Fantastic Breakdown Of ACC Running Back Effectiveness At InsteadOfTexting

A must read for folks who get into statistical analysis of college sports.

Three feet is three feet. All yards are equal.

But in football, as in Animal Farm, some rushing yards are more equal than others.

No ACC running back illustrates that better than Maryland’s Da’Rel Scott.

Scott looks like one of the better running backs in the ACC. Through four games, he’s fourth in the conference in rushing, with 297 yards. He’s averaging more than 5.7 yards per carry, third among ACC backs with at least 45 carries. Scott has put up two 100-yard games in the season’s first four weeks.

Look a little deeper, though, and it’s clear Scott’s not as effective as his standard statistics suggest. Scott is a classic boom-and-bust back. Nearly 40% of his season yardage total came from just three carries.

Scott’s success rate better illustrates his true value this season.

My definition of “success” is a derivative of the one used at footballoutsiders.com: a carry is successful if it (a.) gains at least 40% of needed yards on first down, (b.) gains at least 60% of needed yards on second down, (c.) converts a first down on third or fourth down or (d.) yields a first down or touchdown, under any circumstances.

Scott’s success rate is 36.5%, the second-lowest among conference running backs with at least 10 carries per game:

Head to Instead of Texting for a nifty chart listing all the top ACC running backs and their effectiveness.

View the complete entry of "Fantastic Breakdown Of ACC Running Back Effectiveness At InsteadOfTexting"

Not-Quite-As-Late-This-Week BlogPoll: Week 5

Notes on this week's entry:

• I've downgraded Florida two slots in the wake of Tebow's injury. I don't think he'll miss the LSU game, but at the same time I don't think he'll bee 100%. Without Tebow at his best, Florida is merely "great" and susceptible to an upset.
  
• Alabama has been flat-out crushing folks, hence their top slot. Texas has been cruising as well, but I think 'Bama's got a better defense.
• My big movers this week upward were Iowa (14 spots) and Oregon (10+). Iowa's Sagarin ranking is fantastic (5th) and they've beaten some solid competition thus far. Oregon's demise following the Boise St. game was premature...they've looked like the team folks have thought they'd be heading into that season opener.
• Not to say, "I told you so," but I've had to downgrade Miami and Ole Miss mush less than your average voter because I refused to buy into all the hype about "Tha U" nor give Ole Miss a top-5 ranking simply because they were gifted a high preseason mark and everyone ahead of them lost.
• South Carolina is getting some love from me even though not many of the AP voters did. They've beaten two solid teams (State and Ole Miss) and feature one of the nation's top defensive talents in Eric Norwood.
• Finally, some homerism, I guess...State at #25. Hey, what can I say? After all, we're sporting a Heisman candidate at QB. Right Heather?
  

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama	2
2	Texas
3	Florida	2
4	Boise State	3
5	Virginia Tech	5
6	Southern Cal	5
7	Ohio State	1
8	Iowa	14
9	LSU	4
10	Cincinnati	5
11	Penn State	7
12	Houston	7
13	Oklahoma State	1
14	Mississippi	5
15	Oregon
16	Miami (Florida)	3
17	Georgia	1
18	Brigham Young	2
19	California	11
20	Kansas	3
21	Nebraska
22	Georgia Tech	3
23	South Carolina
24	Auburn
25	North Carolina State
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Oklahoma (#12), TCU (#17), Utah (#20), North Carolina (#24).

View the complete entry of "Not-Quite-As-Late-This-Week BlogPoll: Week 5"

ESPN's Heather Dinich Jumping The Gun On The "Russell For Heisman" Campaign

Link

The ACC will have a better chance at a Heisman Trophy contender in 2010, but this week, I’ve got a new name for you – Russell Wilson.

That’s right, he got my vote this week.

Why? Because his numbers are phenomenal, he’s an outstanding quarterback, and he’s making better decisions this year. One major component of winning the Heisman Trophy is consistency, and Wilson - unlike Harris, Dwyer and Spiller - has been one of the most dependable players in the ACC so far.

Look, Heather...you seem like a nice lady (girl? How old are you? Are you younger than me? Jesus I'm getting old. Nevermind.)

And trust me...I love Russell Wilson as much as the next rabid State fan. But one great performance following two waxing of FCS patsies doesn't instantly propel him into the Heisman race. No more than should two wins against FSU and Georgia Tech have launched Jacory Harris into the Heisman conversation.

Point being, NO ONE -- beyond those returning players that were in the Heisman race last season -- should be in the Heisman race at this point based on one month's worth of work. The very fact that we're talking Heismans before the month of September concludes is lunacy.

Then again, lunacy is the M.O. of sports media today. I bet Joe Lunardi is bracketing teams for the NCAA tournament right now...for 2011!

Can we please take a step back and let things play themselves out before we start handicapping Heisman hopefuls? If you ask me, part of the reason Jacory Harris played so poorly in the Virginia Tech game was because he'd already had to field hundreds of Heisman questions and shot an interview with ESPN about Heisman hopes after two weeks of games, and subsequently couldn't live up to the hype. I mean, imagine the world is at your feet asking you what your Heisman plans are and you have to go out and play the biggest game of the season against your toughest divisional opponent. It's almost not fair.

So Heather, while I'm sure Russell is flattered, let's let the better part of half of this season transpire before we start tossing around words like "Heisman Trophy Hopeful." Because at this point, they can only do more harm than good.

View the complete entry of "ESPN's Heather Dinich Jumping The Gun On The "Russell For Heisman" Campaign"

Tar Heel Fan With An Outsider's Take On The Gary Parrish Article

Fellow blogger Tar Heel Fan (no, seriously, that's his real name...it just worked out that way!) put together an excellent take from a rival fan's perspective on the Gary Parrish article released last week.

He seems just as baffled by it as I'm sure the rest of State fans were:

I am not sure what to make of this both from a timing standpoint and the “isn’t this horse dead?” perspective. The best that I can figure is Gary Parrish had lunch with Greg Doyel, asked him for a cheap way to get some quick hits on his column and Doyel told him to write about Herb Sendek and NC State.

Come to think of it, that makes a TON of sense. DOYYYELLLLLLL!!!!!*shakesfist*

For reasons that pass understanding the national media types cannot let this go. It would be nice if NCSU and ASU could meet in the NCAA Tournament so we can put this to rest. The main problem is most of the national writers have no idea what they are talking about concerning the mentality of NC State’s fan base. Parrish and others try to simplify the situation by saying “Well NCSU was winning, going to NCAA Tournaments and they will never be UNC or Duke so they should just accept that quality of life for themselves.” The problem with that oversimplification of the situation is it ignores decades of history not to mention the unique dynamics found in Triangle college hoops.

Exactly.

Stop by THF and offer kind words (knuckleheads, steer clear) for his reasoned take on the matter here.

View the complete entry of "Tar Heel Fan With An Outsider's Take On The Gary Parrish Article"

Ranking Russell's Performances

I was thinking back on the Pitt game, wondering where Russell Wilson's performance -- where he racked up 413 total yards and threw for four scores -- ranked among his best performances to date.

The conclusion I came to is that Saturday may have been the most complete football game played in his young career.

In my mind, his top three games are the 2008 Miami game, the 2008 UNC game and the Pitt game. The ECU game was a solid game as well, and is worthy being included in the top three discussion.

When I force myself to slot them, here's how I rank them:

3. 2008 UNC: I realize the final score, and I realize that Russell made the Heel defenders look silly at times, but this one didn't make the top slot on the list because the game was decided more by turnovers than Russell's incredible play.

2. 2008 Miami: This was Russell's most dazzling rushing performance. His 58 official rushing yards aren't a true gauge of his total rushing stats...add back in the 35 yards surrendered through five sacks and it's a more representative total of 93 yards. His 29-yard touchdown was awe inspiring as he spanned sideline to sideline. The deceptively quick Wilson left Miami defenders haplessly diving for his ankles. Wilson only threw for 220 yards and two scores, but his rushing and juking ability cemented his place as a phenomenal talent in the league.

1. Pitt: I know it's only been a few days so it's fresher in my mind, but this was Wilson's most complete game from start to finish. He made plays with his feet (the HUGE 4th and 12 conversion) and plays with his arm (Jarvis Williams' touchdown catch and his 3rd down conversion toss over the middle in the face of Pitt's blitz). Wilson showed his complete repertoire and regained that confidence to tuck and run the instant it called for it, unlike the hesitancy he showed in the South Carolina game. This was a pure clinic from start to finish.

I may be wrong, and I want to hear your thoughts on the matter.

View the complete entry of "Ranking Russell's Performances"

Four-Star D-Lineman Fre'Shad Hunter Commits!

