Week 14
- Thread starter ajoytoy
- Start date
Happy Thanksgiving my friend. Love Okalhoma this week. Have the Wolfpack and GTech on my card as well. GL :mj06:
Haynes: Pack Hopes to Finish the Job Against Miami
Haynes: Pack Hopes to Finish the Job Against Miami
Haynes: Pack Hopes to Finish the Job Against Miami
BY TONY HAYNES
During his 34-year coaching career, Tom O?Brien has witnessed a number of remarkable turnarounds. As an assistant, he helped George Welsh pull a rather pathetic Virginia program out of the ashes and into the bowl spotlight. In his first head coaching job, O?Brien took a scandal-ridden Boston College program and turned it into a consistent winner.
And while he?s been a part of teams that won more games and finished higher in the conference standings, O?Brien admitted on his weekly radio show this week that this would become one of the most satisfying seasons of his coaching career if his second NC State team could become bowl eligible by beating Miami on Saturday.
It?s there for the taking.
With a win over the Hurricanes (7-4, 4-3) at Carter-Finley Stadium (12:10 kickoff), the Wolfpack (5-6, 3-4) would finish 6-6, a scenario that seemed highly unlikely when this team fell to 2-6 following an excruciating three-point loss to Maryland on October 25th.
The journey to this point has been both disjointed and strange.
In its first three games this season, the NC State offense had a difficult time getting first downs, much less touchdowns. Against division one opponents South Carolina and Clemson, the Wolfpack offense accounted for a grand total of three points and averaged a measly 213 yards. Eventually, quarterback Russell Wilson caught fire, tight end Anthony Hill returned from an injury and a much-scrutinized offensive line came together, thus producing an efficient unit that could move the football on the ground and through the air.
But just as the offense improved, the NC State defense became about as sturdy as Kleenex. With star linebacker Nate Irving and tackle Alan-Michael Cash on the shelf with injuries, the Wolfpack ?D? was giving up yards and points in bunches in October. Between them, South Florida and Boston College piled up 1,078 yards of total offense in back-to-back games against NC State.
But following the 27-24 loss at Maryland, things started to improve. Irving and Cash returned to health, and Clemson Johnson, who missed the first half of the season with a broken jaw, added a more physical presence at one of the safety positions. Up front, defensive end Willie Young became the disruptive pass rushing force everyone had expected to see earlier in the year. The run defense became more physical, the coverage in the secondary tighter and the pass rush more energized.
The stunning improvement on both sides of the ball has now added up to an improbable three-game winning streak, a stretch of games that came against in-state opponents Duke Wake Forest and North Carolina. The Wolfpack played well against the Blue Devils and the Deacons, put really put it all together in last week?s 41-10 pounding of the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill.
During the three-game winning streak, the NC State offense is averaging 29.6 points and 381 yards per contest. Perhaps most impressively, the Pack has rushed the football for an average of 165 yards in those games.
On the flip side, the Wolfpack defense has yielded an average of just 82 yards on the ground the last three weeks, while also producing seven turnovers and six sacks.
?We went through a lot of ups and down through the year and lost some tough games,? said cornerback Jeremy Gray, who like the other NC State seniors, will be playing his final home game on Saturday. ?Some teams in that position would have just gone under and just kept losing. We found a way to come back and still make this a positive season.?
But the Wolfpack will only feel completely positive about what it has accomplished if it can finish the job and knock off the ?Canes on Saturday.
?All this work we?ve done to get to this point, it would be a shame not to do your best and give your best effort and give yourself a chance to win on Saturday,? O?Brien said.
Now to the game...
Same Formula on Defense: It?s really a simple equation for NC State. If the Wolfpack can hold a fourth straight opponent under 100 yards rushing, it will have a very good chance of controlling the Hurricanes offense. Tackling will be a huge key for the Pack this week. Out with an ankle injury, Clem Johnson will be missed since the defense?s improvement is directly attributable to his emergence as a physical force in the secondary.
?It?s a huge loss for us because he?d finally gotten back and was playing well,? O?Brien said. ?He was playing the best he?d played all year [at UNC]. We were getting play at that spot we wanted to get in week one, but didn?t get it until week 11.?
Miami has 22 plays of 30 or more yards this season and has scored 21 of its 32 touchdowns on drives of three minutes or less. One or two missed tackles, and running backs Graig Cooper and Javarris James are a threat to take it to the house from anywhere on the football field.
?It?s been that was for years,? O?Brien said. ?Anybody who touches the football, whether it?s a running back, wide receiver or tight end, can score from any point on the football field. That?s always a concern when you play this football team,?
Though young, Miami features fast, big-play players at every skill position on offense, including quarterback. Signal callers Robert Marve and Jacory Harris can run and throw, but both are erratic passers when put into obvious passing situations. Between them, Marve, a redshirt freshman and Harris, a true freshman, have thrown 15 interceptions.
But the weapons they have to work with are plentiful. Nine different Miami receivers have double-digit catches this year, led by Aldarius Johnson?s 30 grabs.
