SB Nation - Russell Wilson

Is UNC This Year's N.C. State?

T.H. — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 23:42:11 -0000

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24 days ago: Virginia Tech's Cody Grimm, right, sacks North Carolina State's quarterback Russell Wilson during the second half of an NCAA college football game at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Va.,Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009. (AP Photo/Don Petersen)

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Picture a football team, off to a bit of a rough start. Injuries plague them early; they open the conference slate with three straight losses and are pretty much written off for the season. Bowl eligibility hang by a thread, and it's still October. But wait – a key player returns, and the team begins to win games. They rattle of four straight conference wins, solidify their bowl berth and head towards the next season full of promise and excitement.

It's the story of this year's Carolina team, but it's also last year's Wolfpack team. It also ends badly, as Russell Wilson is re-injured in the bowl game, the team loses to Rutgers, and spends the subsequent season plagued gain by injuries and a poor defense. They now sit 4-7 overall and tied for last in the ACC, with their only win against equally hapless Maryland.

(Cheer up though. The above story equally applies to Rutgers, who finished their season with a seven game winning streak, and are now 8-3 against an admittedly laughable schedule.)

There's not much similarity between the two teams at all, actually. The Wolfpack lost the biggest name on their team, the aforementioned Russell Wilson, and the '08 team was entirely different once he returned. UNC's injuries were concentrated in an offensive line that never made headlines, and the Heels resurgence is half because there are more healthy bodies and half due to the fact the offense has been redesigned to cope with a porous front seven. Note also that the Wolfpack defense was never particularly strong last year, and injuries have made it downright pathetic in 2009.

This game is essentially a repeat of the Florida State game back in October, without that meddlesome fantastic offense to make it difficult for the Heels. Russell Wilson is still impressive behind center, and he leads the league in passing touchdowns, but he's had to force things a bit more and more passes have found their way their way into opposing hands. The running game is worse than Carolina's. The defense is worse than some high school teams. The fans have despaired. Their only hope is for the Heels to come in unfocused and unprepared.

Fat chance of that happening. Carolina players have spent the week answering questions about 41-10, the most lopsided game of last season. A game where the defense was blown off the field, at home, and they damn well remember it. This is State's bowl game, but it's UNC's redemption game, and the Heels aren't leaving Carter-Finley with a loss.

Virginia Tech 38, NC State 10: Postgame Stream of Consciousness

furrer4heisman — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:23:37 -0000

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The Hokies took care of business against a team with nothing to play for but pride, so kudos to them. There was a lot to like about this game because of the individual performances we saw.

Two records from Saturday's game: Ryan Williams broke the Virginia Tech and ACC record for rushing yards by a freshman by running for 126 yards and four freaking touchdowns. Cody Grimm tied an NCAA record by forcing three fumbles in the same game. Grimm tied the record in the first quarter. That's an unofficial record according to me. He also tied it in FOUR PLAYS. Also an unofficial record according to me.
Williams had to work for his yards, averaging 3.8 YPC. What was impressive was his physicality. He ran over defenders and dragged one into the end zone for his last touchdown. He was a man among boys against the Wolfpack.
Grimm set the tone for the game. NC State lost two fumbles on their first three plays and were down 10-0. He was always around the ball and always causing havoc. The senior had a senior day to remember.
There's really not much more I can say about the games Williams and Grimm had, so feel free to add your own hyperbole in the comments.
After several drops by Dyrell Roberts, Tyrod Taylor started just lofting the ball to Jarrett Boykin. NC State couldn't cover Boykin and he finished the game with six catches for 164 yards and a nice touchdown grab in the second half. Boykin came down with nearly every ball thrown to him in man coverage, especially on third down. He kept his fair share of Hokie drives alive.
The Wolfpack tried with all their might to huff and puff and blow the Hokies' running game down. However, when Williams wasn't pounding out hard-earned yards, Taylor was finding Boykin for big gains. Tech took it to the NC State defense, especially in the passing game.
The defense shut out the NC State offense in the second half. It was an impressive display.
NC State QB Russell Wilson was on the run for most of the game, and while he was often able to use his legs and intuition to find the first down marker, it wasn't enough to get the Pack into the end zone in the second half.
Good grief Rashad Carmichael got worked for most of the game when he was in man coverage against the NC State receivers. Wilson picked on him a lot and was successful until late in the second half when Carmichael made a nice play that forced a punt.
The Hokie play calling got conservative in the second half for the second consecutive week. It worked, but I wasn't a fan for keeping Tyrod Taylor in the game as late as he was in. Tech was in complete control and he risked injury when he scrambled for a first down late in the fourth quarter while up four touchdowns.
I was really happy Jeff Beyer got to take the final two snaps of the game. It was a senior day to remember for a lot of guys.

The Preview: Maryland Terrapins @ Florida State Seminoles

FSUncensored — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:04:10 -0000

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Time: Noon
TV: Raycom Sports - Tim Brant (pbp), Doc Walker (color) and Mike Hogewood (sidelines) will call the action. The game can also be seen on ESPN Gameplan or ESPN360.com.
Line: FSU -18.5
Forecast: Rain? No Rain? Looks like heavy rain in the afternoon but it should hold off for the first half.

The Maryland Terrapins are coming off a 36-9 home loss to Virginia Tech. They sit at 1-8 on the year against D1 teams. Their coach, Ralf Friedgen on that loss:

"I thought we improved in our offensive line play. Andrew Gonnella played probably his best game and I thought Terrell Skinner played a fantastic game. He had 13 tackles and really played well. We defended the run well, but what we didn't do was defend the big plays and the passing game. We have to make some more plays in our offense. There are some plays out there that we need to make and we didn't make them. On Monday night I showed about eight plays to the offense where we are very, very close to just sustaining the block, breaking the tackle or making the catch to make a difference."

Maryland Offense v. FSU Defense

As you can see (click to enlarge), Maryland's offense isn't very good. 83rd in the country and significantly worse than North Carolina (the next best offense FSU has played). But they are better than USF, and like USF, they are starting a young running quarterback for the first time.

And Florida State's defense...

As you can see (click to enlarge), FSU's defense is 90th in the country. Maryland put 31 points on NC State's 85th ranked defense on the road, and dropped 32 on Wake's 46th ranked unit, also on the road. But that was with their quarterback. Let's see what they are currently working with.