Couldn't resist...

Cary High school's Fre'Shad Hunter committed to the Pack following State's come-from-behind win over Pitt on Saturday. Always a heavy State lean, Hunter cited the win as the reason he pulled the trigger on the committment.

"I just committed to coach O'Brien and NC State," said Hunter. "It's something I felt at State this Saturday, and I pulled the trigger. Coach went crazy and I was pumped up. I talked with my mom and she's excited because I followed my heart."

Hunter committed to NC State over offers from LSU, Tennessee, Florida State, Purdue, and South Carolina among others. He is rated a four-star prospect and the No. 18 defensive tackle in the country by Scout.com.

Trust me...I would pay good money to see Coach O'Brien go "crazy."

Hunter's committment is key given the number of defensive linemen State will lose to graduation following this season. Willie Young, Alan Michael Cash, Shea McKeen and LeRoy Burgess all graduate, leaving a ton of holes needing to be filled. Hunter may redshirt, but having him available for added depth in case of injury is huge.

Hunter gives State three of North Carolina's top-10 football prospects. Rob Crisp and Anthony Creecy have already committed to the Pack for 2010.

View the complete entry of "Four-Star D-Lineman Fre'Shad Hunter Commits!"

Tom O'Brien And The Art Of Player Psychology

We're just not a very good football team right now. There's too many mistakes and I've done a bad job coaching.

It's just a bad job. We have to face up to some facts.

...

We have a lot of work to do this week.

If I showed you these post-game comments from Coach O'Brien and you didn't know the outcome of the contest, pretty clearly you'd assume that State was beaten by Pitt, not the other way around.

But O'Brien -- man of even keel -- is clearly waging some psychological warfare (friendly fire exercises?) intent on not letting his team get too high following an emotional and important come-from-behind win against the Panthers.

Coaches will sometimes say they don't want to see one loss turn into two, i.e. you've got to put the previous loss behind you. The same thing can occur with an emotional win. Fourteen-point, come-from-behind wins late in the second half are pretty rare, and in this instance it masked some poor play and lots of mistakes...mistakes that O'Brien knows his team needs to be made well aware of.

He did so in a public forum, I think, because it enters the media as an added agent to hammer the point home over the course of the coming week. If O'Brien had kept his criticism confined to the locker room, spending his post-game conference instead lauding his team's fight, resiliency and the play making ability of his offense, would the media even bother to bring up the 12 penalties, missed tackles and lack of execution in the kicking game this week leading up to the Wake game? I'm inclined to think not. This was a calculated move on O'Brien's part to keep this team's issues squarely in the forefront of the public discussion this week. That public discussion should make its way to the team and further help the team stay focused.

Letting a previous week's result impact the following week is an easy trap to fall into. All of us -- fans, agents of the press, players and coaches alike, tend to get tunnel vision, judging a team's performance only in terms of wins and losses.

As an example, a last-second drop of a game-winning touchdown in the endzone by one team (Florida State) helped propel the other (Miami) into premature championship discussion. Did that one drop negate the fact that Miami's secondary played poorly in that game? Apparently it did, as that win -- plus the win over the Yellow Jackets -- had the whole college football world talking about how "The U" was back.

Flash forward to this weekend where Virginia Tech exploited Miami's defensive weaknesses and put a 24-point buttwhoopin' on 'em to bring the Canes back down to earth, and you have to wonder if the 'Canes started reading too many of the their press clippings.

O'Brien is trying to inject the same dose of humility into the team before it becomes another blemish on the win-loss record. He's putting the focus on just how badly this team played now, and by taking it public, it stays in the forefront of everyone's mind. While the win was nice, performances like that will likely result in losses against competition ready to take advantage of them.

View the complete entry of "Tom O'Brien And The Art Of Player Psychology"

Russell Wilson Leads State In Comeback Win, 38-31

View the complete entry of "Russell Wilson Leads State In Comeback Win, 38-31"

It's Week 4 Of The Football Season--Perfect Time For A Sendek Article!

Gary Parrish's latest at CBS follows below. I'm not linking it because I'd rather not drive traffic his way...just read it here:

Nudged out by 'Pack, Sendek getting best on both sides

The first quote was typical and anticipated.

"I don't have any great need to compare," Herb Sendek said. But he must've known that wasn't going to prevent me from trying to make him. If not, he was about to find out. Because four seconds later I tried again with a slightly different approach.

"It's important to stay in the present and really not spend a lot of mental energy trying to compare and label and categorize different things," Sendek said, and now I was taking it as a challenge.

You know, like a game.

Who Herb Sendek? He won't compare his current situation to that of his old school. (US Presswire)

I decided right then I wasn't getting off the phone until I got Herb Sendek to pat himself on the back a little bit. I wanted him to talk about how well he's been doing since N.C. State fans pushed him to Arizona State in 2006 despite the fact that Sendek was coming off five consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, and I wanted him to contrast it to the current struggles in Raleigh.

North Carolina State hasn't returned to the NCAA tournament since Sendek exited, in case you didn't know. Meantime, Sendek has transformed ASU into a relevant Pac-10 program -- proof being how he won 25 games last season, took the school to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2003, had one player (James Harden) selected third in the NBA Draft and another picked 31st (Jeff Pendergraph).

Translation: Things are good at Arizona State.

At N.C. State, not so much.

And that's all I wanted Sendek to say.

I wanted him to tell me about how it was obvious given his record (more on that in a minute) that he was a good coach doing good things at N.C. State, and how he now looks back and laughs at those fans who just knew they deserved better. And I wanted him to tell me all this while dropping in various remarks about how nice the weather is in Tempe and how the new practice facility is off the charts, and if he wanted to comment briefly on the quality of ASU's student body, I was ready to listen to that, too.

In other words, I wanted Herb Sendek to say what I'd say.

To be like I'd be.

And probably how you'd be, too.

"It's human nature to be that way," Arizona State senior Derek Glasser said. "But one of the things Coach Sendek always talks to us about is how to not worry about the last play or the last game or anything like that, how to just let it go. So I really don't think he focuses on N.C. State at all, because he's not the type of person to focus on the past."

Well, then allow me to do it for him.

Because Sendek really has pulled off a rarity.

He's not only doing better than the previous coach (Rob Evans) at his new school (ASU), but he's also doing better than the coach (Sidney Lowe) his old school (N.C. State) hired to replace him after his old school -- and its fan base -- decided it no longer appreciated his talent. The way Sendek was treated looked silly then, and it looks even sillier now considering the Wolfpack have finished 10th, 12th and 10th in the ACC standings the past three seasons with zero NCAA tournament appearances and 15 league wins.

How does that compare to Sendek?

The Wolfpack finished third, fourth, second, sixth and fourth in the ACC in his final five seasons with five NCAA tournament appearances and 28 league wins. So it's not even a comparison, really. And to all the N.C. State fans who like to highlight Sendek's not-so-great record against in-state rivals North Carolina and Duke, I would just remind you (for the 487th time) that almost anybody would have a not-so-great record against UNC and Duke, and to judge Sendek at N.C. State against those two monsters would be like me judging myself against Brad Pitt and George Clooney.

I'm finishing a distant third in that race every time.

Why?

Because I'm not Brad Pitt or George Clooney, that's why.

Just like N.C. State isn't North Carolina or Duke, and that N.C. State didn't realize that three years ago now has the school picked by many to finish last in the ACC this season (that would make four consecutive 10th-or-worse finishes) while the coach it ran off spends his days being appreciated 2,100 miles west. To be clear, I can't tell you Sendek will return to the 2010 NCAA tournament because he lost his top two players from last season's team. But what I can tell you is that he won't finish last in his league or get fired come March, and that, by definition, means he's doing better than the guy hired to replace him at the school he left behind when said school's fans wouldn't get off his behind and just let him win.

N.C. State wanted more.

But now it's accomplishing way less.

And Herb Sendek couldn't care less, best I can tell.

He could be bitter and arrogant, and it would be justified, for sure. But Sendek honestly doesn't seem to think about N.C. State at all, instead choosing to focus his energy on a present that's enjoyable and a future that seems bright given that he's already committed three prospects from the Class of 2010 -- among them Keala King, a 6-foot-5 guard whom Rivals.com ranks as the nation's 25th-best recruit.

"There's no question that we've made considerable progress on every front and that there's a very different perception of Arizona State basketball on a national level," Sendek said. "We have a fair amount of momentum right now."

At N.C. State, not so much.

View the complete entry of "It's Week 4 Of The Football Season--Perfect Time For A Sendek Article!"

Don't Ask Why, Just Humor Me.

