SB Nation - Willie Young

Saturday NFL Draft watch notes

Mocking Dan — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:59:19 -0000

More photos » by Michael Dwyer - AP

• The Clemson/South Carolina game features two of the best 3-4 outside linebacker prospects in Ricky Sapp (Clemson) and Eric Norwood (South Carolina). Both are seniors and having good seasons. Norwood might be the most-ready college player for a 3-4 outside linebacker spot, but Sapp's physical tools give him more upside.

• The North Carolina/North Carolina State game also features top 3-4 linebacker prospects in junior Bruce Carter (North Carolina) and senior Willie Young (NC State). Quietly, Young is putting together a solid year with 12 tackles for a loss and eight sacks. Carter is much stronger and is good at handling the run and the pass.

As mentioned previously here at MTD, North Carolina has perhaps the best group of junior talent on defense in the nation. Tackle Marvin Austin is full of athleticism. His numbers may be down, but he consistently faces double teams. Middle linebacker Quan Sturdivant leads the team in tackles with 71 and an impressive 12 tackles for loss. Strong safety Deunta Williams is a big hitter with six interceptions. Cornerback Kendric Burney might be short, but he's a playmaker.

• The key players in the Wake Forest/Duke game are interior defensive linemen. Wake's Boo Robinson is an underrated pocket pusher and Duke's Vince Oghobaase is incredibly athletic.

• Syracuse running back Delone Carter has injury problems throughout his career, but he's been a solid player this season. He's only a junior, but someone to keep an eye on. In the last three weeks, he's rushed for 339 yards and two scores.

• While teammate Carlos Dunlap has had a very disappointing season, Jermaine Cunningham has shown to be a solid contributor. He might not be a starter at the next level, but he can be a solid contributing backup because he can get after the passer and is decent against the run.

• Ole Miss running back/wide receiver Dexter McCluster has been one of the most buzzy-worthy player the last two weeks. Against Tennessee and LSU, he rushed for a combined 430 yards and four touchdowns. He's very undersized, but could be the next Darren Sproles.

• The LSU defense has plenty of NFL players, so it will be one of the biggest challenges Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett faces all season. Third nationally in pass efficiency, Mallett has 3,195 yards passing and 28 touchdowns this season. The redshirt sophomore seems ready for the NFL right now. A big game against the Tigers today, and maybe he should enter.

• Hey, remember Eric Berry? You know, the Tennessee safety. One of the best players in the nation? His pass defense numbers – two interceptions, six pass breakups – might be down this year, but he's played more against the run. This is just a friendly reminder that the junior is still one of the top five players in the nation.

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

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

Behind Enemy Lines: A Q+A With an N.C. State Blogger

Ben Broman — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:06:49 -0000

As we prepare for another rough weekend of football, D. Medlin from Cardiac Pack was nice enough to virtually sit down with us and exchange some Qs and As.

1. What's the problem with NC St.'s defense right now? Is it talent, coaching, or a combination of the two?

Where do I even start with N.C. State's defense? A lot of the complaining I've heard from fans and stuff I've read seems to want to blame defensive coordinator Mike Archer for the problems but I'm not completely sold on it being solely his fault. The cubbard is more than a little thin. With injuries and an extreme lack of experience in several defensive positions there has been a ton of "learning on the fly," which obviously hasn't gone very well. In its first eight games the Wolfpack have used seven different starting lineups in the defensive secondary in an attempt to find the best four guys. It hasn't happened yet. I don't think the talent is terrible, but it's definitely not where it needs to be to make the defense formidable. There were signs of life last week against Florida State, however. The Pack held do-everything QB Christian Ponder to 277 passing yards and hauled in two interceptions. I am aware that the defense still gave up 45 points, but with the way things have been going it's the little things right now.

2. On that topic, what type of defense do you guys run? Maryland can't seem to hold off attacking defenses. Does Mike Archer dial up a lot of blitzes, or is it more of a sit back and wait affair?

N.C. State has tried different things defensively throughout the year but the base scheme is most certainly zone. Mike Archer's -- and Tom O'Brien's -- calling card is zone. With all the injuries and inconsistency in the starting lineup it's been extremely difficult for the Wolfpack to have any continuity in its defense. Much like a quick passing attack, zone defense has to have a lot of rhythm. Players dropping into pass coverage have to know where their teammates are and trust that they will do their job on each and every play. With so many different lineups there have been several instances where the defense has looked lost, most notably against Duke. The coaching staff has tried to simplify the defense during the four game losing streak N.C. State and its fans are enjoying. That being said, the defense can definitely bring pressure. Defensive end Willie Young, arguably the best player on the defensive side of the ball, has gotten pressure on opposing quarterbacks throughout the year. Maryland fans should expect to see a fairly base zone defense from State Saturday with zone blitzes mixed in quite a bit. I feel like they may blitz someone like Chris Turner less because they feel like he may not chew up a zone like Thaddeus Lewis, but that is just a gut feeling. I could be horribly wrong.
3. It's pretty clear NC St's offense is electric. Since the opening snoozer against SC, the lowest point total is 20, which Maryland would die for right now. How'd BC manage to shut down an offense that's so electric, and how can Maryland learn from that?