Here's Maryland's offensive depth chart:

WR-X 7 Adrian Cannon 6-2 204 Jr.-2V
LT 74 Bruce Campbell 6-7 310 Jr.-2V
LG 71 Paul Pinegar 6-4 290 Jr.-2V
C 72 Phil Costa 6-3 300 Sr.-2V
RG 77 Andrew Gonnella 6-6 305 So.-SQ or 78 Justin Lewis 6-4 320 Fr.-RS
RT 76 R.J. Dill 6-7 320 Fr.-RS
TE-Y 34 Devonte Campbell 6-2 250 Fr.-RS
QB 11 Jamarr Robinson 6-0 190 So.-SQ
TB 8 Davin Meggett 5-8 215 So.-1V & 23 Da'Rel Scott 5-11 200 Jr.-2V
FB 38 Cory Jackson 6-1 245 Sr.-3V
WR-Z 82 Torrey Smith 6-1 200 So.-1V
WR-F 24 Ronnie Tyler 5-11 190 So.-1V
TE-F 80 Lansford Watson 6-4 260 So.-1V

And FSU's Defensive Depth Chart:

LE 95 Kevin McNeil 6-2, 257, SR
DT 93 Everett Dawkins 6-2, 258, FR & 72 Budd Thacker 6-2, 276, SR
NT 90 Moses McCray 6-2, 298, SO & 99 Jacobbi McDaniel 6-0, 267, FR
RE 98 Markus White 6-4, 261, JR & 49 Brandon Jenkins 6-2, 240, FR
SLB 36 Dekoda Watson 6-2, 226, SR
MLB 29 Kendall Smith 6-1, 224, JR
WLB 13 Nigel Bradham 6-2, 235, SO
Backup LB 12 Nigel Carr 6-3, 230, SO
CB 15 Ochuko Jenije 5-10, 188, JR
FS 20 Jamie Robinson 6-2, 188, SR
RV 22 Korey Mangum 6-0, 202, SR & 10 Nick Moody 6-2, 228, FR
CB 21 Patrick Robinson 5-11, 194, SR
Nickel Corner: 5 Greg Reid 5-9, 175, FR

Phillip, a friend of Tomahawk Nation, will be helping us out with the Maryland team.

Jamarr Robinson is the new quarterback. He runs a 4.66 in the forty yard dash so he'll give your defense all types of problems scrambling but at this point he's just not a good passer. In six quarters he is 17-43 for 130 yards, no TD's and no pick, though he has thrown a couple balls that could have been picks and a couple that could have been TD's if the receiver makes a play. Robinson won't throw over 200 yards against FSU in all probability no matter what the circumstance. Robinson is mobile, but not so mobile he's a game changer. He can't read coverages and hes pretty inaccurate.

But in the rain with FSU's defense over-pursuing like crazy, this running back playing QB could give FSU some trouble. I'd actually rather face Turner. I talked to the Va Tech guys and they said Robinson is extremely erratic. FSU is facing a less talented B.J. Daniels. Maryland has always run some option and they rep the option in practice so I think FSU is in for a heavy does of option. It would fit this kid's skill-set well.

Tough to evaluate this running back group cause of the bad O-Line. Da'Rel Scott, a first team all ACC guy should return from injury after missing the last five games. Hes our best runner. Hes averaging over 5 yards a carry when nobody else is over 4. He was fumbling the ball before he got hurt, so that could be an issue. The backups who played the last couple weeks were banged up themselves. They are not bad players they just don't have big holes to run through. Also with Jamar Robinson playing you can crowd the box, thus the RB's only got 7 carries against VT, the QB did most of the running (25 carries for 127 yards). Without a healthy Scott this group is pretty average. If they played with a good line they would get decent yardage, but they don't and aren't good enough to make things happen on their own. Scott put up big numbers earlier in the season, but in fairness to the other rb's, Scott played against a couple weaker defenses, (James Madison and MTSU) when he put up his numbers. Our fullback, Cory Jackson, might be the best blocking fullback in the ACC, but without an O-Line that only gets you so far.

Remember Dave Megget of the Giants? That's his son. A similarly fashioned scat back. Scott is not a receiving threat but Megget has good hands. If Maryland wants to use a fullback, that's fine by me. FSU will play 8 men in the box like they did last year early on.

This wide receiver group is talented. Torrey Smith, Adrian Cannon, and Ronnie Tyler the top 3 guys are all good. If Turner is the QB this group could cause your secondary problems. This group is probably in the top third of the ACC. If we had a good O-Line or a run game to balance the pass, UMD could put up big passing numbers with these guys. Torrey Smith is a sophomore but probably has a future in the NFL. He broke the ACC KO return yards as a freshman and broke that record this year and has put up very solid receiving numbers. Smith has soft hands, good cutting ability, and low 4.4 speed. Adrian Cannon is a good possession WR. He runs around a 4.6 so not a deep threat that can stretch the field vertically, but hes got a thick body and very strong hands. Hes good after the catch, okay elusiveness and is strong and will break a lot of tackles by db's. Tyler is the slot, short at 5'9, hes an explosive athlete that is a good college receiver.

I agree with Phillip here. FSU CB Patrick Robinson, one of the best corners in the nation and a likely first round choice should be able to limit Smith. Jenijie should be okay against the other their #2. Maryland doesn't have a tight end who catches a lot of balls, so that is a plus.

I would say the worst O-Line in the ACC by quite a bit. We struggle to pass block and we struggle to run block. Its not clear which we are worst at. Occasionally they will have a good series or two, but this O-Line has yet to really put together an entire game, so FSU doesn't have much to worry about. The O-Line started out young and inexperienced and has been exacerbated by injuries. Bruce Campbell the best O-Lineman is playing pretty hurt. Due to injuries 9 different guys have gotten starts this year on the line and another has played significantly. Your D-Line will have its best game.

This is true. Maryland's offensive line is highly questionable. Campbell is actually a tremendous talent at left tackle, but as Phillip said, he's been injured. Last year Maryland was one of a few teams to not double team Everette Brown and Brown absolutely abused the Terps. They have struggled with quick rush ends so far this year and as Phillip said, FSU might have a good day. I don't think he understands just how poor FSU's defense is, however, so don't get too excited, 'Nole fans.

Maryland runs a pro-style offense. It's West coast based. They typically man block, not zone block (FSU zone blocks). If I was running Maryland's offense, I would probably use 3 wide receivers and two running backs, mixing in a lot of option looks for the young quarterback who is basically a running back under center. The rain probably plays to Maryland's advantage if they elect to run some of the zone-read plays we've come accustomed to seeing teams run against Florida State, often with great success. It's one thing to overrun a play. It's another to overrun a play in the rain and be unable to recover in time. I expect FSU to run more of the cover-2 stuff they ran against Wake Forest. This should help because it allows FSU to keep all 11 eyes on the "quarterback". It also will force the quarterback to work with his receivers. FSU did not do this well against USF, and pair dearly for it via two bombs and multiple scrambles. Playing an excess of man coverage in this game is a poor choice. Maryland has some good skill guys and if FSU lets them play street ball, this could be interesting. Against Zone, receivers must sit down in the voids, and the quarterback must recognize where these voids will be and throw the ball to the spot. I do not think Maryland's guy under center can do that consistently. FSU must make him do things at which he is not comfortable, and not allow him to hit the high-risk, high-reward stuff. A good cover-2 or cover-3 zone can help with this. In addition, FSU should refrain from excessive blitzing. If there is any offensive line that FSU's defensive line can get pressure against, it is this group. Maryland won't consistently beat a conservative FSU defense, but they could beat an aggressive FSU defense. They have a veteran center who can make the calls and FSU's schemes aren't fooling anyone. It's best to be very conservative, contain Robinson, and let him make mistakes. I worry about this because it is defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews' last game. Will the players be too hyped up to play good assignment football? I don't know.

Working off a 68 play projection (about average), I expect Maryland to put up about 5.5 yards per play. That's 375 yards. 24 points seems reasonable. I'll go with that. Can FSU top that? Continue reading to see.

Maryland Defense @ Florida State Offense

The Terps defense is not as bad as their offense.