After Steven's comment about how "Touchdowns Before Checkdowns" would've made for a great t-shirt, I couldn't help myself. Forgive me...it's Friday.

View the complete entry of "Don't Ask Why, Just Humor Me."

Q&A With PittBlather.com

It's Q&A time again, folks. This week State hosts the Pitt Panthers, so the Q&A participants are the fine folks at PittBlather.com

You can find my answers to his questions here. Following are my questions and their responses:

1. Both fanbases feel confident about their team's ability to get the job done in this game; obviously only one will be right. Tell me why Pitt will win this game.

Because Pitt's healthier, especially on the lines.

2. Name one player State fans should pay attention to on Saturday that they may not have heard about.

Not to be too flip, but exactly how many Pitt players do NC State fans know? Pitt isn't exactly getting major national pub to make players well known. Still, here's the guy to watch, because it will say a lot about how the game is going.

Elijah Fields, Free Safety. Fields has million dollar athleticism but the head can be about $999,999.90 short of that. If he is making plays and not freelancing too much, then Pitt's pass defense is going to be better than it was against Buffalo. If he is getting burned, freelancing and generally out of position, then Russell Wilson will be making plays with his legs and his arm.


3. Buffalo passed for 433 yards against the Panthers. We've heard a lot about Pitt's defensive line and how they plan to pressure Russell Wilson, but surrendering that many passing yards suggests that they weren't able to get to Buffalo's QB. Is that an accurate assessment or is there an explanation for surrendering that many passing yards?

At the risk of sounding a little too defensive and homerific regarding Pitt, there were two factors that contributed. First, a very smart gameplan by Buffalo had their QB getting the ball out quickly. Three step drops and simply not taking too much time. Do that, and few D-lines are going to get to the QB. Second, of those 433 yards, 194 came on 4 passes.

The latter issue accurately notes that the Pitt secondary is susceptible to giving up the big play. Whether poor pass coverage and/or tackling. In that game, 7 passes accounted for 278 of the 433 yards.

What Pitt's D-line has shown going back to last year is that they can contain the scrambling QB. Whether it was Pat White or Matt Grothe, QBs that leave the pocket, scramble and try to keep plays alive have trouble against Pitt's D-line.

4. Dave Wannstedt is in his fifth season as Pitt's head coach...what's the pulse on the Pitt fanbase on how they feel about Wannstedt? I get the sense, from the outside looking in, that Pitt fans expected more by this point but are still behind Dave as head coach. Is that accurate?

Yeah, there was an expectation of more. He's done himself no favors, even last year with the when and way the team lost games. That said, most fans are probably still in his corner. They know that recruiting under Wannstedt has been excellent, and the move to hire Frank Cignetti as OC has been encouraging. The defense is in great shape. Overall, there is no doubt that the program is in good shape.

Then there is the realism that the administration loves Wanny and so he isn't going anywhere. As the poster from the X-Files said, "I want to believe." Some do, some don't and odd as it may seem in year five, there is still a large contingent of "unsure."

5. With Cincinnati looking strong to start the season, are they the team to beat in the Big East or is Pitt, West Virginia or perhaps another team looking good to challenge for the title?

No, it is Cinci right now. Beyond being the defending BE champs, the results speak for themselves. Already 1-0 in the Big East, plus a road win at Oregon State. They have the best out of conference win in the Big East. WVU has already lost and hardly impressed at the start of the season. Pitt might challenge, but has proven nothing at this point. Rutgers will probably get better further into the season, but they already are behind Cinci with their humiliating loss.

View the complete entry of "Q&A With PittBlather.com"

Two Outta Three Ain't Bad: Vermiglio, Johnson (And Eugene) Cleared To Play

NC State Injury Report, per PackPride.com

Well, I missed on the Javon Walker prediction, but as I mentioned earlier today, Jake Vermiglio and Clem Johnson have been taken off the State injury report and should be good to go Saturday.

Jamelle Eugene also returns to the running back rotation and should see some action.

The big news is Vermiglio returning to bolster an offensive line that will have its hands full with Pitt's defensive front.

View the complete entry of "Two Outta Three Ain't Bad: Vermiglio, Johnson (And Eugene) Cleared To Play"

My Way-Too-Late Blog Poll: Week 4

Well, I wasn't able to submit it in time to matter in the overall standings over at MGoBlog, but nevertheless, here are my standings:

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Florida
2	Texas
3	Alabama	1
4	Penn State	1
5	LSU	1
6	Ohio State	1
7	Boise State	1
8	California	1
9	Mississippi	4
10	Virginia Tech	1
11	Southern Cal	8
12	Oklahoma
13	Miami (Florida)	6
14	Oklahoma State
15	Cincinnati	2
16	Brigham Young	6
17	TCU	3
18	Georgia	3
19	Houston	4
20	Utah	4
21	Nebraska	3
22	Iowa
23	Kansas	1
24	North Carolina
25	Georgia Tech	10
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: West Virginia (#25).

View the complete entry of "My Way-Too-Late Blog Poll: Week 4"

Thursday Injury Report Should Have Some Nice Surprises

I'm eagerly awaiting this afternoon's injury report. I'll be sure to post it here once it shows up on PackPride or WRAL, but from what I hear, it sounds like Pack fans will be pleasantly surprised to see some starters no longer on it.

From a couple of sources, I've heard that safeties Clem Johnson, Javon Walker and offensive lineman Jake Vermiglio all stand a chance to clear the report and make themselves available for the Pitt game.

All three would be welcome additions back into the lineup, but perhaps none more than Vermiglio. As starting left tackle to begin the year, he left the South Carolina game early with a calf injury. Julian Williams had to shift over from left guard to left tackle and as a result, Wilson got chased down several times by SC's ultra-fast defensive ends. Having Vermiglio back would help against a Pitt defensive line that has ends just as athletic as SC's.

So keep your eyes peeled...I may end up with a lot of egg on my face on this one, but it wouldn't be the first time Tom O'Brien got coy with his depth charts and injury reports the week of a big game.

View the complete entry of "Thursday Injury Report Should Have Some Nice Surprises"

Harrison Beck: Still Doesn't Get It

N&O (Note: Beck in photo, throwing off-balance off his back foot)

Luke DeCock took the time to catch up with ex-Pack gunslinger Harrison Beck for an unnecessary article about how he's doing at Division II North Alabama. Beck, true to form, was not shy about commenting on his time at State, which was DeCock's goal from the outset, I'm sure. Can you come up with a better reason why this article was penned?

Here are a couple of gems:

"Obviously, it was a difficult couple years at N.C. State," Beck said. "Whatever happened, happened. I've always felt that I've been able to play the quarterback position at high level. Now it's probably a combination of everything, but the truth is I've got receivers here who understand who I am as a quarterback. It works out better."

Right. You have receivers that understand you better. Got it.

DeCock takes that and runs with it:

The Division II defensive backs are a half-step slower, giving Beck's aggressive throws a better chance of find their way to the multiple receivers of North Alabama's spread offense.

He also may be surrounded by as much, if not more, receiving talent than he was with the Wolfpack, which also doesn't hurt. Among his targets: Florida State transfer Preston Parker and North Carolina transfer Kenton Thornton. (Former UNC cornerback Richie Rich is at UNA as well.)

Parker and Thornton were both three-star recruits coming out of high school. I'm not going to say Owen Spencer, TJ Graham and Donald Bowens are light years ahead of those two guys, but let's not pretend cast-offs from FSU and UNC equates to having more talent at receiver than at State.

Beck continues:

"Coach Bowden and I understand each other," Beck said. "Sometimes he calls plays and says, 'We want to throw deep on this one so just take the shot, go do it.' That's a little different than what I've ever had. It was always, 'Don't lose the game,' 'Don't throw that,' 'Check it down to the fullback, throw it short, take that stuff.'

"Coach Bowden stresses touchdowns before checkdowns, not checkdowns then touchdowns. He lets me be who I am. He understands who I am as a quarterback."

Heaven forbid the coaching staff would encourage you to NOT LOSE THE GAME WITH A BONEHEAD PLAY.

I think this last comment pretty much sums it all up:

"I tell 'em all the time here," Beck said, "I wish I could have come to dang North Alabama right out of high school."

No disrespect to North Alabama, but that's not a "destination school" for high school football talent. I'm glad Beck has found a place where he can be himself as a quarterback, but it's telling that it's at the Division II level where he can "sling" it all over the field with minor repercussions. His unwillingness to be coached to protect the ball by the staff at Nebraska and then at State is the reason why he is where he is...on the Island Of Misfit Toys where Terry Bowden is collecting all the other cast-off talent that couldn't hack it in the FBS division (26 Division I-A transfers now play for UNA).