Boston College most certainly did a great job shutting down the N.C. State attack, doing exactly what Tom O'Brien and Mike Archer are hoping to do with the Wolfpack defense. The zone defense that is "under construction" in Raleigh is a well-oiled machine in Chestnut Hill. Boston College gave up yards (315 passing) but stiffened in the red zones and forced two field goals in the first half after impressive N.C. State marches. Those stands were crucial later in the game once the Boston College rushing attack started chewing up yardage.

If there is one thing Maryland can take away from Boston College, it's don't be afraid to sit back and play some zone. N.C. State will move the ball and score some points, but the offense seems most dynamic when teams try to play man. Russell Wilson has a ton to do with that. When teams try to play man and Russell Wilson breaks contain, linebackers and corners are out there with their backs to the play and Wilson has a field day. Boston College let Wilson get his yards but got stops in the red zone and held Wilson to 35 yards on 11 carries.

4. To me, it seems difficult to believe that a defense can be so bad to completely throw away the advantage of having one of the highest-octane offenses in the country without a little help from special teams. Does N.C. State tend to lose the field position battle thanks to a not-so-special special teams unit?

Man I'm so glad you asked about N.C. State special teams so I'd have a chance to get up on my soap box a little bit. Here goes: Special teams and field position is the one area all year that has driven me absolutely crazy about this team. I had a feeling the defense would be less than stellar so I'm not surprised by what I've seen but I expected more out of the "special" teams. Kicker Josh Czajkowsi is serviceable as a field goal kicker but is absolutely awful as a kickoff specialist. Add in the fact that for some reason N.C. State can't cover kicks and opposing teams always seem to have amazing field position. And on the flip side, the Wolfpack has had trouble getting good return yardage on kickoff returns despite having TJ Graham, probably one of the fastest guys in the whole conference, returning kicks. Let me just give you an example number one of how bad special teams has hurt N.C. State. In the Duke game the Pack turned the ball over on two occasions trying to return punts. The last of these Duke recovered in the end zone to put the icing on the cake of its 49-28 beat down of the Wolfpack.

5. It's prediction time. Bonus points if you pick a Maryland victory (even though you'll probably be wrong).

I've been terribly off on my predictions the last few weeks so I don't really know what to think about this one. The subjective person in me thinks N.C. State could win by a couple touchdowns, but I should know better. If nothing else the game should be entertaining. Chris Turner will more than likely have a career day against the Wolfpack defense and throw for 300+. The key in this one will be turnovers. I think whoever can force more will win.

I was told I'd get bonus points for picking a Maryland victory but I wasn't sure what the points would be good for, so I'll say...

Wolfpack 31
Maryland 24

Hey, Wait a Minute, We've Got a Football Game This Week: Maryland-N.C. State First Look

Ben Broman — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:51:40 -0000

Bet you forgot about it, didn't you? I know: the weekend was awesome, you never wanted it to end, we're almost to basketball season, so on and so forth. But no: Maryland takes on North Carolina State, currently the only team lower on the ACC food chain than the Terps, this weekend.

So, how is NCSt, a team with one of the best QBs in the conference and one of the best DEs in the conference, worse than Maryland? It's a pretty predictable answer: defense.

But before getting to that, though, let's get the scary stuff out of the way: this team really reminds me of Wake Forest, particularly when they took on the Terps earlier this year. Russell Wilson plays the part of Riley Skinner - even though he's regressed since last season, Wilson is still accurate, athletic, and doesn't make mistakes. Wake was 21st in passing offense when they took on Maryland - so is NCSt. Wake was around 20 in scoring - NCSt is exactly 20. The rushing offense for both wasn't great, but was good enough to just keep the other team honest.

Offensively, these teams are very similar, which isn't a good sign for Maryland, because Wake dropped 42 on the Terps a few weeks ago. Remember, though, the Deamon Deacons got their running game going, which is something NCSt might not be able to do. This defense has also improved since then, so we'll have to see how they respond.

Something to keep in mind, though: these guys put up 42 on FSU. FSU's D isn't great, but they were 83rd before the onslaught - Marlyand is 104th. Those 20 spots make for fear in my heart.