From their media guide:

They've actually been sort of solid on defense for most of the conference season (Cal housed them 52-13), though they struggled aginst the Hokies last week. They are allowing an average of 113 rushing yards per game (second in league play). LBs Alex Wujciak and Adrian Moten have been the top playmakers on a defense which has just four starters back from last year. Wujciak, a second-team All-ACC selection last year, has a team-high 113 tackles, including 11 vs. Virginia Tech last week. Moten has 58 tackles (second on the team), including team highs in tackles-for-loss (8.5) and sacks (6.0). Freshman LB Demetrius Hartsfield, was the third-leading tackler until he broke his hand and missed two games. He was back in action last week. First-year defensive coordinator Don Brown has a veteran secondary, though there have been injuries at that position. Senior Nolan Carroll, the team’s No. 1 cornerback, was lost for the season vs. JMU with a broken tibia. Senior SS Jamari McCollough missed two games with a foot injury and played sparingly the following two weeks. Top safety reserve Kenny Tate sprained an ankle last week and will miss the rest of the season. CB Anthony Wiseman has a team-high eight PBUs and CB Cameron Chism has a team-best three interceptions. Seniors Travis Ivey, Jared Harrell and Deege Galt are veterans on the defensive line. The Terps are tied for second in the ACC in sacks (2.5 per game).

As you can see (click to enlarge), Maryland's defense is 69th. NC State is the worst defense FSU has faced this year. But Maryland is on par with BYU, and definitely worse than Wake Forest.

As for Florida State's offense? Click to go full-screen and you'll see FSU sits at 5th in the country. This is an elite unit.

Maryland has faced the #9 rated NC State attack. Without Ponder, I believe FSU's offense is probably top 25 but definitely not top 5. These ratings reflect performance to date. They can't account for the future impact of injuries. They also played Va Tech, who like NCST, also put 35+ on them. #27 rated Wake Forest put 30+ on these guys. But I don't remember any of those teams playing in a downpour.

Maryland Depth Chart

DE 57 Jared Harrell 6-5 265 Sr.-1V or 44 Derek Drummond 6-4 250 So.-1V
NT 96 A.J. Francis 6-5 315 Fr.-RS
DT 90 Travis Ivey 6-4 325 Sr.-2V
Anchor (DE) 56 Deege Galt 6-4 264 Sr.-SQ
SAM 54 Adrian Moten 6-2 230 Jr.-2V
MIKE 33 Alex Wujciak 6-3 255 Jr.-1V
WILL 42 Ben Pooler 6-3 235 So.-SQ or 59 Demetrius Hartsfield 6-2 230 Fr.-RS
CB 6 Anthony Wiseman 5-10 185 Sr.-3V (Starter lost for year)
FS 1 Terrell Skinner 6-3 214 Sr.-3V (Starter lost for year)
SS 4 Jamari McCollough 5-11 200 Sr.-1V
CB 22 Cameron Chism 6-0 185 So.-1V

FSU Depth Chart

WR 80 Jarmon Fortson 6-3, 223, SO & 9 Richard Goodman 6-0, 190, SR
LT 67 Andrew Datko 6-6, 283, SO
LG 57 Brandon Davis 6-2, 281, JR (Replacing AA Rodney Hudson)
C 60 Ryan McMahon 6-3, 282, JR
RG 79 David Spurlock 6-5, 285, SO
RT 77 Zebrie Sanders 6-5, 288, SO
TE 88 Beau Reliford 6-7, 241, SO (Starter Caz Piurowski lost for year)
QB 3 EJ Manuel 6-4, 223, FR (Starter Christian Ponder lost for year)
FB 24 Lonnie Pryor 6-1, 195, FR
TB 38 Jermaine Thomas 6-1, 190, SO & 23 Chris Thompson 5-8, 173, FR
WR 86 Rod Owens 6-0, 183, SR & 83 Bert Reed 5-11, 165, SO & Taiwan Easterling

And FSU's Injury Report:

Out
76 OT Garrett Faircloth (hip)
70 OT Antwane Greenlee (knee)
51 LB Aaron Gresham (knee) (For career)
44 LB Maurice Harris (neck; out for the season)
62 OG Rodney Hudson (knee)
97 DT Demonte McAllister (knee)
94 DT Justin Mincey (knee)
81 TE Caz Piurowski (knee; out for the season)
7 QB Christian Ponder (shoulder; out for the season)
74 OT John Prior (knee)
27 CB Xavier Rhodes (thumb)
11 LB Vince Williams (back)

Questionable
9 WR Richard Goodman (groin)
Mister Alexander is also banged up but FSU didn't list him.

Let's see what Phillip has to say about Maryland's defense.

Probably the worst in the ACC. The DT's are so-so, maybe the 7 or 8th best group in the ACC as far as DT's go. The DE's are awful. The rush end position (Harrell and Drummond) has yet to record a sack this season after 10 games. This group generates no initial pass rush. The strongside DE (Deege Galt) is a 100% effort type player and got a couple sacks by continuing to work and getting a sack after the play broke down, but this group is really awful. Our DE's are by far the worst in the ACC from what I have seen at generating pass rush. The DT's don't help with pass rush. They use a three man rotation of guys weighing 330, 325, 310 (Ivery, Kerr, Francis) so they are okay agianst the run, teams have not really gash us by running right at us, but they contribute nothing to a pass rush. Therefore you have four guys totally not capable of getting any pass rush. The D-Line is serviceable against the run, but you want to be more than serviceable when that is the strength of the unit.

I think he's pessimistic here. These guys actually do a decent job stopping the run. They are massive inside and have good but not great size on the outside. He is right though about their pass rush ability. Maryland's pass rush from the front-4 is just not there. In addition, FSU's offensive line is excellent in pass protection. I do have some concerns about Davis working together with the other guys picking up the blitz. Speaking of blitz...

LB: A solid, but not great unit. At MLB, 255 Alex Wujciak is big and strong and good in run defense. Hes not very agile or fast so you can pass on him, though he has improed his awareness there a little. Still, his pass coverage is the type thing that Jimbo will take advantage of. With Ponder you would have burned us like crazy passing over the middle with him cause Ponder is accurate. Wujciak is not fast or agile, buts aware and he took an inaccurate pass by Russell Wilson to the hosue on a 70 yard interception return the other week. Still hes probably one of the slowest MLB in the ACC if not the slowest. He leads the ACC in tackles and is fourth in the nation. Its hard to run against him cause he can off blocks well even if you get a O-Lineman to him cause of his size and strength. Running up the middle against us is maybe do-able, but with so many other weaknesses, teams don't even really bother to try. Adrian Moten one of the OLB's is very verstaile. Hes solid in pass coverage, blitzing, and against the run, but is not great at any of them. He leads the team with 6 sacks. I see him in the NFL eventually, not necessarily as a high pick, simply cause at the least he would make a good backup because hes no real weakness. Hes also a vocal leader of the D. The third LB is Demetrius Hartsfield a RS freshman. Hes got solid quickness and average straight line speed, and like a lot of freshman is inconsistent. At times he shows good instincts and an aggressive instinct that makes him effective. Other times he looks lost. As the season went on he got a little bit more consistent, his worst games as far as missed assignments were his first. FSU will be his second game back from injury after missing three games.

Moten is undersized and doesn't do a great job of getting off blocks. Otherwise, I agree with this. FSU has a very good run game that has been steadily improving since Rick Trickett took over the running back coaching duties. The backs now understand what hole to run through, an important part of being a running back.