View the complete entry of "Harrison Beck: Still Doesn't Get It"

ACC Roundtable: Week 3 Review

This week's installment of the ACC Round Table is hosted by the fine folks at Block-C, formerly known as Danny Ford Is God. They're our Clemson representative, run by Willy Mac and Chili, two dudes who've never met a curse word they didn't like.

Following are their questions and my answers. You'll be able to find their compilation of all the Round Table's answers over at Block-C later this week. Enjoy:

1) Does this weekends OOC performance for the ACC negate that first weekend's total bed sh*tting performance? Why or why not?
No, and not because I think the ACC didn't play well...it's because the notion of the ACC as a "bad" football conference is so thoroughly ingrained into the collective subconscious of college football fans across America that virtually NOTHING can derail that notion in just one short week. It was a great week for the league, and far better for the league than week 1 was damaging for the league. FSU's win over BYU was HUGE, VT's come-from-behind win against Nebraska was great and Carolina's win over ECU helped. But group think is a very powerful thing to overcome, so if the ACC is to gain some steam in turning the public perception tide, they need this week's results to equal or surpass last's. Because from here on out it's almost exclusively in-conference matchups until bowl time, meaning the league's chances to prove its worth outside the league will be limited.

2) Continuing the weekly theme of predicting the conference outcome, who'll play in the ACC CG?
Boy, it's tough to pick against FSU and Miami. They both looked great offensively in their opening matchup against one another, and Miami put a whoopin' on Georgia Tech last Thursday night and FSU crushed a top-10 opponent. I think both teams have questions defensively, but those would be my two front runners. I still have high hopes for State, and the one thing to remember at this point in the Atlantic is that both FSU and Clemson each have one loss. State, yet to have played a conference game, is without a loss at this point. With three manageable conference games to start (Wake, Duke, @BC) could end the month of October against the Seminoles on October 31st with a very key game in the Atlantic division race.

3) Is Miami a legit top ten team? Why or why not?
Beyond the top 5, are there ANY legit top-10 teams out there? I feel like most of the folks at the top of the list are there by default by virtue of teams ahead of them losing rather than what they've proven on the field. Miami's two performances have been no doubt impressive, but I'm not yet ready to declare them "back" or top-10 caliber. Their defense looked suspect at times against FSU, and though they shut down Georgia Tech's offense, so did Clemson. I have been extremely impressed with their offensive line play, moreso than Jacory Harris. Give a good quarterback four seconds in the pocket to make plays and he'll look like a Heisman candidate...put a great quarterback behind a lousy offensive line and all he'll do is finish tied for fourth in the conference every season and lose to Maryland on Senior Day when they foolishly present his retired jersey to him BEFORE the game. Sorry. Anyway, we'll know A LOT more about Miami and its legitimacy after they travel to Blacksburg and face a very strong defense on the road.

4) If you had to declare an ACC MVP right now, who's your top guy?
Do I have to? I guess Jacory Harris by process of elimination. Jonathan Dwyer has been shut down and injured early this season, Russell Wilson looked average against South Carolina, Thaddeus Lewis isn't living up to expectations at Duke and C.J. Spiller, aka Mr. Big Ass Poster, has been good-but-not-Heisman-good thus far. Christian Ponder--Harris' most logical competition for the award at this point--looked great for a half against Miami and performed well last week against BYU, but he struggled on third down (5-14) against Jacksonville State. Harris has performed very well in two big wins against top-25 competition, so I'll give him the nod.

5) Women, whiskey, and miles of travelin' is all that I understand. What are three things you understand, blogger friends?
My wife'll tell you I've never understood women all that well and I'd be hard pressed to argue the point. I'm a beer drinker by nature but I do love a good road trip. I understand why cheap beer is superior to the fancy stuff, the finer debating points of North Carolina barbecue and its superiority over all other forms of sustenance, and that--grab your Kleenex, fellas--being a father of three is what I was put on this planet to do and that it's what I work hard to excel at.

View the complete entry of "ACC Roundtable: Week 3 Review"

Pittsburgh Media Weighs In On This Weekend's Game

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "Pitt faces tough test with N.C. State":

So far, so good for the Pitt Panthers who are off to their first 3-0 start since the 2000 season. The Panthers have won all three games by more than 10 points and have played at a high level, particularly on offense, in parts of each.

But this week, the Panthers will answer two important questions: How much of the 3-0 start is due to the fact that they are a good football team? How much of it has to do with the fact that they have played three inferior teams.

The Panthers will play at North Carolina State Saturday and, while the Wolfpack is likely a middle of the pack team in the Atlantic Coast Conference, they are a significant step above the Panthers' past two opponents, Navy and Buffalo, in terms of the kinds of athletes and level of talent they have on the roster.
...

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "N.C. State QB Wilson a hard one to pick"

The football adage goes that three things happen when you pass the ball, and two of them are bad.

No one told that to North Carolina State's Russell Wilson.

The redshirt sophomore quarterback is virtually interception-proof, with an NCAA Division I-FBS record 329 consecutive pass attempts — and counting — that were either caught by his teammates or fell harmlessly to the turf.

"That's pretty amazing," N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien said.

Pitt (3-0), off to its best start in nine years, will try to snap Wilson's remarkable streak when the Panthers travel to play the Wolfpack (2-1) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium.

"He understands what wins and loses football games," Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. "He makes good decisions, and when the ball comes out, it comes out fast. The ball probably comes out as quick as any quarterback we've played in the past couple of years."
...

Panther Digest.com: "Wilson Different Test For Pitt's Defense"

When Pittsburgh (3-0) faces North Carolina State (2-1) Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Carter-Finley Stadium, it will be the Panthers' first trip to Raleigh, N.C. since 1988. The Wolfpack won that game, 14-3, but this is a different challenge.

N.C. State has redshirt sophomore Russell Wilson at quarterback, and all he's done is throw 329 straight passes without an interception. Pitt's secondary certainly has its hands full this week, according to junior safety Dom DeCicco.

"Their quarterback definitely is good, fast with a quick release,'' DeCicco said. "So, he really can throw the ball, and they've got some good receivers. I'm sure they're going to come out and test us, if they watched film from our Buffalo game, but we're going to be ready for it. We expect them to come at us.
...

View the complete entry of "Pittsburgh Media Weighs In On This Weekend's Game"

Owen Spencer And Rashad Smith Out For Pitt, And Other Injury Discussion

ACC Now link

We get Donald Bowens back last week and now lose Owen Spencer...I'm not sure where State winds up with that equation. Swapping those two in the lineup, did State come out better or worse? I love having Bowens back in the lineup. He was the Pack's top receiving threat in 2007 and has great hands -- something this team is sorely missing right now.

Losing Spencer on the other hand takes away our top deep threat, with all due respect to T.J. Graham. Spencer had his issues hanging onto the football, but his yards-per-reception numbers were off the chart and he has a great way of getting separation downfield. Without him, I don't know that we have a threat to stretch the defense, meaning the safeties and linebackers of Pitt may cheat up closer to the line. That's a recipe for disaster as State tries to get its running game churning.

The loss of Rashad hurts as he was playing extremely well for a freshman, but having an experienced backup in DeAndre Morgan will help minimize his loss to a certain degree. The problem will be in spelling Morgan throughout the game, as there's really not much else left behind Morgan on the depth chart. It will be keep to sustain long drives throughout the game to keep the defense fresh -- not State's strong suit.

View the complete entry of "Owen Spencer And Rashad Smith Out For Pitt, And Other Injury Discussion"

NCAA Statistical Rankings After Three Weeks

Here are the latest statistical rankings of State versus the rest of the FBS division. At week three, the stats start to mean a little bit more than the first two weeks, but State's are still skewed by playing two FCS opponents out of three games.

