadel and Elon every week is replaced by D1-A football. App is a great program in it’s division— the tallest midget 3 out of the past 4 years and has the trophies to prove it.

  19. El Scrotcho 09/06/2009 at 10:29 AM #

    Wow, the ACC lost every game of significance this weekend. So much for conference pride. :/

  20. highstick 09/06/2009 at 11:59 AM #

    Off topic, but should this be named “Gay Goats” or “Hogan’s Goat”?

    http://www.chapelhillnews.com/news/story/52013.html

  21. gcpack 09/06/2009 at 1:00 PM #

    Can I get some help on fixing the poll that appears on the upper right side of the page. I can vew the question & the “VOTE” block but I can never see the answer options. They just don’t appear at all.

    What’s the fix on this please?

  22. gcpack 09/06/2009 at 6:21 PM #

    Ref. above…..well?

  23. Broccoman 09/07/2009 at 12:10 AM #

    After seeing the henhouse full of eggs laid by the ACC this week, maybe there’s a still a chance. Especially if the offense gets it right in the end, like I think it can.

    I’m still going to be optimistic.

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