The DB's are average to below average which is a surprise as many fans expected them to be good. We lost our top corner, Nolan Carroll, in the second game of the season. That hurt a lot. Sophomore Cameron Chism may have NFL talent but hes still learning the ropes. He's very good when the ball is in the air, has three picks, and is excellent in run help. That said he gives up some big plays and is susceptible to double moves and the like at this stage in his career (hes a true soph. who only played special teams last year). Wiseman the other corner is one of the worst starting cb's in the ACC. A three year starter who never has gotten an interception, hes a bad tackler, who is really bad when the ball is in the air. Hes is very suspectible to the long ball. Against the short ball, like slants, hes okay and will get some pass breakups, but hes such a bad tackler thats hes still not great there becaue those missed tackles turn into 40 yard players. The third and fourth corners, Richad Taylor and Trenton Hughes are about what you expect from backup corners. I think they are both slightly better than Wiseman, but there is inertia with returning starters and they are not that much better anyways. At S, we just lost Kenny Tate for the season at SS. With McCollough, who will be the strong safety agianst FSU, you got a saavy player capable in pass coverage, but not great in run help. At free safety you have Terrell Skinner, who had had a better junior year than senior year so far, except for the fact hes had his best two games of the season the past couple weeks so he may be coming on.

I have nothing to add to that. A huge thanks to Phillip for his help!

I watched a bit of Maryland this week. They blitz a lot. I feel bad for this defense. They get no pass rush, so they are forced to blitz. But their secondary has really struggled due to losing two starters and just generally not having a ton of talent. They are hurting either way.

So, how to attack Maryland's defense? We know that their front can't rush the passer but is very big. And we know that their best linebacker is a liability in coverage. They love to blitz. And we also know that they are incredibly thin on the secondary. So, how would you attack this?

I would spread them out and pass on early downs. This puts pressure on already thin secondary. It will tire out their big defensive tackles who certainly don't want to rush the passer. It will stress their excellent linebacker who is sort of a stiff. There is no reason to run right at Maryland, especially not without Rodney Hudson. FSU needs to run at the edges and attack the undersized outside linebackers or defensive backs. By throwing on 1st down, FSU can keep Maryland off balance. The bubble-screen game could play big in this contest. Anything to simplify the reads for freshman QB E.J. Manuel. Most teams don't blitz much on 1st down, making it an ideal down to throw on because of the added time in the pocket. Also, many teams are reluctant to blitz the spread because the blitz comes from a greater distance than against a traditional formation, thus taking longer to get there, being more readily identifiable, and affording the offense more time to react.

But undoubtedly Maryland will have some success with the blitz. I doubt Manuel stays clean in this game. But I do think he can hit a big play or two, interspersed with some less than desirable plays. I don't think FSU can run quite like they did against Wake Forest. FSU must pick up the blitz. And if Maryland goes a little more conservative, then Manuel needs to be in sync with the receivers.

Assuming FSU gets 68 plays, I think they can average about 6.75 per snap. That comes out to 460 yards. I like FSU to score 40 points. And to be clear, I definitely think rain is a disadvantage for the 'Noles here.

FSU 40, Maryland 24 Maryland is the worst team FSU has faced to date, and though I expect Manuel to look rough at times, I will still project the big win.

Chance of Victory: 88% (the exact percentage I predicted before the season).

NCAA10 Sim: Hokies 31, Wolfpack 24

Hokie20 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:30:13 -0000

Josh Oglesby scored the go-ahead touchdown with 21 seconds left in the game to help Virginia Tech come back to beat NC State 31-24 in a thriller.

The Hokies rolled out of the gate in the first half, scoring 20 unanswered points in large part to senior tight end Greg Boone. The crowd favorite caught two touchdowns in the first half to lead the Hokies to a 20-point cushion.

Things were looking good for the Hokies until Russell Wilson and the Wolfpack started to heat up midway through the second quarter. Wilson finally hooked up on his first touchdown of the day with Owen Spencer to cap a calculated drive with just over 30 seconds until halftime. Instead of running the clock out before the half, Tech decided to try to score one more time when Tyrod Taylor got picked off by Audie Cole. Wilson took only two plays to hook up again with Spencer for a long 34-yard score and the Wolfpack had all the momentum heading into the locker room down by six.

State didn't stop when the third quarter began. In the opening possession, the Pack scored a field goal before Taylor was picked off again. Four plays later, State had their first lead of the game, 24-20 in front of a stunned Lane Stadium crowd.

The Hokies dug deep in the fourth quarter and cut the lead to just one point thanks to a Matt Waldron field goal. State got the ball back and did some damage but missed a field goal attempt with 2 minutes to play.

Two minutes was all Tyrod Taylor needed to lead Tech on a 15-play drive including four quick run plays capped off with the touchdown run by Oglesby.

NCST 0 14 10 0 -24
VT 10 10 0 11 -31

Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
VT:FG 3:15 M. Waldron, 25 Yd FG
VT:TD 2:17 G. Boone, 18 Yd pass from T. Taylor (M. Waldron Kick)
2nd Quarter
VT:TD 4:21 G. Boone, 9 Yd pass from T. Taylor (M. Waldron Kick)
VT:FG 2:51 M. Waldron, 42 Yd FG
NCST:TD 0:36 O. Spencer, 2 Yd pass from R. Wilson (J. Czajkowski Kick)
NCST:TD 0:00 O. Spencer, 34 Yd pass from R. Wilson (J. Czajkowski Kick)
3rd Quarter
NCST:FG 3:00 J. Czajkowski, 29 Yd FG
NCST:TD 1:47 T. Baker, 1 Yd run (J. Czajkowski Kick)
4th Quarter
VT:FG 4:22 M. Waldron, 31 Yd FG
VT:TD 0:21 J. Oglesby, 1 Yd run (M. Waldron Kick)

Significant Stats
First downs NCST: 18 VT: 14
Total Offense NCST:394 VT: 360
Turnovers NCST: 1 FUM, 1 INT VT: 3 INT

NC State Top Player Stats
Passing: R. Wilson 18-33 for 299 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: T. Baker 25-for-77 yds, 1 TD
Receiving: O. Spencer 8-for-166 yds, 2 TD
Defense: R. Michel 6 TAK, 1 INT

Virginia Tech Top Player Stats
Passing: T. Taylor 15-31 for 222 yds, 2 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: R. Williams 22-for-108 yds
Receiving: G. Boone 3-for-33 yds, 2 TD
Defense: J. Johnson 8 TAK, 1 TFL, 1 DEFL

2009 Virginia Tech Football: What to Watch vs. North Carolina State

furrer4heisman — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:15:08 -0000

by Gerry Broome - AP

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The Team

It's senior day for the Hokies. Hopefully they'll send guys like Greg Boone, Cody Grimm and Kam Chancellor off with a win.

Virginia Tech Offense vs. NC State Defense

Looking at the NC State defense, you'd think its strength would be its defensive line. However, the Wolfpack have had just 10 sacks in six conference games, tied for 10th in the ACC.
The also gives up 4.8 yards per carry in league play, 11th and ahead of only Florida State. Their 16 rushing touchdowns allowed in conference play is also higher than any other team but FSU.
NC State has also had trouble against the pass this season. It's allowing 7.8 yards per pass attempt in league play, 10th in the ACC.
Overall, NC State is allowing 6.3 yards per play in ACC games, only ahead of FSU and is giving up 41.7 points per game in conference play, worst in the ACC.
Simply put, this is the worst defense the Hokies will play all season. It will be up to Tyrod Taylor, Ryan Williams and the offense to take advantage of it.
Look for the Hokies to give the Pack a heavy dose of Ryan Williams to try to and set up play action passes deep to guys like Jarrett Boykin. Danny Coale should also have a big game in the middle of the field.