Category	National Rank	Actual
Rushing Offense	84	120.67
Passing Offense	38	244.00
Total Offense	67	364.67
Scoring Offense	24	37.67
Rushing Defense	13	70.00
Pass Efficiency Defense	18	93.93
Total Defense	2	168.33
Scoring Defense	7	9.33
Net Punting	91	33.45
Punt Returns	25	13.58
Kickoff Returns	81	20.33
Turnover Margin	T-35	.67
Pass Defense	6	98.33
Passing Efficiency	18	160.50
Sacks	T-17	3.00
Tackles For Loss	27	7.00
Sacks Allowed	T-110	3.67

A few notes:

• Our rushing numbers after two patsies from the FCS should be MUCH higher than this. If you're not worried about our rushing attack after seeing us show up 84th in the country in ground offense when we've spent the last two weeks putting up 110 points, you should be. It screams, "WE'RE LOSING THE BATTLE AT THE POINT OF ATTACK!" Which we are. I realize that O'Brien probably would've run more against G-W in the second half were it not for trying to get Russell the passing record, but even then, State's relied heavily on the passing game for the bulk of its offense. It bit us in the SC game and could bite us in the Pitt game.
• More bad statistical news for the offensive line: Tied for 110th in sacks allowed at 3 2/3 per game. Ten of those 11 were in two games -- six given up to South Carolina and four given up to Gardner-Webb. Granted, one of the sacks in the G-W game was on the blown snap over Mike Glennon's head, but that still falls on the offensive line. Pitt's defensive line has to be licking their chops looking at those numbers.
• Our special teams play needs to pick up as we transition into stronger competition. Jeff Ruiz can kick it a country mile when he's on, but we need more consistency from him and our cover team needs to do a better job containing the return man fielding the kick. T.J. Graham was lighting the world on fire returning kickoffs last season, but the production hasn't been to that level thus far this year despite playing against lesser competition. His numbers need to improve to help State establish good starting field position early and often.
  

If it seems like I'm throwing out a lot of doom and gloom, despite some strong defensive numbers, I am. I think this team can and should be better in the areas listed above; the defensive numbers mean very little to me at this point because of the competition level. Injuries to Jake Vermiglio, Nate Irving and our defensive secondary have certainly played a role, but the special teams numbers should be better.

Bottom line: This team has not played to its potential yet but will need to if they're to get on track with the hopes many had for a solid conference season.

View the complete entry of "NCAA Statistical Rankings After Three Weeks"

Random YouTube Goody: Steve Nash Pimping Vitamin Water

The parody of Seen-It-On-TV pitchmen is starting to get a little played out, but I actually uttered some genuine lawls while watching this. No really, I did! You will too! Act now! Operators are standing by!

"STEP FOUR! Get paid!" *dance dance revolution*



H/T to Instead Of Texting.

View the complete entry of "Random YouTube Goody: Steve Nash Pimping Vitamin Water"

State Wins 45-14; Wilson Sets NCAA Interception-less Mark; More Injuries

ACC Now link

A couple of quick observations:

• Congrats to Russell for setting the mark for passes without an interception. Regardless of what some may say, it is an incredible achievement.
• Kudos to coach O'Brien for having the wisdom to get the record out of the way tonight versus letting it remain a topic of conversation leading into the Pitt game. Eliminating any unnecessary distractions is a good thing.
• I like the fact that State has come out strong in these two cakewalk games and put them away early. Where teams have gone wrong in losing games they shouldn't is letting these teams hang around early. The favored team starts to wonder why they're not up big, the underdog gains confidence with each moment and before you know it, upset city. State put up three scores in the first quarter and held G-W scoreless for the majority of the game.
• It was good to see Donald Bowens return to the lineup, but let's hope it's not a WR swap on the injury roster after Owen Spencer left the game with a concussion. Depending on the severity of the concussion, Spencer may or may not return for the Pitt game.
  

View the complete entry of "State Wins 45-14; Wilson Sets NCAA Interception-less Mark; More Injuries"

Busy Work Week + Lousy Opponent = Not Much Pregame Material

You'll have to forgive me, loyal YANCSSB reader(s). It's been a busy work week and, well, food and clothing for the kids precedes the blog.

My apologies for not getting more material out there this week. However, this was a good week to get busy at work, because I don't see Gardner-Webb putting up an exponentially stronger fight than did Murray State. We can get back into digging through the minutiae next week with Pitt.

So enjoy the game, look for how State executes instead of looking at the final score and pray for no more injuries.

View the complete entry of "Busy Work Week + Lousy Opponent = Not Much Pregame Material"

Nice Read: GoPack Piece On Gardner-Webb Named For Former Pack Football Player

GoPack.com

As Tim Peeler points out, this is likely the first time in college football history that a team has played a school named, in part, by a former football alum. O. Max Gardner played for State back when the college football program was in its infancy.

It may well be the first time in the history of college football that a team has faced an opponent that is named after one of its former players. More than 60 of the 246 Division I football schools (121 Football Bowl Series and 125 Football Championship Series) are named for individuals, but Gardner is believed to be the only one who played college football.

There's no evidence that Austin Peay, the Rev. Alfred Cookman, P.G. Grambling, William Hofstra or Frank Park Samford – all of whom have institutions of higher learning named after them – ever donned helmet and pads during their college days. All the other schools were named after people born and raised well before college football began or most definitely not football players.

So this first meeting between in-state schools might also make a little college football history.

O. Max Gardner was also quite a womanizer the ladies man, as well:

He also may have been a bit of a bounder while in Raleigh. In the 1903 inaugural edition of the Agromeck, the NC State yearbook, it was written about Gardner that "like the gorilla, he is especially fond of caressing women." But that was part of a tongue-in-cheek club called "The Goats," of which Gardner was a charter member and Chief Ram. His classmates also voted him the dubious honor of "most conceited."

It naturally follows, then, that Gardner would go on to a long and successful career in North Carolina politics.

View the complete entry of "Nice Read: GoPack Piece On Gardner-Webb Named For Former Pack Football Player"

Random: MST3K's Patrick Swayze Christmas

Patrick Swayze passed away yesterday from his battle with cancer. For some reason, this is the first thing that popped into my head when I heard the news. RIP, Dalton:

View the complete entry of "Random: MST3K's Patrick Swayze Christmas"

BlogPoll: Week 3

This week's poll, a tad late. Let me know what you think. I decided not to punish Ohio State too much for their loss to USC. They lost to a very good team at home and played them to the wire. I think they're a very good football team. I'm still not 100% sold on Ole Miss, and I have a hard time moving teams up following a bye week just because teams in front of you lost. If Ole Miss crushes SE Louisiana like they should, I'll probably advance them some at that point. I still need to see that they've earned all the hype.

The more games that are played, the more I think folks will see their polls normalize a good bit over the coming weeks (again, more reason for the pollsters to wait until week 4 or 5 before releasing the first polls of the season):

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Florida
2	Texas
3	Southern Cal
4	Alabama
5	Penn State	1
6	LSU	2
7	Ohio State	2
8	Boise State	2
9	California	3
10	Brigham Young	4
11	Virginia Tech
12	Oklahoma	3
13	Mississippi
14	Oklahoma State	7
15	Georgia Tech
16	Utah
17	Cincinnati	1
18	Nebraska	2
19	Miami (Florida)
20	TCU	1
21	Georgia	4
22	Iowa	2
23	Houston
24	Kansas
25	West Virginia
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Florida State (#22), Oregon (#23), Notre Dame (#25).

View the complete entry of "BlogPoll: Week 3"

Murray State Video Courtesy WRAL

While I was busy imbibing like a 19-year-old at a friend's place, State was busy destroying a bad FCS opponent. WRAL had footage from the first half of the massacre:

View the complete entry of "Murray State Video Courtesy WRAL"

NCAA Statistical Rankings After Two Weeks

It's a bit early for these rankings to mean much, but here's where the Pack ranks nationally in several key categories after two games, courtesy NCAAsports.com:

Category	National Rank	Actual
Rushing Offense	78	125.00
Passing Offense	81	183.50
Total Offense	94	308.50
Scoring Offense	38	34.00
Rushing Defense	16	54.50
Pass Efficiency Defense	14	87.33
Total Defense	4	146.00
Scoring Defense	9	7.00
Net Punting	94	32.44
Punt Returns	9	23.20
Kickoff Returns	68	20.75
Turnover Margin	15	1.50
Pass Defense	7	91.50
Passing Efficiency	44	144.53
Sacks	13	3.50
Tackles For Loss	16	8.50
Sacks Allowed	T-104	3.50

Notes:

• How bad was State's offensive performance in the opening game against South Carolina? So bad that dropping 65 on the Racers of Murray State barely moved State into the top third of scoring offense. Moreso, the 484 total yards of offense Saturday night was only good enough to lift State into the top 100 in total offense. Yikes.
• Conversely, South Carolina's poor offensive showing coupled with the total domination of the Racers put State in some prematurely lofty company defensively. State's in the top-16 of nearly every defensive category, including 4th in total defense, 16th in rushing defense and 7th in pass defense.
  

We should see these numbers come back to the norm over the next two games, but interesting to see State with poor offensive numbers and strong defensive numbers -- like a Bizarro State thus far.

View the complete entry of "NCAA Statistical Rankings After Two Weeks"

N&O To State Fans: BOHICA, Buddy.

After the State uniform fiasco exploded at the end of August, the geniuses at the News and Observer thought it a wise idea to rehash the matter nearly three weeks later.