Cooper and James, however, may hold the key to Miami?s fortunes. Cooper averages 4.8 yards per carry, while James is right behind at 4.7. Hold them in check, and the NC State defense will have a much better chance of forcing the young quarterbacks into mistakes throwing the football.
Speed Against Speed: NC State quarterback Russell Wilson has thoroughly frustrated opposing defenses with his ability to scramble out of trouble, either to buy extra time in the pocket or run the football himself. Other than North Carolina linebacker Bruce Carter on one occasion last week, no other defensive players have been able to track Wilson down from behind.
On Saturday, however, the Wolfpack?s flashy QB may meet his match.
As is usually the case, Miami has blinding speed at just about every position on defense. The ends, linebackers and safeties run extremely well and won?t necessarily be surprised by Wilson?s quickness.
?It?s the same Miami defense I played all those years at B.C.,? said O?Brien. ?They?re as athletic as they?ve ever been. They can put pressure on you with four guys, even though they?re blitzing a little more than they did a year ago. They play lockdown man-to-man and say ?come beat us.??
It will be up to NC State?s receivers to prove they can separate themselves from the man coverage and get open. The likes of Jarvis Williams, Owen Spencer, T.J. Graham, Darrell Davis, Jay Smith and Geron James may also have to make tough catches and simply outfight their defenders for the football on occasion. Man coverage tests a receiver?s ability to run precise routs and make adjustments on the ball when it?s in the air.
The Hurricanes rank 20th nationally in total defense (304 yards per game) and 8th in pass defense (164 ypg.). Miami has 15 sacks over its last five games and could very well possess the best group of pass rushers Wilson has encountered to date.
Pack running backs Andre Brown and Jamelle Eugene will again be important components for a variety of reasons. It goes without saying that they?ll need to have some success running against a defense that allows just 3.7 yards per rush. Not to be underestimated is their ability to contribute to the Pack?s pass protection schemes. Fortunately, both Brown and Eugene are good blockers and neither is reluctant to put their bodies on the line against stray pass rushers.
Russell Wilson?s athleticism against Miami?s team speed on defense will be fun to watch. If the redshirt freshman manages to pull his team through again, he?ll surely become the frontrunner for first team All-ACC quarterback honors and maybe more.
He?d also finish off one of the most satisfying seasons his coach has ever enjoyed.
Haynes: Pack Hopes to Finish the Job Against Miami
Haynes: Pack Hopes to Finish the Job Against Miami
BY TONY HAYNES
During his 34-year coaching career, Tom O?Brien has witnessed a number of remarkable turnarounds. As an assistant, he helped George Welsh pull a rather pathetic Virginia program out of the ashes and into the bowl spotlight. In his first head coaching job, O?Brien took a scandal-ridden Boston College program and turned it into a consistent winner.
And while he?s been a part of teams that won more games and finished higher in the conference standings, O?Brien admitted on his weekly radio show this week that this would become one of the most satisfying seasons of his coaching career if his second NC State team could become bowl eligible by beating Miami on Saturday.
It?s there for the taking.
With a win over the Hurricanes (7-4, 4-3) at Carter-Finley Stadium (12:10 kickoff), the Wolfpack (5-6, 3-4) would finish 6-6, a scenario that seemed highly unlikely when this team fell to 2-6 following an excruciating three-point loss to Maryland on October 25th.
The journey to this point has been both disjointed and strange.
In its first three games this season, the NC State offense had a difficult time getting first downs, much less touchdowns. Against division one opponents South Carolina and Clemson, the Wolfpack offense accounted for a grand total of three points and averaged a measly 213 yards. Eventually, quarterback Russell Wilson caught fire, tight end Anthony Hill returned from an injury and a much-scrutinized offensive line came together, thus producing an efficient unit that could move the football on the ground and through the air.
But just as the offense improved, the NC State defense became about as sturdy as Kleenex. With star linebacker Nate Irving and tackle Alan-Michael Cash on the shelf with injuries, the Wolfpack ?D? was giving up yards and points in bunches in October. Between them, South Florida and Boston College piled up 1,078 yards of total offense in back-to-back games against NC State.
But following the 27-24 loss at Maryland, things started to improve. Irving and Cash returned to health, and Clemson Johnson, who missed the first half of the season with a broken jaw, added a more physical presence at one of the safety positions. Up front, defensive end Willie Young became the disruptive pass rushing force everyone had expected to see earlier in the year. The run defense became more physical, the coverage in the secondary tighter and the pass rush more energized.
The stunning improvement on both sides of the ball has now added up to an improbable three-game winning streak, a stretch of games that came against in-state opponents Duke Wake Forest and North Carolina. The Wolfpack played well against the Blue Devils and the Deacons, put really put it all together in last week?s 41-10 pounding of the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill.
During the three-game winning streak, the NC State offense is averaging 29.6 points and 381 yards per contest. Perhaps most impressively, the Pack has rushed the football for an average of 165 yards in those games.
