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Love to hear that we looked like a team and hope we stay that way. Also enjoyed the stats from ‘Roo, but it made me recall an article I’d read about historically ranking players.
“We (a) romanticize players we remember from childhood, (b) lionize people we’ve only read about, and (c) undervalue modern players who seem like lesser versions of people we’ve seen before.”
So true and I guess that is why Hawkeye Whitney popped into my head BEFORE Julius Hodge.
Props to Hawkeye though. I was a kid and a fresh yankee transplant when I ran into him (and Chuck Nevitt’s crotch) in the concourse after their 1980 NCAA tournament game in Greensboro. They were both happy to stop and sign a program. An NC State fan was born right there.
Congrats to all Cubs fans and they are indeed primed to become even better.
Btw, if that is the case then you’ll need to consult with Boston to transition from the cursed, but lovable losers to being the a hated franchise with a mass of band wagon fans. Ah, the spoils of victory. 🙂
Think outside the box here, but maybe we go old-school and pull a Mike Kekich & Fritz Peterson move and swap coaches (not wives) before the game. We can rule out Jimbo, Richt, and Fedora, but perhaps we could get Dino Babers from Syracuse and call it even.
At least our hopes would be re-inflated temporarily.
If that’s not possible, invite Boeheim and his wife to the game. Maybe she can take over the helm. Surely some of us would be distracted and enjoy the gameday view a bit more.
I’m fine with the idea of buyouts (it works well in business), but it seems that it’s gone waaaay overboard. From the University perspective, is it just an insurance policy if someone wants to hire away our coach? Heck, I would love to have that problem.
Per a USAToday article last week, DDs buyout is 2.59 million. Whatever the number it isn’t chump change. Look at some other buyouts though.
Charlie Strong at Texas – 11+ million
Purdue Coach (just canned) at 4.9 million
Kirk Ferentz at Iowas – 25 millionHiring a college football coach is expensive. Firing one is, too.
“I have noticed more empty spots and less enthusiasm than we have seen in the past. 3-11 at home in conference for the last years has a way of making folks focus on the more important things in life. Friends, family and food”
This is spot on and while I have been seeing it for a while, it really struck me at the ND game this year. Even with limited number of people in the stands, the level of intensity was something I have RARELY seen in the past few years. In the parking lot, I am all about friends, family, and food, but once in the game I cheer and cheer hard. I remember when you had to stand the entire game in Section 2. Nowadays, it’s more common to be asked to sit down.
Have we beaten down the fans over time with the product on the field? Are our fans with younger kids just not as interested? I don’t know, but the culture that exists today seems to better support parking lot funfests than coming up for air with sufficient coin to support the cost of a buyout/new coach.
I enjoy a little ranting as well, but I appreciate the scenarios ‘Roo and botb laid out. Heck, at a minimum they add a little bit of levity for some of us that could really use it.
In all seriousness, these two proposals represent the ultimate “Fish or Cut Bait” decision point. Very interesting, at least to me anyway.
The song that fits for me is one I heard just now on the way home from Church (needed to cleanse my soul after yesterday) is Pink Floyd’s (Un)Comfortably Numb. Alternative lyrics filled my head and seemed all too fitting. Head shaking.
Luke DeCock ripped him in his article today. Would like to hear DDs response to that.
BOTB, I was there and I don’t ever remember feeling like I did on the way out of the stadium. It may not have been as bad as those games, but it sure felt worse to me.
I thought after the turdfest we just might drive the field, score and then beat them in overtime (wonder who would have kicked a FG though).
Alas, mind numbing play calls and what looked like a bad route capped it off. Never should have been in that position.
#Done
I’m glad we’re back at home and the weather for tailgating and catching a game should be pretty darn ideal too.
On the field I feel pretty good about this game, but I always worry about a back-up QB playing and we get hit with something we didn’t prepare for (seems like I’ve seen that play out countless times). If our D is in the right frame of mind it shouldn’t matter too much as the past 2 weeks showed me that we DO have the ability to hang with some pretty good offenses (not ALL the time mind you).
Offensively, I want to see us run all over them. I know that’s their strength, but after last week we need to rebuild the confidence in our running game for the stretch run. Hopefully, we can make that happen, but if we struggle then I’d like to see McClendon sprinkled in to see if a different look changes things.
To the point of many here, improved in-game coaching is something I want to see. Games like BC, Wake, and Maryland have always seemed to the biggest headaches for me. Not just because of the WTF losses, but because of what we did or didn’t do.
Let’s hope we’re aggressive and take it to them on Saturday!
Heck, I am just hoping we play TEAM basketball with a solid effort on a consistent basis. Frustrated me to no end to watch the cluster at times last year.
One more thought regarding the Coaches Poll. 2 years ago we didn’t receive a single preseason vote and yet finished 24th in the final poll. Last year we were without Warren so only received 36 votes preseason, then finished without mention.
Quick fun facts!
2014-2015: 11 Preseason Top 25 teams finished OUT of the Top 25.
-6 of those didn’t even receive a single vote in the final poll (Florida, Texas, UConn, Nebraska, Michigan, Syracuse).
-Conversely, 6 teams who finished in the Top 25 didn’t get a single preseason vote (NC State was one of them).
2015-2016: 6 Preseason Top 25 teams finished OUT of the Top 25.