Ok, so if these guys are so good at putting up points, why aren't they winning? Why are they 3-5 without an ACC win?

Well, first off, these guys could pretty easily have two ACC wins - they only lost to Wake by 6, and lost to FSU by 3. Secondly, their defense isn't exactly awesome: they're 89th in scoring defense despite having All-ACC defensive end Willie Young, who will have a good matchup with Bruce Campbell.

But, flipping that script, this defense is absolutely pathetic. In the past five games (that's skipping the snoozefest against South Carolina and two gimmes against Gardner-Webb and Murray State) they've allowed a whopping 41 points a game. In those games, they're allowing a ridiculous 437 yards per game, and that only gets worse the fewer games you include (I did them a favor by including Pitt's 31 points and 300 yards).

The past two weeks, the majority of the damage has come on the ground. The two weeks before it, the majority of the damage came through the air. The point is, this defense is awful, and will succumb to whichever route is taken.

So, please heed this plea, random Maryland coach who happened to stumble upon this article on Google News (I'm praying for that one): give the ball to Torrey Smith and Caleb Porzel. This defense is ripe to get ripped up on a few big plays.

Moral of the story: they score a lot of points, and they give up a lot points. If Maryland wins, they'll have to do it in a shootout by putting up a lot of points, something they've yet been able to do. We'll find out if they can on Saturday.

North Carolina State Wolfpack @ Florida State Seminoles Preview

FSUncensored — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:52:28 -0000

More photos » by Ethan Hyman - AP

Russell Wilson should have a field day against Florida State's defense. Can FSU outscore the 'Pack? (AP Photo/The News Observer, Ethan Hyman)

Browse more photos »

Time: Noon Eastern
TV: Raycom or Espn360.com
Weather
Line: FSU -10/ (Over/Under 64)

Last year, Florida State pulled the game out 26-17 on a Thursday night in Raleigh. The Pack's offense tore up FSU's defense for the better part of the 1st half. Then FSU's offense took over and held the ball for almost 40 minutes, taking the pack off their game. FSU stopped only 4 of State's 12 1st down rushes for 1 or fewer yards. The pack had 3 runs over 15 yards and a bunch of runs over 10 yards. Russel Wilson had a QB rating of 139. He completed 5 passes of 15+ yards. FSu had only 1 sack on 26 Pack passing plays. FSu's offense struggled early, being called for 5 holding penalties in the first half, and allowed sacks on 8% of passing plays. Eventually, FSU managed to get the run game going and pulled it out.

Inside, you'll find find the most comprehensive preview on the net.

NC State's Offense v. Florida State's Defense

NC State has roughly the 25th best offense in the country. Here's what they've done so far against 1a teams.

NC State Offensive Performance
Opponent	South Carolina	Pittsburgh	Wake Forest	Duke	Boston College
Opponent Defensive Efficiency Ranking (Opponent Adjusted)	17th	59th	46th	79th	3rd
Plays	56	80	69	53	82
Yards Per Play	2.4	6.6	5.5	6.4	4.8
Rushes	25	45	25	19	25
Yards/ Rush	3.7	4.9	4.4	8.6	3.8
Passing Plays	31	36	44	34	57
Yards/ Pass Play	1.3	8.9	6.1	5.1	5.2
1st Downs- Success-Stuffed	22-5 (23%)-11	34-14 (41%)-5		26-12 (46%)-10	33-12 (36%)-14
Standard 2nd Downs	4-9 (44%)	7-13 (54%)		2-5 (40%)	11-12 (92%)
Passing 2nd Downs	2-10 (20%)	7-17 (41%)		5-11 (45%)	4-17 (24%)
Standard 3rd Downs	5-5 (100%)	3-4 (75%)		4-6 (67%)	3-8 (38%)
Passing 3rd Downs	0-10 (10%)	4-9 (44%)		0-5 (0%)	2-12 (17%)
Note	State lost their starting left tackle and never really recovered. Untimely penalties also killed them.	Had a 21 yard bad snap, so #'s are much better. Plays of 25, 30, 16, 17, 13, 19, 17, 29, 17, 11, 19, 16, 23, 33, 24, 26, 38, 21, 22, 21	No down-by-down pre-sorted data available.	Pr	j

Guys, this is scary. The worst defense State has played was rated 79th. FSU's is 104th. There are only 120 teams in division 1. I personally believe FSU's defense should be around #110 or 112, because 2 of their opponents ran a prevent offense while the game was still in doubt, which made their performance look better. Let's show this to you in graph form. Here are the defenses NC State has faced to date:

Of course, the lower the number, the better. NC State should have their best offensive day of the year.

