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

View the complete entry of "Best One Liner Regarding Last Night, Courtesy Of EDSBS"

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"