How, you might ask? By extending an open, no-submissions-barred contest/competition/brainstorming session(?) where you, Joe Average Fan, can submit YOUR idea on how the next State uniform should look.

And, predictably, it turned into an unholy sh*tstorm of Photoshop mockery.

Here are a few choice examples:



Steven's personal favorite:



On one hand, I feel we somewhat deserve this for putting forth such a lousy jersey design in the first place. This could be considered an unintended consequence of lousy design, in one sense.

But all things considered, I feel more strongly this is just plain uncalled for on the N&O's part.

For one, the jersey ballyhoo had long died down. Beyond a random snicker or two surrounding the first game, the scrapped jersey design would no longer be a topic of discussion during the basketball season. We had moved on. The N&O essentially reignited a dead issue.

And for what? What gain was to be had?

As they state on their submission page, this was not a submissions call requested by the university (had it been, I'd probably pull my diploma out of its frame and mail it back to Holladay Hall with no return address). So other than a few thousand pageviews, what gain did the N&O hope to get from it? There were certainly no altruistic intentions of "assisting" State on a future design; if State ever DID rely on N&O submissions to design their uniforms instead of, say, a PROFESSIONAL DESIGN COMPANY, I say again I'd probably return my diploma sans return address.

No, the only motivation I can discern on how this ended up in the paper, nearly three weeks late, is sheer entertainment value. Entertainment for the rival fans regaling themselves in State's misery, and entertainment for the N&O staffers watching the schadenfreude as they watch submission after mocking submission land in their inbox.

A part of me would love to hear the "ad wizard behind this one" at the N&O explain their decision to move forward with this campaign. They'd no doubt tell you that they thought that only serious submissions would be submitted. That's baloney. The person or persons that believe that at the N&O are either too stupid to breathe without instructions or would be lying to your face. Stupidity of that order deserves a good firing. Lying to readers would merit a firing, too.

Now I'm not one to scream "media conspiracy" anytime something detrimental to State shows up in the paper. Sometimes bad news is bad news, and it must be reported. State's design crew deserved to be outed for the jersey trainwreck when it happened at the time, and they were.

This, however, is essentially an unnecessary, uncalled for double whammy against the school. It revives a dead, negative story that had slipped off the radar, and does so in a way that opens the door for further mockery from opposing fans and frustrated State fans alike. The N&O can try to make the claim it was intended only to let fans produce serious submissions, but if that's the case then why is no one at the N&O culling out all the fake designs (which are outnumbered by the mocking ones by about a 5/1 ratio)? If you send it in, they'll post it.

But this isn't simply an automated script being abused, however, like the News 14 Weather Delays prank years ago. Something tells me they ARE being looked at before posting; I can't imagine that someone hasn't sent something with profanity on it thusfar, or perhaps some borderline sexual/racist content (this is the internet still, after all). SOMEONE in the N&O offices is clearing all this content before it posts to the web, and laughing their ass off all the while.

I'm not saying State didn't deserve some ribbing for the way the jersey situation went down. But that was two, almost three weeks ago. By allowing anyone with a computer and a pirated copy of Photoshop to submit virtually any design they choose and refusing to screen out the mocking ones, it's clear the N&O is looking to reignite this essentially dead issue and put further shame on the university's athletic department.

If you're Lee Fowler, Annabelle Vaughn-Myers or Chancellor Woodward, you can't let this go without a response. My sense is that -- short of Chancellor Woodward urging Fowler or Myers into action -- I doubt we'll see one.

For what it's worth:

chancellor@ncsu.edu
lee_fowler@ncsu.edu
annabelle_myers@ncsu.edu

View the complete entry of "N&O To State Fans: BOHICA, Buddy."

Murray State - NC State Preview PDF, Courtesy Murray State's SI Department

This comes courtesy of the Murray State Sports Information Department, via PackPride.com.

Pages 4 and 5 are especially rich in information about Murray State -- what kind of football they play, the fact that they run a 4-2-5 defense, that head coach Matt Griffin handles the play calling duties, etc.

(Hint: Save your eyes -- click the expand arrow in the upper right hand corner to view the document full screen)

View the complete entry of "Murray State - NC State Preview PDF, Courtesy Murray State's SI Department"

ACC Roundtable: Week 1 Review

The ACC Roundtable rolls on, despite the ACC's best efforts to kill off any desire we may have to discuss its football.

This week, collegegameballs.com plays host to the Roundtable. You may already know CGB as the one-stop shop for all your College GameDay sign needs:


It's also a great site covering the conference's sole BCS title hopeful these days, Virginia Tech.

After the jump you'll find CGB's questions, my answers, and CGB's writeup on the discussion:

(Continues)

1. *Ding Dong* The pizza man is here, did your team deliver what you expected in their opener, why or why not?

No. And sadly, it was apparent for the whole world to see. Something about playing an SEC opponent to open the season on a Thursday night, when all the chips are on the table, causes this team to turtle up (no offense, Maryland fans) and disappear. The offense that was supposed to light the world on fire barely crossed the 50. The defense -- missing All Everything Nate Irving -- was a pleasant surprise in keeping the Pack within striking distance the whole game. Holding a team to seven points is pretty impressive; even moreso when you consider that South Carolina possessed the ball nearly five full minutes more than the Pack.

2. The ACC was downright pathetic in week one. Which display of ineptitude shocked you the most? Going forward is there hope for the conference?

Though I'd be more than willing to offer up our aforementioned egg as the most shocking non-performance, I have to say Virginia's loss to William & Mary, in which they turned the ball over SEVEN times, was just downright pathetic. It's one thing to only score 3 points in a loss at home to an SEC team; losing to a FCS team at home by 12 is just plain inexcusable. I can't imagine what UVa fans must be thinking right about now.

3. After the show they put on Monday night, Atlantic bloggers is FSU the team to beat and what about Miami Coastalites?

FSU has some issues in the defensive secondary to shore up. Despite the loss and my homerish ways, I still think the Atlantic is a three-team race between FSU, Clemson and N.C. State. Russell Wilson will go back to being Russell Wilson once our receivers learn to hold onto the football when it hits them in the pads/hands/face. We'll know A LOT more about the Atlantic race once we see how Clemson fares against Georgia Tech Thursday night. Fans of Clemson, State and any other team in the Atlantic better thank their lucky stars that the final pass of Monday night's game fell incomplete...FSU starting 0-1 in the league will play a big part in determining the divisional champ, I believe.

4. You've been granted one curse, other than your opponent pick one team you would like to see lose in week 2.

I guess it would have to be Clemson. The Atlantic Division is very much up for grabs, and if FSU and Clemson were to BOTH start the season 0-1 in the league, that would improve State's chances of winning the divisional title.

Here's where you can find the complete rundown on what all the fellow ACC Roundtable participants had to say over at collegegameballs.com.

View the complete entry of "ACC Roundtable: Week 1 Review"

Time Lapse Video Of Carter-Finley Reveals Late Filling Student Sections, Late Returning Alums

First off, a HT to the folks over at SFN for the find. This is a time lapse video shot at Thursday night's game by News Channel 14's on-site crew.



Beyond the inherent coolness of a time lapse shot of Carter-Finley during a game, two things stood out to me:

1. We have GOT to revamp our student ticketing policy. While the bottom sections filled up nicely well in advance of most non-student seating, the top section doesn't completely fill in until well into the game action (0:19). It kind of negates the visual appeal that State marketing folks were hoping to achieve with the whiteout. Sure, it'd be nice to get a shot of all the students in their white shirts, but I'd rather you don't if it means getting a good look at the empty top of the student section.

2. I know most folks disagree with me on this point, but I think it's time to put an end to passouts. I hate to lose any more long-standing traditions as much as the next Pack fan, but this is one whose time has come. The 3/4 full stands at the start of the third quarter (0:31) look sad, to put it kindly, and I've heard enough stories from visiting fans that have dealt with unruly drunks late in the game to convince me that a (relatively) sober capacity crowd at the start of the 3rd quarter should outweigh the desire of folks to leave the game at halftime to chug a few.

Can we make a trade? Passouts for a lifting of the tailgating restrictions?

View the complete entry of "Time Lapse Video Of Carter-Finley Reveals Late Filling Student Sections, Late Returning Alums"

Misadventures In Mixing Music And College Football

There's a disturbing trend out there these days, folks. And it threatens the very landscape of college football.

It is, of course, country and rock music. More specifically, country and rock music forcefully wedged into places it doesn't belong, like, say, college football.

Let's back up a second. Let's point the fingers of blame not at the musicians commissioned to pen the misplaced works of "art" you'll hear this football season. After all, they're simply doing what they were paid to do.