But what about the offenses the putrid FSU defense has faced?

NC State is clearly a step above BC, UNC, and USF in terms of offense.

And here's what FSU did against those offenses

Opponent	Miami	@ BYU	USF	at BC	GTech	@ UNC
Opponent Adjusted Efficiency Ranking (Opponent Adjusted)	22nd	6th	94th	61st	2nd	91st
Plays	74	53	60	57	63	68
Yards Per Play Allowed	6.4	9	6.2	7.1	8.5	4.9
Rushes	29	18	37	34	55	38
Yards/ Rush Allowed	3.4	6.3	5	5.7	7.4	6.7
Passing Plays	35	35	23	23	8	30
Yards/ Pass Play Allowed	10.8	10.3	8.2	9.1	16.4	2.7

So NC State is decidedly the 4th best offense FSU will have faced. Against similar or better offenses, FSU has been absolutely torched.

So back to NCST. They haven't run but you know they will. Their run game appears to be pretty good but for whatever reason, they've abandoned the run game. No idea why they've been abandoning the run. Against Florida State, I'd say they should not abandon the run.

Their primary run game is the zone read.

NCST runs the zone read play as their base run play. Here's the video:

Here's a diagram:

That's the one where the QB in the shotgun reads the backside defensive end. The line blocks away from him. If the end stays at home to keep the QB in check, the QB will hand the ball off because they have the numerical advantage. If the end "crashes down", the QB will keep the ball. As linked above, FSU does not do well against this at all. This stuff is the number one weakness of FSU's defense. By far. And this defense is banged up, undisciplined, and unsurprisingly not well coached by a disinterested and fractured defensive coaching staff. I would choose to run this against FSU even if I didn't have the personnel to do so. That is exactly what Boston College did to beat FSU last season with their terrible offense. it is what multiple offenses do to FSU.

So how do you stop this? FSU's defensive coaches have no idea. Good defensive line play helps. Someone must win their one-on-one matchup. Chris Brown of SmartFootball.com has some ideas here.

Unfortunately, defending this requires discipline. This is particularly important when he is the read defender on the backside. In Chris Brown's piece linked above, in the 2nd photo, think of Yarborough as the "E" (end) crashing down, and Nigel Bradham as the scraping linebacker. There's an opportunity here for Bradham to have a huge game here.

The zone read is difficult to stop. FSU must have a good gameplan and must change up their looks. I do not have much confidence in FSU to do that. However, I do think FSU has some advantages here. FSU's linebackers are very fast and okay in coverage. That will allow FSU to stay in a base defense or a nickel defense against State's 3 or 4 wide receiver look. Many teams are forced to use 6 defensive backs against USF's look, but because of FSU's linebackers, the Noles can use only 5 defensive backs. Obviously when trying to stop the run, linebackers are better than defensive backs.

It really sucks to pin your defensive hopes on the chance that the opposing offense will play stupidly or get impatient and abandon the run.

I have noticed that NC State hits a lot of big plays. Their drives are often erratic, looking like: incomplete, scramble for 2, throw for 20, run for no gain, run for 40 (TD). FSU gives up a ridiculous amount of big plays due to their coaching (players out of position due to coaching).

FSU must contain Russell Wilson. The teams which have done the best job slowing this Wolfpack attack haven't even really rushed the kid at all. They just play patty-cake with the opposing linemen, bull-rush the middle, and then tackle Willson if he tries to leave the pocket. FSU's defensive coaches are negligent at best and won't have FSU's defense ready to do this. Instead, they will wildly rush Wilson, he will break contain, and then we will throw things at the TV.

NCST likes to throw to their tight end a lot. He's George Bryan. FSU doesn't cover the tight end worht a damn. That's a recipe for disaster, especially when you consider that...

NC State runs a ridiculous amount of trips sets. FSU fans know that the 'Noles absolutely have no clue against a set involving trips.3 Wideouts to 1 side, with a tight end on the other, a good runningback and an exceptionally mobile quarterback. This could be ugly.

NC State's offensive line blocks well. The offensive line boasts four seniors: Julian Williams at guard, Jerraill McCuller at tackle and Ted Larsen at center (Williams and Larsen are actually graduates). Those three players boast 69 starts between them. They have a decent Junior left tackle. These guys give Wilson a ton of time, though in fairness, teams rarely rush him. Their running back is 5'10" 225lb RsSr. Toney Baker. The guy is a load and will be trouble for FSU's tiny defense. Scat-back Jamelle Eugene provides a nice changeup. State has one good wideout, Owen Spencer, who is a burner. The rest of their wideouts aren't special. Wilson is an excellent runner and he also has a good arm. He is erratic at times, particularly when throwing to his left (tendency? ;) ), but his problems do not show up against man coverage like they do against zone coverage.

via media.scout.com

Prediction: I expect NC State to gain 7.7 yards per play, which would be their best effort on the year, by far. Specifically, that'd be about 20% greater than their best performance of the year. How many points will they score? Read on.

