A little home cooking awaits NC State in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. Chuck Amato's Wolfpack has a 3-1 mark in bowl games and will play South Florida, which is making its first-ever trip to the postseason.
South Florida Offense vs. NC State Defense
South Florida employs a run-first offensive scheme led by impressive RB Andre Hall, who led the Big East in rushing yards (1,256) and eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the second consecutive season. Hall runs low to the ground and has an excellent nose for the end zone, as evidenced by his 13 touchdowns this season. He also sees the field very well, shows quickness and a stop/start ability that few backs with his bulk possess. The interior of South Florida's offensive line is very solid with OC John Miller and OGs Frank Davis and Chris Carothers, so expect the majority of Hall's carries to come at the heart of the defense.
Hall will need to once again carry the load for his offense, as South Florida was second to last in the Big East in passing with only 135.5 yards per game. QB Pat Julmiste is a talented ball carrier as well, but an inconsistent performer overall. He has good speed and is a potential big-play guy with the ball in his hands, but he certainly is not a pure thrower. His fundamentals need work and he throws too many interceptions. Julmiste must account for DB Marcus Hudson who is opportunistic in the pass game. Hudson can pack a wallop and separate receivers from the ball.
NC State will bring extra defenders into the box to disrupt Julmiste, but more importantly to stop Hall. The Wolfpack have several NFL prospects on the defensive side of the ball and DE Mario Williams is a special talent that could become a top-10 pick should he leave early for the 2006 draft. Williams has an NFL body, is very agile and explosive for a bigger guy, and he's a pass rushing menace with the ability to run around or through the Bulls' offensive tackles. Manny Lawson, the defensive end opposite Williams, is a fine player in his own right and South Florida will have to constantly keep extra blockers in on passing downs. These two should do an excellent job of containing Julmiste's outside run threat. The two pass rushers combined for 21 sacks and will harass Julmiste on passing downs the entire game.
NC State Offense vs. South Florida Defense
Marcus Stone has been named the Wolfpack's starting quarterback and he faces a defense that ranked first in the Big East with 29 takeaways. It will be imperative for the inconsistent quarterback to protect the football. North Carolina State ranks last in the ACC in third-down conversions and must do a better job of gaining positive yardage on early downs. In order to accomplish that goal, they need to rely heavily on their emerging young RB Andre Brown, who led the Wolfpack with 616 yards as a true freshman this season.
North Carolina State doesn't have a big-time receiving weapon, but TE T.J. Williams led the team with 35 catches and could present problems for the Bulls in the middle of the field. The Wolfpack also have options with WRs Tramain Hall and Brian Clark, who is their home run threat and is certainly capable of beating South Florida's secondary for a long score. The key for the Wolfpack is to stay patient and not to force plays that are not there. Although their offense is more efficient with Stone at the helm, he is not close to the type of quarterback that can put an offense on his shoulders. If he plays within himself and eliminates turnovers, North Carolina State will be in good shape.
South Florida has several playmakers on defense that the Wolfpack must account for. Undersized DEs Terrence Royal and Jon Simmons are solid up-field pass rushers that will attack Stone off the edge. Ben Moffitt has a bright future and led the Bulls in tackles. He is constantly around the football and could cause the Wolfpack problems in their running game.
Special Teams
Both teams have dynamic kick returners in Jackie Chambers (South Florida) and Darrell Blackman (NC State). Blackman has yet to break one for a touchdown, but he's certainly capable with his toughness and speed. He led the ACC on kickoff returns with a huge 29.1-yard-per-game average, including a 77 yarder. Both kickoff units could decide to kick away from these two potential game-changers. The Wolfpack have the edge with their specialists and John Deraney is one of the best kickers in the ACC. In what could be a very close low-scoring game, these special teams players could have a lot to do with the outcome.
Three Key Individual Matchups
1. South Florida RB Andre Hall vs. NC State LB Stephen Tulloch
2. South Florida OT's Jerome Springfield and Mark Dile vs. NC State DE's Mario Williams and Manny Lawson
3. NC State RB Andre Brown vs. South Florida LB Ben Moffitt
Scouts' Edge
Despite losing its final two regular-season games to Connecticut and West Virginia, South Florida is appearing in the program's first-ever bowl game. The Bulls ended the season with just six wins, but it should be noted how grueling their nonconference schedule was with Penn State, Miami and Central Florida. With confidence on the rise and so many talented underclassmen, the future is bright for coach Jim Leavitt's program. The Bulls will show up to play and will give the Wolfpack all they can handle from an effort and scheme standpoint. Eventually, however, talent will prevail. NC State has been unpredictable this season but it finished the regular season winning four of its last five games. Also, this will essentially be a home game for the Wolfpack in Charlotte, N.C.
If coach Chuck Amato's team shows up to play and can limit its notoriously high amount of penalties, this game should be in NC State's hand early in the second half. There will not be a whole lot of points scored but the Wolfpack defense will prevail.