Virginia Tech Defense vs. NC State Offense

NC State QB Russell Wilson was last year's ACC rookie of the year and was the All-ACC QB. A lot of that can be somewhat attributed to his TD:INT ratio, which was an astounding 17:1. This year he's thrown 10 interceptions and 26 TDs.
While Russell's INTs have gone up significantly, his yards per attempt, completion percentage and passer rating have also gone up. Russell's rushing production has stayed the same and the team rushing production has gone up.
This is a dangerous offense the Hokies are going to face. Wilson has a pair of excellent wide receivers: Jarvis Williams and Owen Spencer. Spencer is the home-run threat and Williams (along with TE George Bryan) is Wilson's favorite target, leading the team in TD receptions.
The Pack should be able to exploit the middle of the field if they can get a decent game from running backs Toney Baker and Jamelle Eugene. Baker missed most of the last two seasons due to injury but has averaged nearly five yards per carry this season.
The Pack have actually averaged more yards per carry in ACC games than OOC games, so their stats aren't that augmented by bad competition.
The Pack slightly favor the run on first down, so the Hokies can't just load the box and hope to force long yardage situation that allow the defensive ends to pin their ears back.
I think the Hokies will have success if they are more aggressive against Wilson like they were against Jacory Harris. The Pack will get theirs against an aggressive D, but the Hokies will have an equal number of positives.

Outcome

Should be higher scoring than the VT-UNCG hoops game the other day.

Watch the Box Score For:

Turnovers
Virginia Tech Sacks
NC State 3rd Down Pct
Virginia Tech YPC

Virginia Tech Players to Watch:

19 - Danny Coale, So., WR
34 - Ryan Williams, Fr., RB
6 - Jason Worilds, Jr., DE
26 - Cody Grimm, Sr., LB

NC State Players to Watch:

16 - Russell Wilson, So., QB
13 - Owen Spencer, Jr., WR
49 - Alan-Michael Cash, Sr., DT
97 - Willie Young, Sr., DE

Final Score

Virginia Tech 42, NC State 21

Virginia Tech vs. North Carolina State: Q&A with Backing the Pack

furrer4heisman — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:00:18 -0000

More photos » by Jim R. Bounds - AP

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The Hokies and Wolfpack will renew acquaintances this Saturday for the first time since 2005. To get us up-to-date on the Pack, I turned to Akula Wolf from SB Nation's NC State blog Backing the Pack. He was kind enough to fill us in on the current state of NC State football. My answers to his queries are here.

GC: NC State was a team many thought had a chance to win the Atlantic division coming into this year. Now its ineligible for bowl season. What caused the Pack to go from being 3-1 and handing Pitt its only loss to being 4-6?

BTP: I'm not sure there is any difference between the 3-1 team and the 4-6 one. The problems that would plague the Wolfpack down the road--crippling turnovers, poor tackling, bad defense in general--were all on display in the Pittsburgh game, and Tom O'Brien said as much afterwards, telling the media that this was a bad football team with a long way to go. We managed to squeak by Pitt because Russell Wilson played brilliantly and the defense managed a couple of stops in the fourth quarter. Since then, Wilson hasn't been brilliant, and the defense has lost every ounce of its confidence.

That defense is a huge disaster right now. Some of it is injuries--the back seven has endured several casualties. Mostly it's a lack of talent, speed, and awareness. The way they've played, we've needed to be just about perfect in the other phases of the game in order to win, and we haven't come close to that. The special teams have been consistently poor and we haven't been on the plus side of turnover margin in a game since September 12th.

GC: Is the honeymoon over for Tom O'Brien?

BTP: Probably, though it's always tough to guage this sort of thing based on the internet. Nothing was expected of his first two teams, so folks took their lumps with a stay-the-course attitude. With this year's team falling so woefully short of expectations, though, there's no question people are frustrated. TOB's radio call-in show has certainly gotten more entertaining.

Luckily for O'Brien, at least for now, most of the heat has been directed toward defensive coordinator Mike Archer. But I think everybody's tired of hearing O'Brien talk about how he's got to coach better, how the players have to execute better, how significant the team's injuries are, etc. If he can't break through with 7-8 wins next year, I expect it'll start getting ugly.

GC: Russell Wilson's already thrown nine more INTs than he did last year, but he's also already thrown nine more TDs than he did last year. Have Pack fans been satisfied with his performance and his growth as a quarterback this year or is 10 INTs just too much to take?

BTP: He's been essentially the same player he was last year, with more INTs, as you noted. Maybe that's a bit of a disappointment simply because of the high standard he set for himself, but with the exception of Christian Ponder, there's no quarterback in this league I'd rather have under center. If there is a difference in the way he's played this year, it's probably his tendency to force throws a bit more. It could be that he's pressing because he knows the offense needs to score a bunch to cover for the defense, and those 50-50 battles that our receivers seemed to win every time last year haven't worked so well in 2009.

Between the defense's poor down-to-down play and its inability to force turnovers, we've needed Wilson to be the amazingly mistake-free passer he was in conference play last season; unfortunately it hasn't worked out that way.

GC: These two teams haven't played since 2005. How has NC State's program changed since then, other than the obvious coaching change?

BTP: All that speed on the defensive side of the ball is gone, for one thing. The schemes offensively and defensively are dramatically different as well. We spread the ball out a lot more now, the better to take advantage of Wilson's skills. We'll operate primarily from the shotgun. Defensively, we're strictly a zone coverage team, which is a total 180 from Amato's FSU-style man pressure.

GC: Why should Hokie fans be worried about Saturday's game?

BTP: They shouldn't be worried. Not even a little bit. We stink and we have nothing to play for.

Talking Virginia Tech With Gobbler Country

Akula Wolf — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:39:14 -0000

This week, some questions for Gobbler Country proprietor furrer4heisman. My answers to his questions will be up at GC later this afternoon.

1.) Until I happened to check the numbers last week, I hadn't realized how much more productive Tyrod Taylor has been through the air this season. What's been different for Taylor in 2009?

A lot of things. The pass protection still isn't good, but it's not nearly as atrocious as it was last season. Last year the Hokies gave up the most sacks in the ACC (38). So far they've allowed 25, which is 7th in the league. Next is the receivers. Last year the receiving corps had one returning catch. Tyrod didn't have a rapport with them and didn't trust them to make the catch or even run the correct route. This year the receivers are making tough catches and Tyrod trusts them enough that when given man coverage he just lofts the ball up and believes his receiver is going to be the guy that comes down with the ball.

Finally, a big difference can be seen in Tyrod himself. He's more confident in the pocket and seems to trust himself to make the right decision when it comes to throwing the ball or tucking and running. His trust in his teammates and himself has turned him into a quarterback this season. Before he was just an athlete that played the position. Now, he's a QB.

2.) Seems like there was a lot of criticism directed towards Tech's offensive coordinator in the early part of the season, but the offense got on a roll in October and continues to be one of the more productive groups in the ACC. Has the criticism died down at all? What is it about this system that people don't like?

The criticism of Bryan Stinespring will never die down because there's a certain percentage of our fan base who won't be satisfied until we have an offense like Oklahoma that's lighting up scoreboards. Well, that's never going to happen at Virginia Tech because that's not what Frank Beamer's offensive philosophy is. Beamer wants an offense that controls the ball, keeps our defense fresh and doesn't make mistakes.