North Carolina State's Defense v. Florida State's Offense.

FSU's offense isn't above average. It isn't good. It is elite. And damn that feels good to say!

You know that FSU runs a pro-spread attack, which has been leaning more and more towards the spread due to the injury to excellent blocking tight end Caz Piurowski, the amazing play of QB Christian Ponder, the plethora of talented receivers, and backs who run well without a fullback. FSU's offense is currently the 4th best in the country. Here's their game by game breakdown:

Opponent	Miami	BYU	USF	BC	GT	UNC
Opponent Adjusted Efficiency Ranking (Opponent Adjusted)	12	64	40	3	39	20
Plays	71	77	64	71	66	65
Yards Per Play Allowed	5.7	6.6	4.5	5.8	8.2	6.7
Rushes	28	49	22	28	28	23
Yards/ Rush Allowed	4.5	6.4	2.8	2.9	6.9	2.3
Passing Plays	43	28	42	43	38	42
Yards/ Pass Play Allowed	6.4	7.1	5.4	7.7	9.1	9.2

That's a very good offense. Every defense they've played has been in the top half (except BYU, which is 4 spots off). 5 are in the top 4, 3 in the top 20, and two in the top 12. Looking at FSU's raw numbers without considering their opponents is insane. Let's take a look at this in chart form:

What sticks out to me is just how good BC and Miami's defense's are. Carolina's is also very good and will look even better considering what they did to VTech last night. It also tells me that USF literally played the game of their life. This indicates that NC State's defense is the 2nd worst FSU will have faced, and I agree with the numbers here.

So let's look at how NC State's defense has performed:

Opponent	USCe	Pitt	Wake	Duke	BC
Opponent Adjusted Efficiency Ranking (Opponent Adjusted)	58	22	40	26	65
Plays	64	46	77	80	64
Yards Per Play Allowed	4	6.5	5.1	6.4	7.6
Rushes	39	22	26	28	38
Yards/ Rush Allowed	3.2	4.6	2.9	2.6	8.1
Passing Plays	25	24	51	52	26
Yards/ Pass Play Allowed	5.2	8.3	6.8	8.4	6.9

That's not a particularly good defense. Let's take a look at the relative qualities of the offenses they have faced.

Yeah... FSU's offense is significantly better than anything NC State has seen so far. And FSU has already seen 5 defenses better than NC State.

They run a 4-3 most of the time, with a nickel, 3-4, or 3-3-5 on obvious passing downs. They play almost exclusively zone now, because their defense has seen some seriously bad injuries. And it is a soft zone. They do not pattern read. They will try to stay in their base defense against 3 wideouts.

On defense, they have 3 good players. Defensive End Willie Young is a mid-round NFL guy and he played well last year against Datko. I expect Datko to handle him this time. Alan-Michael Cash is a quality defensive tackle. Smallish but a good penetrator, he has a shot at the NFL. DeAndre Morgan is a quality corner. The rest of their defense is average to below average.

Remember our conversation with BackingThePack.com:

NCST has given up a lot of points on defense this year, has there been any talk of personnel or scheme changes for the upcoming game? Where do you think NCST matches up well against FSU's offense, if at all?

I don't expect any significant changes simply because the staff's options on that side of the ball are extremely limited. In the secondary, for example, we've got underclassmen backing up all four positions. There's not much to like about NC state's back seven, but at the same time, I trust that they are playing the best guys available. Which is truly frightening.

With the defense flaming out so spectacularly over the last few weeks, defensive coordinator Mike Archer has earned the attention of the Fire Somebody crowd. Tom O'Brien voiced his support earlier this week both for Archer and for our zone-heavy bend-but-don't-break scheme. If there are some wrinkles in that scheme on Saturday, I would think they'll come in the form of a little more man pressure. But that's just not who these guys are, so I'd expect the conservative approach most of the time. Hope I'm wrong about that. Everybody's killed this poorly-executed zone, and Ponder won't be an exception. Teams are doubling defensive end Willie Young and effectively neutralizing him, and none of the other guys are stepping up to make plays. Take Willie out of the equation, torch the secondary. Rinse, repeat.

So, no, there is nothing I like about how the Wolfpack defense matches up with FSU's offense. Perhaps they'll be able to limit FSU's unimpressive ground game, but I don't figure that to matter.