No, the blame for the aural assault you and I face every Thursday and Saturday lies squarely at the feet of overly ambitious, misguided marketing directors at ESPN, the ACC and yes, our very own N.C. State. They are the ones who woke up one morning and said to themselves, "Self, today we're going to march right in that office, look George Bodenheimer/John Swofford/Lee Fowler square in the eyes and say, 'The time has finally come. It's time for Kenny Chesney/Some Shitty Unknown Country Band/Airiel Down. Let's give the people what (my focus group research tells me) the people want!'"

The reasons behind the constant need by marketing folks to continue vamping and revamping the packaging surrounding college football are, of course, money and a desire to increase appeal of football to the masses. It's a bottom-line need to appeal to that oh-so-tempting middle chunk of the bell curve that can -- at one end of the spectrum -- tolerate just enough Kenny Chesney as to not turn off the television and -- at the other end -- can tolerate just enough college football with their husbands to catch a glimpse of a sleeveless Kenny Chesney sing an autotuned college football intro. That delicious middle chunk of the bell curve spends money -- lots of it. And it makes it a nice sell to advertisers looking to sell not just to middle aged fatasses in their HD-equipped caves but also to their kids and their wives.

The desire to be fresh, new and widen college football's appeal to the masses leads marketing types like State's Chris Alston (Assistant Athletics Director For Marketing) to seek out new and creative ways to present the same ol' thing.

Cover tunes are never easy, especially when you are attempting to turn a marching band song perfected by John Philip Sousa into rock-and-roll.

But that was the job NC State assistant athletics director for marketing Chris Alston gave to Raleigh-based independent rock band Airiel Down: Record an updated version of the NC State Fight Song and the Red & White Song.

Airiel Down's version – complete with wolf howls – debuted Thursday night, as NC State's football team entered the field at Carter-Finley Stadium for the 2009 season-opening game against South Carolina.

The song, available for download as an MP3 from the link above, was recorded at Raleigh's Osceola Recording Studio last month and kept under wraps until game time.

"We were approached by NC State and asked if we would do something similar to what we did for the Carolina Hurricanes, and we were all for it," said Airiel Down frontman Beaux Foy. "Though none of us went to NC State, we are all college educated and have a lot of friends on campus.

"We are a Raleigh band and we want to do anything we can to help out NC State."

For Alston, the updated version breathes a little life into a song that has been a staple at NC State athletic events since the 1920s.

With all due respect to Mr. Alston and the job he was tasked with, but State's fight song, and college football itself, isn't something that needs "life breathed" into it. The sport -- for those that really care about it -- works just the way it is, right out of the box. The sport, the band, the fight song...the trappings have all remained relatively unchanged for over 100 years because they just work.

"We didn't want it to be cheesy," (Airiel Down frontman Beaux) Foy said. "We wanted to rock it out and we wanted it to be fun. But we also knew we had to appeal to students and alumni of all ages. We wanted it to be something that 80 year olds and 8 year old both like."

Guess what? The State fight song, as performed by the State marching band, IS something folks from age 8 to 80 like. No thrash metal or extraneous wolf howls needed.

I hope a time comes where folks in marketing positions -- particularly State's -- stop trying to please EVERYONE and instead go back into supporting roles with a mission to put the focus subtly back on the product. Highlight the stuff that works, gloss over the stuff that doesn't, and generally get out of the way. Because at some point, when you keep trying to re-wrap a package to make it this year's Next Big Thing, you imply that the package itself has no real value, at least not enough to stand on its own without a flashy new cover song.

To assume that we need Kenny Chesney or Airiel Down to remain interested in college football only insults our intelligence.

View the complete entry of "Misadventures In Mixing Music And College Football"

BlogPoll: Week 2

Here's my blog poll for the second week of the season. Again, tell me where I'm wrong or ask for clarification on why I put folks where in the comments section above.

EDIT: There were some teams that slid down despite wins. Georgia Tech is a prime example. I'm not a big "ladder" guy, where -- so long as you don't lose -- a team continues to move up despite the opponent or the team's performance. I prefer to use my eyeballs to tell me how good a team is or not based on what I've seen of them. Hence the inclusion of Cincinnati in the top 20 based on the fact I watched them throttle Rutgers for 47 points (and could've been more), for example. Georgia Tech, on the other hand, managed to best Jacksonville St. by only 20 at home, so while they retain their spot in the top 15, they slide three spots by virtue of other teams moving up (Cal, BYU, Boise St).

EDIT2: Moved Ohio State behind Alabama.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Florida
2	Texas
3	Southern Cal	1
4	Alabama	1
5	Ohio State	1
6	Penn State	3
7	Oklahoma State	3
8	LSU
9	Oklahoma	6
10	Boise State	7
11	Virginia Tech	4
12	California	1
13	Mississippi	2
14	Brigham Young	9
15	Georgia Tech	3
16	Utah
17	Georgia	3
18	Cincinnati
19	Miami (Florida)
20	Nebraska
21	TCU	2
22	Florida State	4
23	Oregon	8
24	Iowa	3
25	Notre Dame
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Oregon State (#22), Pittsburgh (#24), Michigan State (#25).

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David Thompson To Present Michael Jordan For Induction In Basketball Hall Of Fame

Per Yahoo Sports, with a hat tip to the Dare Society blog for the find:

Michael Jordan had his pick. Dean Smith. Phil Jackson. Maybe even his good friend Charles Barkley.

Each would have been an understandable choice to present Jordan during his induction Friday into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Smith was Jordan’s legendary coach at North Carolina. Jackson helped guide Jordan to six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls. Barkley shared the role of rival and running buddy.

Jordan passed on all of them. Instead, he chose someone who had never coached him or played with or against him.

He chose David Thompson. The former NBA high-flyer who had starred at North Carolina … State.

Say what you will about Jordan and his gambling habits, poor team management of the Bobcats and his trips to Cabo, but he obviously still has a tremendous respect for DT and what he meant to not only his game, but to the game of basketball, as well.

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Best One Liner Regarding Last Night, Courtesy Of EDSBS

"NC State and South Carolina are living up to being the opening band that breaks a string every song and shocks the bassist to death with an improperly grounded amp."

LINK

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The Autopsy

• State's defensive front is good enough to keep the Pack in a lot of games this year. When they needed it, they were able to get good pressure on Stephen Garcia in obvious passing downs, limiting his effectiveness.
• Toney Baker responded from a disastrous first-quarter fumble to show that he's worthy of being State's top back. Jamelle Eugene had a sub-par effort, and James Washington showed signs of promise and lots of passion, but not much else.
  

Ok, so that's about it for the positives.

• Execution. Too many dropped passes, too many blown coverages. State never looked crisp at any point in the game offensively, and rarely defensively.
  
• Russell Wilson is human. Not only human, but perhaps a step slower than the human he once was. South Carolina's much larger defenders were chasing him down from behind -- something that didn't happen last season. Maybe now we can move past all this Russell Wilson worship and start treating him -- and the rest of the offense -- as one unit and not just The Russell Wilson Show.
• Mike Archer's zone coverage still has way too many gaping holes underneath at or just beyond the first down marker. That led to multiple easy, drive-extending completions at the sticks that kept State's defense winded and the game played the majority of the time on State's half of the field. Give up the stuff five yards short of the marker if you must, but there's no reason not to pressure the routes right at the sticks, especially in third-and-medium/long situations.
• Our offensive line still is a work in progress. Six sacks to Wilson and a negligible running attack. We'll have to see what the status is on Jake Vermiglio, but seeing him on the sidelines in his t-shirt sporting crutches was NOT a good sign. South Carolina's new offensive line looks to be the real deal by comparison. SC had a definite advantage in the trenches.
• Where's the passion? The intensity? I know teams take on the personality of their head coach, but this was one occasion where State needed to step out of the mold of their stoic coach and come out fired up and ready to hit someone. Coach O'Brien has to find a way to either win without passion or find a way to to fire his team up before they take the field. It took three good quarters for the team to wake up and realize that they were in a dogfight; by that time it was too late.

Bottom line, I don't think EITHER fanbase has much to crow about following this game. Both fanbases felt like their team would come out scoring points in bunches, and neither team's offenses delivered. State did well to negate the Gamecocks at times when their backs were against the wall, but if State expects to win any meaningful games playing the majority of it on the wrong side of the 50 yardline, it could be a long year.