On the flip side, the Wolfpack defense has yielded an average of just 82 yards on the ground the last three weeks, while also producing seven turnovers and six sacks.
?We went through a lot of ups and down through the year and lost some tough games,? said cornerback Jeremy Gray, who like the other NC State seniors, will be playing his final home game on Saturday. ?Some teams in that position would have just gone under and just kept losing. We found a way to come back and still make this a positive season.?
But the Wolfpack will only feel completely positive about what it has accomplished if it can finish the job and knock off the ?Canes on Saturday.
?All this work we?ve done to get to this point, it would be a shame not to do your best and give your best effort and give yourself a chance to win on Saturday,? O?Brien said.
Now to the game...
Same Formula on Defense: It?s really a simple equation for NC State. If the Wolfpack can hold a fourth straight opponent under 100 yards rushing, it will have a very good chance of controlling the Hurricanes offense. Tackling will be a huge key for the Pack this week. Out with an ankle injury, Clem Johnson will be missed since the defense?s improvement is directly attributable to his emergence as a physical force in the secondary.
?It?s a huge loss for us because he?d finally gotten back and was playing well,? O?Brien said. ?He was playing the best he?d played all year [at UNC]. We were getting play at that spot we wanted to get in week one, but didn?t get it until week 11.?
Miami has 22 plays of 30 or more yards this season and has scored 21 of its 32 touchdowns on drives of three minutes or less. One or two missed tackles, and running backs Graig Cooper and Javarris James are a threat to take it to the house from anywhere on the football field.
?It?s been that was for years,? O?Brien said. ?Anybody who touches the football, whether it?s a running back, wide receiver or tight end, can score from any point on the football field. That?s always a concern when you play this football team,?
Though young, Miami features fast, big-play players at every skill position on offense, including quarterback. Signal callers Robert Marve and Jacory Harris can run and throw, but both are erratic passers when put into obvious passing situations. Between them, Marve, a redshirt freshman and Harris, a true freshman, have thrown 15 interceptions.
But the weapons they have to work with are plentiful. Nine different Miami receivers have double-digit catches this year, led by Aldarius Johnson?s 30 grabs.
Cooper and James, however, may hold the key to Miami?s fortunes. Cooper averages 4.8 yards per carry, while James is right behind at 4.7. Hold them in check, and the NC State defense will have a much better chance of forcing the young quarterbacks into mistakes throwing the football.
Speed Against Speed: NC State quarterback Russell Wilson has thoroughly frustrated opposing defenses with his ability to scramble out of trouble, either to buy extra time in the pocket or run the football himself. Other than North Carolina linebacker Bruce Carter on one occasion last week, no other defensive players have been able to track Wilson down from behind.
On Saturday, however, the Wolfpack?s flashy QB may meet his match.
As is usually the case, Miami has blinding speed at just about every position on defense. The ends, linebackers and safeties run extremely well and won?t necessarily be surprised by Wilson?s quickness.
?It?s the same Miami defense I played all those years at B.C.,? said O?Brien. ?They?re as athletic as they?ve ever been. They can put pressure on you with four guys, even though they?re blitzing a little more than they did a year ago. They play lockdown man-to-man and say ?come beat us.??
It will be up to NC State?s receivers to prove they can separate themselves from the man coverage and get open. The likes of Jarvis Williams, Owen Spencer, T.J. Graham, Darrell Davis, Jay Smith and Geron James may also have to make tough catches and simply outfight their defenders for the football on occasion. Man coverage tests a receiver?s ability to run precise routs and make adjustments on the ball when it?s in the air.
The Hurricanes rank 20th nationally in total defense (304 yards per game) and 8th in pass defense (164 ypg.). Miami has 15 sacks over its last five games and could very well possess the best group of pass rushers Wilson has encountered to date.
Pack running backs Andre Brown and Jamelle Eugene will again be important components for a variety of reasons. It goes without saying that they?ll need to have some success running against a defense that allows just 3.7 yards per rush. Not to be underestimated is their ability to contribute to the Pack?s pass protection schemes. Fortunately, both Brown and Eugene are good blockers and neither is reluctant to put their bodies on the line against stray pass rushers.
Russell Wilson?s athleticism against Miami?s team speed on defense will be fun to watch. If the redshirt freshman manages to pull his team through again, he?ll surely become the frontrunner for first team All-ACC quarterback honors and maybe more.
He?d also finish off one of the most satisfying seasons his coach has ever enjoyed.
NCSU ML
UNC -8
GT +7.5
Mizzu -15.5
Ok -7.5
Florida -16
VT -7.5
Nevada -5
Tulsa -16
ND/USC Over 49
GT/Georgia Over 49.5
bakers dowxen for the week(end)
gl out there
UNC -8
GT +7.5
Mizzu -15.5
Ok -7.5
Florida -16
VT -7.5
Nevada -5
Tulsa -16
ND/USC Over 49
GT/Georgia Over 49.5
bakers dowxen for the week(end)
gl out there