The Pack is extremely thin on defense. This year's team was hurt by a pair of offseason defections by kids who could have been useful players in the secondary. One of whom may have started at corner. Safety Javon Walker, who was very good two years ago, was lost to a knee injury and never got back on the field. Freshman corner Rashard Smith, one of the few pleasant surprises in the secondary, is done for the year. Linebacker Nate Irving survived a horrific car accident that cost him his season. And Linebacker Ray Michel (who played with me in High School) is also out. Michel was the defensive captain and called the defensive signals. Freshman C.J. Wilson replaces Rashard Smith as the starter at boundary corner. Justin Byers is the backup. Freshman Gary Grant is now the reserve at field corner. In the first seven games of 2009, NC State has used six different starting lineups in the defensive secondary. Injuries, abilities and experience have all been factors in the changes as the coaching staff tries to find the right combination. Cornerbacks DeAndre Morgan and Rashard Smith and safety Clem Johnson have all missed time due to injuries this season. Some players have started at different positions, including Koyal George at field and boundary corner, Johnson at field and boundary safety and Justin Byers at field safety and boundary corner. This week could mark the seventh new lineup in the backfield, as Smith went down with an injury and C.J. Wilson is slated to be back in the starting lineup (he started the season opener). State has no upperclassmen at linebacker.

I expect FSU to come out and run the ball if NC State plays as soft of a zone as I expect they will. Look for FSU to put up 8.3 yards per play, their best performance of the season.

Special Teams

Ah, the forgotten units.

Let's just say that FSU's special teams return and cover units have been great while NC State's have been terrible:

FSU has the 12th best return/ cover teams while State has the 117th best (or 3rd worst nationally). Greg Reid against a depleted cover team? Yes please.

NC State has been unlucky

A large percentage of State's turnovers have been returned for touchdowns or long returns. That is a bit unlucky. Keep that in mind. Their defense is not as bad as the 50 BC put up or the 49 duke put on them. Part of that was ridiculous turnovers.

Bye Week

NCST off of a bye week has been great under O'Brien.

Pace

This is big. Both teams could slow the pace and look to protect their defenses. The Over/Under for this game is the highest in recorded FSU history (64). But this game could be lower scoring than some are predicting if the teams try to hold the ball. That's not to say the offenses won't dominate- they will, but the total number of play could be reduced.

Prediction

lt's go time. I do think that the teams might run the ball a bit more than usual (wise to do). That'll result in a reduced number of plays. How about 65 per side. NC State gains 500 yards. FSU gains 540. A nice return play by Greg Reid will help the 'Noles to pull this one out, 38-34. That might be a shock to some of you, but this team is off a bye, FSU's defense is truly one of the worst in the entire country, and NC State's offense matches up perfectly. In the end, Ponder will abuse State's linebackers with passes over the middle, and pick apart the zone.

The Conversation- Talking NC State with BackingThePack.com

FSUncensored — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:34:50 -0000

To get our readers ready for the Homecoming game, I swapped bounced some questions off Akula Wolf of BackingThePack.com, the premiere N.C. State site. He also asked me a few. My answers are here, check them out.

A lot was expected out of Russell Wilson this year by some in the national media. How has he lived up to the hype? What are some of the reasons for his shortcomings?

He's struggled a bit in conference play, at least by his standards. He's averaged a modest 6.3 yards per attempt over the last three weeks, completed just 53% of his throws, and has as many INTs as TD passes. The frustrating thing about it is the pass protection has been there. I thought he would shred Wake Forest and Duke, and it just didn't happen despite all the time in the world to find receivers downfield. Some of that's on the receivers, no question. It's a decent group but nobody's emerged as a guy who catches 5-6 balls consistently. TJ Graham, for all his speed, has never been much of a factor offensively. Owen Spencer, for his uncanny knack for the big play, has mediocre hands and disappears for extended periods.

I think also that teams are throwing primarily zone looks at Wilson, which is giving him a hard time both in terms of finding his receivers and in finding running room. If there's one week where FSU's coaches should maybe ease off their philosophy a bit and play more conservative coverages, it's this week. From what you've told me, though, it doesn't sound like that's going to happen. Bless their stubborn hearts. Owen Spencer one-on-one? Yes please. And when Russell gets out of the pocket against that sort of coverage, that's when he can run for days. Contain contain contain. That's critical for the Seminoles defense.

NCST has given up a lot of points on defense this year, has there been any talk of personnel or scheme changes for the upcoming game? Where do you think NCST matches up well against FSU's offense, if at all?