So with our offense, it's more important to look for efficiency than productivity. This year our offense has been very efficient and has been in the top quarter of the country in yards per play most of the year. While the individual play calling has always been suspect with Stinespring, he coordinates the offense the way he's supposed to. This year the offense has been much more efficient than in the past and there's no way you can blame any of our losses solely on him. That hasn't always been the case.

3.) Not that he's been bad, but Russell Wilson has struggled a bit with teams that run a lot of zone coverages. Do you think the Hokies will lay back a bit or come with the pressure?

Virginia Tech's base defense is a zone, so you'll see a lot of that. Our defense is at its best when the front four is able to get pressure. Fortunately that's been the case most of the year with Jason Worilds and Nekos Brown at the defensive end spots. Even the tackles are coming around.

When we do blitz, you'll see Cody Grimm coming in from the whip linebacker spot. I have noticed that we've been bringing a lot of heat in obvious passing situations lately, so you'll see more blitzing if you guys have trouble running the ball on first down.

4.) Why isn't Bud Foster a head coach somewhere?

Before this year Bud has always said he doesn't want to leave unless its for a BCS job where he has a chance to win soon. Well, those jobs don't usually hire coordinators. They usually want a guy who has a proven track record as a head coach. I think Bud has realized that, which is why he said he was interested in the Memphis job. He knows he needs to go somewhere and cut his teeth before he gets handed the keys to a BCS program. My guess is if he doesn't leave for a head coaching job this offseason, he definitely will next offseason. Unless of course the Hokies give him a head-coach-in-waiting deal.

5.) You've already made some recommendations via email, but for the benefit of readers who might be making the trip, what is Blacksburg's can't-miss bar?

The bar I always go to is Top of the Stairs. The locals call it TOTS. Its right near campus and is catty corner from the student union. It's a prototypical college town bar and has a good mix of students and alums on gameday. It has decent food, but the item you have to get is a Rail. Basically it's a large cup filled with every bottom-shelf liquor they have mixed with a splash of soda and a splash of grenadine. It'll run you $8 and get you a headstart on blacking out before the game even kicks off. Enjoy.

Clemson - NC State film review

DrB — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:15:24 -0000

by Jim R. Bounds - AP

about 1 month ago: Clemson running back Jamie Harper, left, scores a touchdown on a 69-yard run against North Carolina State during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009. Clemson won 42-23. (AP Photo/Jim R. Bounds)

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Tigers vs Wolfpack boxscore

Tigers vs Wolfpack recap

ESPN Play-by-Play

We're not going to go quite as in-depth as for our FSU review, but will go drive-by-drive. See the end for the summarizing thoughts. Please comment and ask questions on what you dont understand, these take a long time to do well. The goal here is to look for both good plays and bad technique. I may pull a few plays out to discuss the Clemson offense, and if theres anything that you would like to see or have explained, just ask.

1st CU Drive: NC State refuses to kick deep to CJ and Clemson starts on their 37. Kasey Nobles fumbles the kickoff return but recovers. He wasn't prepared to handle that return, it took a bad bounce though. Blast play for 6 from the I. Palmer gets a 1st down on a shallow cross/drag route. Spiller is stopped for a loss on an off-tackle lead play due to a run blitz. Parker puts a bit much on the next throw to Spiller from an empty set. He still needs to work on some touch throws. Hits Spiller underneath again short. Punt

1st Defensive drive: NCSU starts from their 7. Two good plays by Conner to start, but still get 9 yards. Another inside zone play gets 7 yards, really just great effort by Baker here. Clemson is showing a 3-4 front. KA whacks Wilson's arm to go incomplete on his first throw. There was obvious holding on the play. Chancellor was in perfect position to knock the ball away on a fly route. Terrible looking punt but ends up at 35 yards.

We were vulnerable to zone blocking run plays here, the same thing our defense sees from our offense.

2nd CU drive. Fear of Spiller gives Clemson the ball at our 41. Parker goes deep to Ford, I like the call here, go right at this porous pass defense. Ford got pushed out of bounds by a Linebacker. Spiller takes a zone dive from the Gun for 30 yards. This has to be the best run from the Gun I remember this year. Screen to Harper, who then pushes inside on the next play. OL is pushing them around at the POA inside. HB Power gets the first. Ford runs a Corner route, but Parker underthrew it and late. This ball should be over Ford's outside shoulder. Nearly picked by the Safety coming over to help. Zone play to Spiller down to the 11, good initial push by Freeman and Austin here. Parker pass batted down.

Benton sends a dead duck through the uprights, 3-0 CU.

Two drives in, its clear to me that we are able to handle them inside. Probably the first time this year that our OL has been able to whip someone up front in the 1st quarter. Theres a clear trend to go with more I-formation running than zone.

2nd Defensive drive, NCSU 20. Williams drops a 15 yard gain on McDaniel. Clemson playing matchup Cover 2 zone. Clemson sends a WHAM blitz, Maye forces an early throw and we get screwed by a PI call. Gilchrist had his arm around his waist, which is what you TEACH a back to do when the ball is about to be caught. Wilson gets 12 on a bootleg keeper because the DE took a bad angle (too shallow) and lost containment, can't see his number but think its Branch. Jarvis Jenkins eats up a run play for a 4 yard loss.Butler makes a good play to bat down a ball. Maxwell picks off a pass at our 25 that was underthrown and I dont think the receiver looked early enough.....both those balls were underthrown actually. Clemson had a delayed blitz on the play with both LBs.

Clemson D allowed 30 yards in the 1st quarter.

3rd CU drive from our 25. Ellington Iso for 5. Pressure forces an early throw to sail high. They blitz and Dye catches a shallow cross for a 1st down. They had bracket coverage on Ford on that play and the deeper SS was worried about him and not Dye, apparently they learned not to match Ford on a LB, but they had a LB on Dye. Zone play is stopped, Spiller appeared to cut away from his blockers, and could've had another 3 yards. Spiller on a Gun zone play again didnt charge into the available hole and gets no gain. Palmer catch of 22 right down the middle. NC State is playing a 4-3 Stack and Nickel, basically dropping the safety down in the box as the 3rd backer, with Cover 2 and Cover 3 zone. I'm surprised Palmer was that open but he found a hole in the zone in front of the deep FS. Spiller zone play up the gut for 9, good effort by Dwayne Allen to stick with his block. END of 1st qtr. Ford takes the end around for the TD. GREAT BLOCKING BY DYE AND PALMER to set this up, good seal block by Walker. 10-0 CU. 9 plays 75 yards

Defensive Drive from the NCSU 20. 3 & out. Owen Spencer could've made the catch but we were right there with him. Clemson showing an 8 man front and blitzed both OLBs on that play. 3rd & 12 and Miguel Chavis on an inside stunt gets the sack. Horrible 6 yard punt follows.

4th CU Drive from their 17. Spiller HB Pass to Dye for the score. Looks like a Rodney Williams-style wobbler. 17-0 CU. This play is on the free safety, he took a bad angle and should've picked up Dye as he released but was worried about Spiller. The corner allowed Dye to release because he was watching Spiller, as he should in Corner Support.