Prediction: NC State 24, South Florida 17
South Florida Offense vs. NC State Defense
South Florida employs a run-first offensive scheme led by impressive RB Andre Hall, who led the Big East in rushing yards (1,256) and eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the second consecutive season. Hall runs low to the ground and has an excellent nose for the end zone, as evidenced by his 13 touchdowns this season. He also sees the field very well, shows quickness and a stop/start ability that few backs with his bulk possess. The interior of South Florida's offensive line is very solid with OC John Miller and OGs Frank Davis and Chris Carothers, so expect the majority of Hall's carries to come at the heart of the defense.
Hall will need to once again carry the load for his offense, as South Florida was second to last in the Big East in passing with only 135.5 yards per game. QB Pat Julmiste is a talented ball carrier as well, but an inconsistent performer overall. He has good speed and is a potential big-play guy with the ball in his hands, but he certainly is not a pure thrower. His fundamentals need work and he throws too many interceptions. Julmiste must account for DB Marcus Hudson who is opportunistic in the pass game. Hudson can pack a wallop and separate receivers from the ball.
NC State will bring extra defenders into the box to disrupt Julmiste, but more importantly to stop Hall. The Wolfpack have several NFL prospects on the defensive side of the ball and DE Mario Williams is a special talent that could become a top-10 pick should he leave early for the 2006 draft. Williams has an NFL body, is very agile and explosive for a bigger guy, and he's a pass rushing menace with the ability to run around or through the Bulls' offensive tackles. Manny Lawson, the defensive end opposite Williams, is a fine player in his own right and South Florida will have to constantly keep extra blockers in on passing downs. These two should do an excellent job of containing Julmiste's outside run threat. The two pass rushers combined for 21 sacks and will harass Julmiste on passing downs the entire game.
NC State Offense vs. South Florida Defense
Marcus Stone has been named the Wolfpack's starting quarterback and he faces a defense that ranked first in the Big East with 29 takeaways. It will be imperative for the inconsistent quarterback to protect the football. North Carolina State ranks last in the ACC in third-down conversions and must do a better job of gaining positive yardage on early downs. In order to accomplish that goal, they need to rely heavily on their emerging young RB Andre Brown, who led the Wolfpack with 616 yards as a true freshman this season.
North Carolina State doesn't have a big-time receiving weapon, but TE T.J. Williams led the team with 35 catches and could present problems for the Bulls in the middle of the field. The Wolfpack also have options with WRs Tramain Hall and Brian Clark, who is their home run threat and is certainly capable of beating South Florida's secondary for a long score. The key for the Wolfpack is to stay patient and not to force plays that are not there. Although their offense is more efficient with Stone at the helm, he is not close to the type of quarterback that can put an offense on his shoulders. If he plays within himself and eliminates turnovers, North Carolina State will be in good shape.
South Florida has several playmakers on defense that the Wolfpack must account for. Undersized DEs Terrence Royal and Jon Simmons are solid up-field pass rushers that will attack Stone off the edge. Ben Moffitt has a bright future and led the Bulls in tackles. He is constantly around the football and could cause the Wolfpack problems in their running game.
Special Teams
Both teams have dynamic kick returners in Jackie Chambers (South Florida) and Darrell Blackman (NC State). Blackman has yet to break one for a touchdown, but he's certainly capable with his toughness and speed. He led the ACC on kickoff returns with a huge 29.1-yard-per-game average, including a 77 yarder. Both kickoff units could decide to kick away from these two potential game-changers. The Wolfpack have the edge with their specialists and John Deraney is one of the best kickers in the ACC. In what could be a very close low-scoring game, these special teams players could have a lot to do with the outcome.
Three Key Individual Matchups
1. South Florida RB Andre Hall vs. NC State LB Stephen Tulloch
2. South Florida OT's Jerome Springfield and Mark Dile vs. NC State DE's Mario Williams and Manny Lawson
3. NC State RB Andre Brown vs. South Florida LB Ben Moffitt
Scouts' Edge
Despite losing its final two regular-season games to Connecticut and West Virginia, South Florida is appearing in the program's first-ever bowl game. The Bulls ended the season with just six wins, but it should be noted how grueling their nonconference schedule was with Penn State, Miami and Central Florida. With confidence on the rise and so many talented underclassmen, the future is bright for coach Jim Leavitt's program. The Bulls will show up to play and will give the Wolfpack all they can handle from an effort and scheme standpoint. Eventually, however, talent will prevail. NC State has been unpredictable this season but it finished the regular season winning four of its last five games. Also, this will essentially be a home game for the Wolfpack in Charlotte, N.C.
If coach Chuck Amato's team shows up to play and can limit its notoriously high amount of penalties, this game should be in NC State's hand early in the second half. There will not be a whole lot of points scored but the Wolfpack defense will prevail.
Prediction: NC State 24, South Florida 17