I don't expect any significant changes simply because the staff's options on that side of the ball are extremely limited. In the secondary, for example, we've got underclassmen backing up all four positions. There's not much to like about NC state's back seven, but at the same time, I trust that they are playing the best guys available. Which is truly frightening.

With the defense flaming out so spectacularly over the last few weeks, defensive coordinator Mike Archer has earned the attention of the Fire Somebody crowd. Tom O'Brien voiced his support earlier this week both for Archer and for our zone-heavy bend-but-don't-break scheme. If there are some wrinkles in that scheme on Saturday, I would think they'll come in the form of a little more man pressure. But that's just not who these guys are, so I'd expect the conservative approach most of the time. Hope I'm wrong about that. Everybody's killed this poorly-executed zone, and Ponder won't be an exception. Teams are doubling defensive end Willie Young and effectively neutralizing him, and none of the other guys are stepping up to make plays. Take Willie out of the equation, torch the secondary. Rinse, repeat.

So, no, there is nothing I like about how the Wolfpack defense matches up with FSU's offense. Perhaps they'll be able to limit FSU's unimpressive ground game, but I don't figure that to matter.

Waylon Jennings & Hank Williams Jr - The Conversation

What do you think O'brien's major strengths and weaknesses are in a coach thus far for NCST? Do you think the players trust in him at this point (and the staff)? Seeing at this is O'brien's 2nd year have you seen improvement in areas other than just record and do you feel that improvement is encouraging?

His organization and his ability to bring a more tangible structure to the program are a couple of things he has going for him, both of which are refreshing after that last guy, what's his name. O'Brien knows what works and he brought the bulk of his staff down from Boston College, which has been a bonus from the familiarity/continuity standpoint.

His track record as a recruiter is not so good, and he tends toward a conservative strategy, with support from a pair of meh coordinators. Those two things won't necessarily doom his tenure here, but they're worrisome.

The stretch run that earned the team a bowl bid in 2008 (which was his second year, for the record) was encouraging and seemed a solid step forward, hence all the positive talk heading into this season. But this team has clearly regressed in year three, scuttled by a defense in flames. It's tough to feel good about the program's near-term prospects mainly because the defense has a long way to go. That said, I still have faith.

Why did NC State stop stealing guys from that awesome track program you guys got there..? FSU was shocked when NCSt seemed to be the first team to match their speed in ACC play. I thought it was working out good for NCSt..

Good question. We wouldn't even need guys who can catch. Throw some fast dudes into the secondary and see what happens.

Finally, I'm not sure how to phrase this. Can you give a rundown of starters or key backups who have missed time this year due to injury or suspension? Are they back? If so, how much do you think their return will help. If not, who replaced them and how have they performed. (I ask this because it seems that NC State has suffered more injured than some other teams.

Where to start. Saying that NC State has suffered more injuries than some other teams is putting it mildly to say the least. A couple of years back I wrote that one of Tom O'Brien's hobbies is hurling black cats at mirrors. It's also possible that in this difficult economy we replaced the strength and conditioning staff with hobos willing to work for malt liquor. I can see no other explanation. In all seriousness, though, that S&C staff is the same one he had at BC, and they never had problems like this. It's baffling.

If we have an impact player, he's been hurt. From Toney Baker to Russell Wilson to Alan-Michael Cash to Nate Irving to various offensive linemen, tight ends, and receivers. This year's team was hurt by a pair of offseason defections by kids who could have been useful players in the secondary. One of whom may have started at corner. Safety Javon Walker, who was very good two years ago, was lost to a knee injury and never got back on the field. Freshman corner Rashard Smith, one of the few pleasant surprises in the secondary, is done for the year. Linebacker Nate Irving survived a horrific car accident (he's incredibly lucky to be alive: http://cdn2.sbnation.com/imported_assets/261038/3963847410_f27c3a05b8.jpg) that cost him his season.

The problem, particularly on the defensive side, is that these losses expose the program's lack of depth. The replacements have been adequate at best (but mostly not).

Thanks again to BackingThePack.com !

What to Watch For: Wake Forest vs. NC State

MRickman84 — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:01:28 -0000

I know every game is a big game in college football, but this one feels like it has a lot more importance than others. The Deacs are reeling and in comes an opponent with just as much riding on this game. State has to prove that the preseason predictions were not a letdown and Wake has to prove that they can in fact play to their potential. Here are a few of the story lines to keep an eye on during Saturday's game...

Leader of the Pack

If you have not heard it by now, N.C. State's defense is statistically the best in the nation going into week four. So far this season they have only given up 201.3 yards per game, but two games against the sisters of the poor obviously skew that stat to some degree. Pitt gained slightly over 300 yards and scored 31 points against the Pack last week, but their own defense happened to give up 38. In addition, Coach O'Brien noted that the Pack missed over 20 tackles against the Panthers, which also seemed to be a big problem in their opener against South Carolina.