Defensive drive from the NCSU 20. Campbell looks slow on a play, and doesnt hit the hole, and instead the OLineman, and they end up with 11. A 12 yd pass hits Owen Spencer in the chest and he drops it. KA rushes off the end and gets a hand or a finger in Wilson's pads and jerks him down, then Maye dives on him at the end for the personal foul. Stupid penalty on 3rd & 11. Wilson's first completion comes on a hitch in a Smash pattern. Davis drops another pass from Wilson. Brandon Maye called for PI within the 5 yard contact zone on a zone blitz. 4 yard penalty but gives them a first down on 3rd down. McDaniel is a step late on a coverage for 16, then Sensabaugh bit on a pump fake and left his receiver for the TD. 17-7, 12 plays 80 yards

Stupid penalties. They would not have scored here if not for Maye's first one.

5th CU drive from our 43. Again Nobles fumbles it. We go back to more zone run plays. McClain gets downfield for a penalty, not accepted. He wasn't looking at the LOS, just jogging to the side Parker scrambled to. NC State playing Cover 3 zone (actually a Tampa 2 in Nickel, which is C3), and Ford gets down the middle on a post route for 47. Nobody picked him up. Palmer runs a little pump route and nobody looks at him. 24-7 CU, 6 plays 57 yards

Defensive drive starts at their 25. Toney Baker giving us trouble, falls forward and pushes our guys around. Thompson misses a clear TFL, then tips a pass at the line. Another missed TFL gets them 6, cant get the number. Wilson throws across his body to hit the TE matched on Conner, but great play by them. Maye sack as Wilson scrambles. NC State is using slide protections to counter our blitzes. McDaniel has WIlson in his grasp on a blitz and lets him go, pass incomplete. I can't believe McDaniel didnt bring him down. 8 plays 27 yards

6th CU Drive from the 13. Some good runs until the quarter ends. Zone read, Gun zone dive, 34 zone. Cloy gets a snap infraction, likely because he hasnt been playing Center much lately.

Halftime

Defense had some bad penalties, and we aren't getting any holding calls. Their guys can't catch the football. Branch and Sapp were clearly held on some plays. 30 yards allowed in the first quarter.

Wilson 4/14, 49, 1/1. Baker 9 car. 39 yds.

Offensive line is pushing them around. We went with more I-formation early and then to zone runs.

Parker was just off on a few throws. 7/13, 107, 1 TD.

Spiller, 9 car 54 yds.

Defensive drive starts on the 25. Gilchrist beat for 21 . Sapp has a sack and loses contain on WIlson, then he scrambles and Campbell horse-collars him. Jenkins also blew right by his man on this play. Goodman clearly gets chop blocked, no call. Cumbie pushes Wilson when he's already out of bounds, Maye had him for a sack in the backfield and took a bad angle, another stupid penalty. Butler is beat for the 6 by Jarvis Williams, lost position and turned his hips too early. 24-14, 9 plays 75 yards

Wilson had a 1st down on the late hit call already, just gave them a free 10.

1st CU Drive from the 40, kicked out of bounds. Zone run to Spiller, then a little flare for the 1st. Ford gets a ruboff screen for 8. More zone runs. The Spiller fumble...then we snap the ball and no whistle is blown until the play's forward progress is stopped.

This was a fumble. I see it from the forward angle and the rear angle, thats a fumble. His knee grazes the ground at the same time the ball is out of his grasp. I can see 3/4 of the football there, its out.

Heres what happened: ACC Field refs find out they can give a NC team the football, so they have to do something. We run a play, so they decide they better review the last play, which is against the rules, so they call "no play". Unfortunately, the replay official wasn't in on the fix and reviewed the "no play" instead of the fumble play. Thus, no fumble call.

Had Swoffy been there, we'd have turned the ball over.

Zone read, Spiller takes it in on an Iso from 16 out, great block by Dwayne Allen. Spencer Benton MISSES THE FUCKING XP, HORRIBLE SNAP. 30-14, 7 plays 60 yards.

Defensive drive from their 9. Chancellor PI call. He makes contact and extends his arms, then as he stumbled it looked worse. Davis makes a great catch and McDaniel pops him for it. Inside guys are attacking gaps well. Gilchrist makes a great hit to force a drop. 9 plays 49 yards

Next CU drive starts from our 2. Run, run, run, punt. This is the only spot where I disagree with playcalling, but I do understand the conservatism with this lead. I would've liked to see a play-action pass here to a back or TE, especially on the 2nd down play. Austin goes out. Gun zone dive to Spiller into a blitz...I just wouldnt run shotgun this close to my endzone, Conservatism gives them field position at our 38 after the punt.

Defensive drive from our 38. THOMPSON CLEARLY HELD on the first play, and they call illegal shift for 5. I can't believe that wasnt called. Jenkins nearly eats up another play and can't make the tackle. Conner lets Baker get behind him on an out-n-up route for 26. Maye just a step too late for a sack. KA has Wilson by his fucking shoe and lets him go. He throws a ball 10 feet over the receivers head and we dont get a grounding call, "because he had an opportunity to catch it" bullshit. FG 30-17, 7 plays 29 yards.

WHY do we not get a holding call today? God forbid a big penalty go against them.

CU drive from the 23. Zone runs. Zone read play-action to Ashe, good call, its been set up well. McClain beaten badly on a speed rush as Parker hits Palmer for 16. NC State fails to respect the wheel route. Benton FUCKING MISSES ANOTHER XP. 36-17, 7 plays 77 yards

Defensive drive from their 32, 3 & out. Branch CLEARLY HELD on the first play. Hall makes a good play as Gilchrist misses a sack.

CU drive from the 31: Jamie Harper 69 yards. Diehl got a great cut block, the WR makes a great block too to seal the Corner. 43-17.

Defensive drive from the NCSU 10. Both LBs get blocked out on a 10 yard gain. Neither fought off the Guards. I see Campbell and Cooper in at LB, with Corico Hawkins and Daniel Barnes on a play or two. Cooper made a good play and then came out. Butler, Maxwell, Gilchrist, Hall are all still in the secondary. FINALLY GET A HOLDING CALL. Jarvis Williams makes a 34 yd catch, Chancellor out of position to stop it. George drops a pass right down the middle, and I'm wondering why Hall was just standing there. Wilson has a back in the flat and goes deep instead incomplete. Turnover on downs.11 plays 76 yards

Weak drive by the defense. For those saying we are substituting all the backups, thats not entirely true. The LBs on this series were backups. The secondary had Brewer and Meeks on some plays, but otherwise starters. The down 4 basically sub the whole game.

CU drive at the 15: WILLY KORN comes in. Zone runs, zone reads, punt. Willie Young beats Matt Sanders badly through the gap. A weak block by Rendrick Taylor on the last play.

Defensive drive starts from the NCSU 44. Mike Glennon in at QB. Maxwell almost picks off a pass, should've caught it. Blitz forces an incompletion. 22 yard gain against Maxwell because he was playing too soft. Meeks beaten on a post route, safety (Hall) again a bit late in getting over. Meeks totally forgets to cover Williams, and watches the backfield instead. Brainfart. 43-23

No excuse for this drive. Loss of intensity. Some of these are 2nd team guys but they play. It was not all backups in the secondary.

Summarizing thoughts....

Offense executed very very well. I think this was our best full game so far, especially up front. The OL handled their zone blitzes well and run-blocked good. Definitely their best full game performance so far. Downfield blocking by the WRs and TEs was also very good to see.

Rushing from all 3 backs was strong. I would've liked to see Spiller get over 100 though. Harper seems to have clicked in recent weeks; we've been waiting for that to happen.

