Tigers will look to exploit Wolfpack secondary
By DUANE RANKIN, The Greenville News
CLEMSON -- North Carolina State University coach Chuck Amato has 325 reasons to disagree with his junior linebacker Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay, who said Sunday the Wolfpack doesn't have a problem defending the pass.
N.C. State is allowing an Atlantic Coast Conference worst 325 yards passing per game entering its Thursday night home game against Clemson University.
"We're not very good," Amato said. " I thought we played much better this past game (against Connecticut) and we'll have to play at another level because of the wide receivers Clemson has...We have got to continue to get better at pass defense or we won't have a chance."
Junior starting cornerback Lamont Reid will miss Thursday's game with a shoulder injury, thus, making the Wolfpack secondary even weaker. N.C. State has given up an average of 409.2 yards passing in its last four games.
"We're just going to go out there and if they make mistakes, we're just going to pretty much capitalize on them," Clemson senior receiver Kevin Youngblood said.
Aughtry-Lindsay's 56-yard interception return for a touchdown against Connecticut with five seconds left gave N.C. State a 31-24 victory last Saturday, but the Wolfpack have struggled stopping the pass compared to a year ago. N.C. State finished first in the ACC in pass defense last season, allowing 175.5 yards. The Wolfpack's success partly stemmed from posting 48 sacks in 14 games. N.C. State has 16 sacks in its seven games this season.
Like last season, N.C. State is playing aggressive man-to-man defense, but Clemson quarterback coach Mike O'Cain said the Wolfpack used more zone coverage in beating the Tigers, 38-6, last season.
"They have given up some big plays in the passing game and obviously, you'll try to exploit that," O'Cain said. "I'd be crazy if I didn't sit here and say we're going to try to do some things to attack them in the passing game."
N.C. State will attempt to stop Clemson sophomore quarterback Charlie Whitehurst, who has thrown for 1,633 yards and 12 touchdowns to six interceptions this season. The Wolfpack have beaten two of the nation's top quarterbacks in Texas Tech's B.J. Symons and Connecticut's Dan Orlovsky, but gave up a ton of yardage and big plays in those games. Symons threw for 586 yards and two touchdowns, while Orlovsky had 299 yards passing and three touchdowns passes with two coming in the final quarter.
Symons leads the nation in passing yards (2,954) and touchdowns passes (27).
Orlovsky has thrown for 19 touchdowns, which ties him for third nationally with Tulane's J.P. Losman, and is fourth in the country in passing yards (2,015). Amato expressed a concern with defending the fade route, which is the pattern Youngblood scored his 4-yard game-winning touchdown pass against Virginia.
"We've got to finish our coverage," Amato said. "We just can't cover for five yards or eight yards. We got to finish the coverage all the way."
Three Pack starters out for Clemson game
The Herald-Sun
Oct 13, 2003 : 6:33 pm ET
RALEIGH -- N.C. State injury problems mounted Monday as three Wolfpack starters were ruled out of Thursday night's game with Clemson after getting hurt in last Saturday's victory over Connecticut.
Two players face surgery. Defensive end Renaldo Moses is out for the year with both a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee. He faces major knee reconstruction surgery in about three weeks. Offensive guard Ricky Fowler, who played most of the second half against UConn after injuring his right knee in the first half, underwent arthroscopic surgery Sunday to repair a subluxed knee cap and a sprained ACL.
Moses, who recorded three sacks and five tackles for loss in the Pack's first seven games, will be replaced in the starting lineup by true freshman James Martin. Fowler's spot will go to either sophomore Antoine Colvin or junior Ashley Wingate.
Cornerback and kickoff returner Lamont Reid also is sidelined with a partially dislocated shoulder. He spot is up for grabs between former Chapel Hill High standout Dovonte Edwards and Northern High product A.J. Davis.
Wolfpack coach Chuck Amato did get some good news Monday -- sophomore tailback T.A. McLendon was not listed on the injury report. The All-ACC running back returned to action against Connecticut after missing two games with a pulled hamstring. And that injury came after McLendon missed an earlier game with a sore knee.
He ran for 32 yards on 12 carries against the Huskies and came out of the game with nothing more than normal bumps and bruises.
"T.A. came out of that game a little sore," Amato said. "It's not his hamstring. His body is sore, which is what he needed. He hadn't been hit in 3? games. His body has to get used to it again. It sure didn't look to me that he had any indication that the hamstring was even tweaked a little bit, thank goodness."
Backup tailback Josh Brown, who missed the UConn game, is listed as questionable for the Clemson game. Backup tight end Avery Gibson, who missed the UConn game with a concussion, is expected to return this week.
-- By AL FEATHERSTON
Key Wolfpack Players Out for Clemson Game
NC State will be missing Fowler, Moses and Reid.
Oct. 13, 2003
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.-NC State's already lengthy injury list got a little longer on Monday when it was announced that three major contributors would miss Thursday's 7:45 p.m. game against Clemson at Carter-Finley Stadium. Out will be starting guard Ricky Fowler (knee), starting cornerback Lamont Reid (shoulder) and defensive end Renaldo Moses (knee). In addition to Monday's updated injury report, the ACC has announced that NC State's contest at Duke on October 25th will begin at 1:00 p.m. The game will not be televised.
Of all the players that were hurt during the Wolfpack's 31-24 victory over Connecticut on Saturday, Moses sustained the most severe injury, tearing both the ACL and MCL in his knee. He will soon undergo reconstructive surgery and will miss the rest of the season.
A starter at defensive end in five of seven games this season, Moses recorded a total of 26 tackles and three sacks.
Reid came out of the UConn game with a shoulder subluxation, a similar injury that limited receiver Jerricho Cotchery during the preseason. It's not known how long the junior corner will be out of action. Reid had been a starter in 21 consecutive games dating back to last season. His absence means that redshirt freshman A.J. Davis and junior Dovonte Edwards will likely be on the field for more snaps on Thursday.
As for Ricky Fowler, he has undergone athroscopic surgery after suffering a subluxed kneecap and ACL sprain in the Connecticut game. When the redshirt junior left the line-up during the first half on Saturday, he was replaced by Ashley Wingate, who got a start last season when Shane Riggs went down with a knee injury.
NC State Injury List for Clemson Game
PROBABLE
Avery Gibson, TE - Concussion
QUESTIONABLE
Josh Brown, TB - Hip Flexor/Lower Abdominal Strain
OUT
Chris Colmer, OT - Parsonage Turner Syndrome
Ricky Fowler, OG - Subluxed Kneecap, ACL Sprain (Arthroscopic Surgery on 10/12)
Sterling Hicks, WR - Torn ACL (surgery, 10/9)
Renaldo Moses, DE - Torn ACL, MCL; surgery in three weeks
Lamont Reid, CB - Shoulder Subluxation