-2 of those didn’t get a single vote in the final poll (LSU, Vanderbilt)
-Syracuse finished 10th, but didn’t receive a single preseason vote.In summary, over 2 years the coaches picked 66% (33/50) of the final top 25 correctly in the preseason. Opening that up to “others receiving votes”, over 2 years the coaches picked 86%. However, the “others” selected comprised an additional 50 teams.
Doubled the selection pool and improved their accuracy from 66% to 86%. Not shabby, but it’s not what I would consider clairvoyant either.
Regarding the coaches poll, let’s assume they had an accurate idea of every other team BUT us.
We would have to be among the 6th best teams in the ACC to crack that poll. I like our upside, but I don’t think I would vote us 6th in the ACC at this moment.
I am curious to see what the ACC Media has to say when they release their poll. I put very little stock into it, other than to know that we will not end up where they predict us to finish. So, without even seeing it I say we finish EITHER +3 or -3 slots from wherever they say.
Further, I predict they have us 8th or 9th as they probably don’t see the Big Y getting cleared anytime soon either, yet feel Gott has a fire lit under him to get results NOW.
In this conference for this year, I would be pleased with 6th place. On the flip side, finishing 12th without extenuating circumstances will get him sent packing.
FWIW, I thought he would make the kick at Clemson. While I’m only a relative novice when it comes to field goal kicking, the review made it seem to me as if he was was trying not to overkick it and ended up pushing it right.
Either way, as one of my high school coaches used to say, the kicker is a man on an island. I believe there is a ton of truth to that as there is with a goalie in soccer/hockey/etc. or I would imagine a reliever in baseball.
To be successful in any of those roles, you have to be a little different. Some might say a little “off” even. In short, you have to be good with being that man on the island. However, just because someone is good with that doesn’t mean there isn’t a significant (mental) team aspect that factors in. In tough times like this, you reap what you sow (player, coach, and team).
KB’s Combined Kicking Stats (2015-2016)
20-29: 3-3
30-39: 8-14
40-49: 1-6
50+ 0-0The above says to me a few things.
-Haskins really isn’t viewed as a better option
-We should seriously question any FG attempt over 35 yards (5 of 12)
-Start converting more 3rd downs or get a heckuva lot better at 4th down conversions.Watching the game, but not listening. Sounds like it might have been a good call based upon what I have read here. 😉
Yikes McCallum! Not sure about the meaning of this, but Robert Young hit me up via my Ouija board and suggested something about switching to Sanka. 🙂
On to Clemson and Death Valley, a place to where I will not return after 2008 and the most bizarre episode of my entire life. Let’s just say that it involved a well-known Alum, the Esso Club, a handgun, and whatever someone put in my drink. That aside, I do believe we have a better shot at winning this game now than I thought before the season started. Of course, all things are relative. For what it’s worth, if I was betting against the spread, I would gladly take the Pack and the 17 points.
More specifically, what does the precip look like between 9 am and 5 pm while I am tailgating? 😉
Should I be saying a novena, lighting a candle, doibling down and going to daily mass? Don’t want to unecessarily burn any points I may or may not have with the Big Guy.
Wolpack, Dolphins, and Orioles? My advice is to pretend every weekend is 1973 and life will be much more enjoyable.
Thanks for sharing your account of the evening and am sorry I didn’t carve out time to make the event. I hope to make it to Reynolds and see in person the work they’ve done. By all accounts, it seems like they did an excellent job!
It does remind me that we have some very talented and special folks who have come through this school over the years (some are still here) in both athletics, academics, and even administration.
Fortunately, I married up and to another State graduate at that. Through her I’ve taken advantage of the opportunities to remain connected to NC State community outside of athletics.
It’s easy to get caught up in wins and losses, but this University and its graduates do some great things.
I agree with McCallum that a 5 star guy should dominate in high school and it sounds like he didn’t. Water officially under the bridge now though.
Now I’m curious about what the coaches really expect out of him at this point and how he can help the team.
We’ve had guys like Philip and Russell who’ve exceeded expectations and that’s great, but I would gladly trade all of them for an ACC Championship. Heck, I might even trade one of those for a 6 conference-win season. 😉
Love the write-up! Went through the same exercise and really torn on the ND game. While I feel like we win that game for some reason, I agree with Rye on the likelihood. All that said, I have us at 6.06 wins. Love to see us get to 7 wins with this schedule, but won’t be distraught if we play well and only manage 5.
Either way, I’m looking forward to good year! Heading to the ECU game, but really need to think about the Louisville trip. Have a bad taste in my mouth about that game last year. My oldest and her boyfriend (UofL Law Student) made the trip from Louisville, the engine blew on my youngest’s SUV in the pouring way on the way to game, then we looked a little lost on the field. However, it would have been a lot worse had the father of my daughter’s boyfriend not met us on the highway, tossed our tailgate supplies into the back of his truck and gave us the keys so we could make kickoff. Yep, he then proceeded to wait for AAA in the rain and had the car towed back to his house. Talk about a quality guy!
Call it faith or stupidity, but I’m going all in at Greenville. It’s a must-win game (in my mind), so I’ve got my tickets and a plan for a monster tailgate.
Worst case, I’m forced to listen to crap from all of those ECU fans, but at least I’ll have plenty of inventory to help ease the pain if it ends up that way.