Parker was good, but still needs to work on touch throws and setting his feet on sideline throws to keep them from being underthrown.

Defense....solid but not great. I did not see alot of emotion from the defense, particularly the front. Mental mistakes cost us dearly, penalties killed us on two drives along with a few missed tackles. I'm also certain there would be one less TD on the board if not for flagrant holding. I'm disappointed by the last TD drive the most, and though they hit the TD on Jonathan Meeks, it wasn't all backups in there.

Toney Baker is a better power back than i realized. He falls forward and carries people with him. Russell Wilson is more elusive than I gave him credit for, really really good feet. You have to wrap this guy up, and several times our Defensive Ends lost some containment. I think Bowers does get him for a sack or two today.

FULL SCREEN VERSION

2009 Virginia Tech Football: North Carolina State Game Guide

furrer4heisman — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:00:36 -0000

by Rob Carr - AP

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Virginia Tech Hokies (7-3, 4-2) vs. NC State Wolfpack (4-6, 1-5)

Time: 3:30 p.m. EST
Date: Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009
Place: Lane Stadium/Worsham Field (66,233), Blacksburg, Va.
TV: ESPNU (DirecTV 614)

NC State: The Wolfpack lost at home to Clemson last week, eliminating them from bowl contention ... even though NC State can get to six wins this year, two of its wins came against FCS opponents (Murray State and Gardner-Webb) ... QB Russell Wilson was last year's All-ACC QB as a freshman ... earlier this year he set the NCAA record for most pass attempts without an interception (379) before he was picked off in a loss against Wake Forest ... since then, Wilson has thrown an interception in six consecutive games, 10 total and six in the last three games ... Wilson is a mobile quarterback who has rushed for 319 yards and four touchdowns this year ... NC State has one of the worst pass defenses in the ACC, giving up 274.3 ypg (11th) and 7.8 ypa (10th) in six league games ... its rush defense isn't much better, giving up 167.7 ypg (9th) and 4.8 ypc (11th) in league play.

Trends: Virginia Tech has won two consecutive games after losing two consecutive games ... NC State has lost five of its last six games, including a win over Maryland Nov. 7 ... North Carolina's win over Virginia Tech Oct. 29 ended the Hokies' 12-game home winning streak ... the Hokies have not lost more than one game in Lane Stadium in the same season since 2002 when they were in the Big East ... Tech has won five consecutive Senior Day games, its last loss on Senior Day was to Boston College in 2003 ... NC State is 3-8 in ACC road games under Tom O'Brien.

History Lesson: The Hokies are 24-18-4 overall, 3-2-1 under Frank Beamer, 7-2-2 in Blacksburg and 1-1-1 in Lane Stadium all-time against NC State ... the teams' last meeting was 2005 in Raleigh when Tech won 20-16 ... the Hokies were out-gained 438-232 in that game, but held the Pack to field goals and intercepted two passes deep in their own territory ... NC State won the last game in Blacksburg in 2004, 17-16, when Brandon Pace missed a 43-yard field goal as time expired ... the two teams met in the 1986 Peach Bowl, a game won by Tech, 25-24, on a 40-yard Chris Kinzer field goal as time expired.

What to Expect:

Expect the Hokies to move the ball on the ground and through the air against the Wolfpack, just like they did against the Terps.
Don't expect total domination. The Pack will get their points with Russell Wilson and one of the better passing offenses in the league.
Expect Wilson to be up and down. Wilson is no longer the turnover-free quarterback we saw last year. He's mortal and while he have his touchdowns, he'll also give the ball away against the Hokies.
Expect Ryan Williams to have a big game. C.J. Spiller, Jermaine Thomas and Montel Harris have all had big games against the Pack's lackluster run defense. The loss of Nate Irving, one of the best if not the best linebackers in the ACC, really hurt NC State this year.
Expect a fun game to watch. There should be a lot of points put on the board in this one by both sides.

Hokies win if: They wear down the Wolfpack defense and put up the yardage and points we expect them to.

Wolfpack win if: Russell Wilson has a big game, they win the turnover battle and take advantage of those turnovers.

Dot-dot-dots: It's Senior Day in Blacksburg, get the Kleenex out ... Tyrod Taylor had a career-high three touchdown passes last week against Maryland ... he has 12 TD passes this year and three INTs ... in his previous two years he had seven TDs and 10 INTs ... Ryan Williams needs 31 rushing yards to break Darren Evans' record of 1,265 rushing yards as a freshman ... this is Virginia Tech's fourth game against a team from North Carolina this season ... the Hokies also played four North Carolina teams in 2004 when they played UNC, Duke, NC State and Wake Forest.

NC State Links

Backing the Pack
Yet Another NC State Sports Blog
StateFans Nation
WRAL Sports Fan

Clemson defeats NC State 43-23, one step closer...

DrB — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 21:14:34 -0000

More photos » by Jim R. Bounds - AP

about 1 month ago: Clemson running back C.J. Spiller (28) carries the ball as North Carolina State linebacker Dwayne Maddox (41) and cornerback C.J. Wilson (20) try to hang on during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Jim R. Bounds)

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ESPN box score

This was an ugly game for the defense. Ugly. 377 total yards allowed. Mental mistakes all around in pass coverage. Two blown coverages lead to TDs. Sensabaugh bit on a pump fake for the first one.

A gimme TD at the end by Meeks on a blown assignment. Brandon Maye almost hands them a TD on one drive with a couple big penalties to keep them alive. One of which was a PI call that I thought was BS since it was so close to the LOS. The other, well I would like to know if it was definitely a late hit by Maye or something Alexander did, because I couldnt tell if he nicked the facemask as he jerked Wilson to the ground. The ref did not say which it was, only Maye's number.

I'm still left wondering where the damn holding calls were? Lack of discipline in attacking the running game, but when your DTs are being held and Branch/Goodman are held on every other pass rush (and one was a chop block), you wont get tackles for loss/sacks. NC State wasnt doing it on every down and their OL deserves credit for 138 yards, but we're a better defense than that.

Russell Wilson 12/32 for 183, 2 TDs, 1 INT and shouldve had a couple more picked. If his WRs would help him out they'd have done better today, because the defense was giving it up.

I really just think the defense was not mentally prepared today to play. Wilson is good and eludes the pass rush extremely well, but both of their long scoring drives were helped by huge penalties. Maye with two big ones on 3rd downs, Cumbie and Campbell on their 2nd TD drive. NC State was 7/15 on 3rd down.

I noticed more matchup zone and it seemed like we blitzed infrequently again today. Something to look at in the film.

Offensively, not much to say. 454 yards. 200 passing and 254 rushing, thats my kind of breakdown. We ran the ball more (36 att, 19 passes), when I figured we would throw more against this awful pass defense.

-The threat of Spiller scared them into giving up field position and we burned them with it. Punted twice with the first team O. Efficient day by Parker, 12/18 for 183 and 2 TDs. Spiller 97 yards on the ground.

-Spiller throws a Rodney Williams-like ball. Ugly but it works. He becomes the first CU player ever to score on the ground, receiving, and passing in one game. He broke the school's record for all-purpose yards today.

-NC State did not respect the orbit motion and Ford burned them for a 17 yd TD.

-Teams dont respect the wheel route yet. WHY?

-Jamie Harper, we've been waiting for that for 2 years.

Unofficial word on Austin : ankle sprain