View the complete entry of "The Autopsy"

Best Case/Worst Case Scenarios: Quarterbacks Tonight

We know we're going to see Russell Wilson start tonight. We also know we're going to see Mike Glennon for at least one series, as well. Here's three scenarios I see playing out:

Best Case Scenario: Wilson Stars, Glennon Shows Promise. In this scenario a State win is almost a given. I can't see a scenario where both quarterbacks play well and State still loses. In this scenario, Russell extends his passes-without-a-pick streak another game, throws for over 300 yards and a couple of scores. Glennon comes in on his series and drives the length of the field, makes some plays with his arm, but shows some jitters and fails to score.

I know I'm begging the question: Why would Glennon not having a flawless outing be part of the "Best Case" scenario? I'll get to that in the next one.

Meh Case Scenario: Wilson shows some rust/sophomore stumbles but Glennon stars. Call this the "Problem Teams Would LOVE To Have" scenario. I put Glennon starring here and not above because a weak outing from Russell and a strong showing from Mike would naturally start the talk in the print media, radio media and among fans of a growing potential "quarterback controversy." The backup quarterback, as they say, is always the most popular player on the team and Glennon is the shiny object, the Ferrari with 00001 on the odometer. It's certainly not the WORST place a team with high aspirations could be, but if a crack occurs among the fans and prognosticators as to who is the better choice to lead the Pack, it could grow into a full blown rift if given the opportunity.

Worst Case Scenario: Wilson struggles and Glennon looks like a deer in headlights in his first real-game experience. This is the nightmare scenario no Pack fan wants to see: Their tremendously hyped quarterback struggles in the first game of his sophomore campaign, and the four-star security blanket looks no better. Two sub-par efforts from both quarterbacks (in almost a certain loss to the Gamecocks) would extinguish a tremendous amount of fragile expectations that were built this offseason.

I'm hoping for Best Case, wouldn't be shocked to see the Meh Case and am praying we don't see the Worst Case. Because if we do see the Worst Case come to fruition, it could be a lonnnng few weeks leading up to the Pitt game.

View the complete entry of "Best Case/Worst Case Scenarios: Quarterbacks Tonight"

State's New Commercial To Debut Tonight

Via RedandWhiteForLife. I have my thoughts but I'd love to hear yours:

View the complete entry of "State's New Commercial To Debut Tonight"

Nice Breakdown Of State's Digital Marketing Presence

I mentioned "Google Alerts" in the previous post, and it's a fantastic service for finding random off-the-wall gems that you would never otherwise come across.

Perfect example: Andy Pawlowski's team-by-team breakdown (and ranking) of how schools in the ACC utilize the digital environment to market their programs.

State comes in at #8 out of 12. I suppose that's pretty fair. GoPack.com is a solid -- if not always user friendly -- website, but other current forms of digital marketing like Twitter and Facebook are being used somewhat haphazardly. There are blogs to be had from folks in the Athletics department, but they tend to be updated randomly and are tough to find on the website, as are the links to the various N.C. State Twitter accounts.

#8. North Carolina State

I'm going to change things up a little. First, I'm going to hit you with the program's digital scouting report. Then, I'll hit you with the details. I hope you like this!

Strengths: The URL, GoPack.com, is great. The site offers blogs for AD Lee Fowler, Men's Sports, and Women's Sports. There is a great Twitter directory, by sport, and access to the Department Twitter and Facebook is elevated to the home page.

Weaknesses: The breakdown of blogs by men's and women's sports may fit the NC State org structure, but it leaves a lot to be desired. The Twitter directory is great but super hard to find. No easy access to the Basketball Twitter feed inside the Basketball section.

It's good stuff, and it's an honest outsider's opinion on State's digital marketing footprint. I think State stands a lot to gain by improving its standing in this arena, and it's a fix that's relatively easy compared to the biggest PR boost for an athletics program -- consistent winning.

View the complete entry of "Nice Breakdown Of State's Digital Marketing Presence"

I'm Tired Of Talking And Hearing About This Damn Game

Enough already.

Every possible angle, injury, plot, sub-plot and sub-sub-plot has been hashed and rehashed over the last month or so that honestly, I'm sick to death of hearing about this game. My Google Alerts inbox is overflowing with countless articles previewing the game -- 10 talking points here, What To Watch For there...Hey, did you know that Weslye Saunders is the son of a columnist here in Raleigh? It's TRUE!

(However, it gives me a small measure of comfort that all the Tar Heel fans in the area have had to listen to nothing but State/South Carolina talk wall-to-wall since ACC Operation Football (or whatever they're calling it these days). Misery truly loves company.)

Thankfully, all that ends tonight.

No more preseason talk. We'll have all day Friday and the following week to go over the gory details of what actually transpired -- not subjective opinions on what we THINK will happen.

For now I'm just tired of trying to wring any more blood from this pregame stone.

EDIT: Per the request in the comments section, tonight's weather calls for temps in the mid-70s, partly cloudy skies and only a 20% chance of rain. In other words, perfect football weather.

View the complete entry of "I'm Tired Of Talking And Hearing About This Damn Game"

Pep Rally TONIGHT, 7:00, Harris Fields

Help us launch the 2009 football season with an on-campus pep rally the night before the Wolfpack’s opening game against the South Carolina Gamecocks. Coach Tom O’Brien and members of his 2009 team will speak at the rally. O’Brien will be introduced by Dick DeAngelis ’58, a lineman on the NC State team that beat USC in 1957 to lock up our first ACC football title and a 7-1-2 season. The NC State Marching Band, cheerleaders and other student organizations are also scheduled to perform.

Questions? Contact Jeramy Blackford '04, Alumni Association director of student programs, at jeramy_blackford@ncsu.edu.

View N.C. State Pep Rally, 9/2/09 in a larger map

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30 hours, 48 minutes...

...not that anyone's counting.

To get you in the mood, here's a two-part series on the history of State football up to 1991. Enjoy.

View the complete entry of "30 hours, 48 minutes..."

Degenerates (Still) Love The Pack

Continuing a trend from last season, the betting public is a big fan of Tom O'Brien and the Wolfpack

1: North Carolina State Wolfpack (9-2-1 ATS, 6-7 SU in 2008) The Wolfpack may have the best young quarterback that you’ve never heard of in sophomore QB Russell Wilson. Wilson’s yardage and completion percentage weren’t impressive last season, but he took care of the football. His 17/1 TD/INT ratio was the best in the country, and he has the longest streak of passes without throwing an INT in the land as well. HC Tom O’Brien is hoping for big things out of his squad right from the get go this year.

Up Next: Home vs. South Carolina

Since the public's betting habits dictate the spread, winning against the spread is typically an indicator your team is generally underrated. Conversely, losing against the spread typically indicates a team that's overrated. Hence Clemson's spot at #12 in the ACC last year at 4-7 ATS despite a 7-6 mark straight-up.

View the complete entry of "Degenerates (Still) Love The Pack"

The People Have Spoken: New Uniform Design DEAD

Big ups to Steven for catching this last night: An article in yesterday's Technician says the new uniforms have been scrapped and the team will wear last year's design.

After a swift outcry from students and fans, the N.C. State Athletics Department has opted to scrap its new white jerseys for the men’s basketball team and return to a design similar to the one it used last year.

The jerseys, provided free of cost due to endorsement deals with Adidas sporting goods company, will have “N.C. State” printed across the chest.

“We were looking for a positive outcome, but since this didn’t turn out that way, we’re more than willing to go back to the old way and move forward,” Athletic Director Lee Fowler said.

The Athletic Department posted pictures of the new jerseys on Twitter Wednesday afternoon and angry comments immediately flooded Internet chat rooms and message boards.

“It seems to have created some controversy, and there’s nothing [Lowe], I, or the department would rather avoid than making the students upset,” Fowler said.

The jerseys featured the word “State” above the player’s number, with the letters “NC” clustered above them. Fowler and coach Sidney Lowe said they were discouraged from only including the word “State,” as schools such as Michigan State University have on their jerseys.

The article further states that Lowe partnered with folks on his staff when coming up with the design. Putting the pieces together, that tells me that Sidney pushed for the word "State" across the chest but had to compromise with someone in the process to incorporate the letters "NC." So if the design looked like the NC were thrown in after the fact, it most likely was.

I'm not sure who stepped forward in the process to discourage the use of the word "State" without the "NC," but I'd love to have a sit down with them. Perhaps they could convince me why it matters that Michigan State uses a similar design, given that State wore that design well prior to the days of David Thompson. The photo after the jump, from the State library collection, dates back to 1952:

(Continues)

State apparently used only the term "State" on their jerseys those days all the way until the early 1990's. Here's a photo of Chris Corchiani wearing a State-only version:


And here's the dreaded Unitard with the "N.C." added:


So did the Unitard not only represent the single worst athletic apparel move in the history of sport, but also kill off the "State"-only jerseys for good? It appears so.

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