State's strength definitely lies in their defensive line. All four starters are seniors and they are led by a great defensive end in Willie Young. As a result, it may be tough for the Deacon offensive line to create holes for the running game in addition to giving Skinner enough time to create. On the other hand, their situation in the secondary is a little more dicey. This week, the depth chart lists freshman Brandan Bishop and redshirt freshman Earl Wolff as the starters at both safety position. If Skinner can buy enough time, the potential is there for him to have a field day against the young Wolfpack secondary.

Make Russell Hustle?

A big weakness for the Wake Forest defense so far this season has been the lack of pressure applied to the opposing quarterback. The loss of their best pass rusher, Kyle Wilber, to a broken leg was obviously a huge loss for the Deacons. This week the depth chart reveals that Gelo Orange and Will Wright will get the start at defensive end, with former starter Tristian Dorty rotating in regularly. This will be Orange's first career start for Wake.

Since Russell Wilson is a dual threat quarterback it will be important for the linebackers and ends to make sure he does not run free. However, if the Deacs give him time to sit back and throw, it will be a likely be a long day for the secondary. Defensive leaders Boo Robinson and John Russell will be looking to force some pressure up the middle, in addition to the aforementioned ends working to get around the edge. Wake is hopeful that they can ramp up the pressure, but unless someone steps up significantly, this is an area that they are likely to struggle in for the remainder of the season .

New Faces in the Secondary

Due to the injury of starting corner Michael Williams and Coach Grobe's disapproval of Alex Frye, Deacon fans will likely get the rare opportunity to see multiple true freshmen on the field this weekend. The top candidates are cornerback Dominique Tate and safeties Daniel Mack and Duran Lowe. While this certainly makes Wake Forest fans nervous against a quarterback like Russell Wilson, the defense needs a spark after poor performances to open the game against each of their opponents other than Elon.

These guys have earned the opportunity in practice to be just that. The starters will be Ghee and Okoro at corner with Quarles and Bush at safety, but it will definitely be interesting to watch for personnel changes during the course of the game. I'm sure Coach Grobe and staff are hoping one of the freshman can become the playmaker that the defense seems to be missing
currently.

By The Yards

Jake already discussed State's defense, but the fact remains: Wake's offense has been able to move the football. The same story was told against BC (that BC's defense was the key to their game) and Wake piled on the yards. In fact, the Deacs lead the ACC in total offense at 412 yards per game. Astounding considering the fact that this team has held a lead in just two of its four games.

And that's the key, the Deacs need to find a way to improve their scoring percentage on drives. They can't just move down the field and let the drive fizzle out because of a missed FG, an interception or a fumble or an unsuccessful 4th and short situation.

Plain and simple, Wake Forest needs to execute. Especially against an NC State team that has had no trouble with execution this season. State sits at number two in total offense, but right atop scoring offense at 37.8 points per game.

Class of the ACC

Riley Skinner has had some good quarterback battles in his time at Wake Forest--Robert Griffin, Matt Ryan, Jevan Snead--and this week's could shape up to be another one. Last season, Russell Wilson emerged as a future star for NC State as he scrambled all over the field in a win over the Deacs in Raleigh while Skinner tried to engineer a game-saving drive in the final two minutes that just slipped away.

The rematch is even better on paper. Wilson has not thrown an interception in 364 pass attempts and has thrown for 12 TDs in his last three games. Skinner had over 350 yards passing against BC and absolutely torched Elon the week before. They always say defense wins championships, but quarterbacks make games exciting and this one will have two of the best in the ACC.

Where There's a Will There's a Way

Marshall Williams would like to forget that last year's NC State game ever happened. The redshirt junior, who had 26 catches last season, was a 27th catch away from being a hero. Late in the game against NC State, Williams dropped a pass in the end zone that would have won the game for the Demon Deacons.

An extremely gifted receiver, Williams has seemed to put that behind him and has quickly become Riley Skinner's favorite target this season as he has racked up 20 catches for 329 yards including a 12 catch, 180 yard game against BC.

Williams, 6'1" and 185 lbs, is extremely quick and athletic and seems to be improving every game. And if the Deacs are going to beat the Wolfpack, they're going to need Williams to have a big game.

3k's Eyes on the Prize - College Football Week 1

3k — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:56:34 -0000

Time to get my eyes on the prize - the young studs that annually replenish the NFL with talent... and holdouts. There are some great games this weekend and some not so good ones. I'll throw in a quick recap of last night's action too with enough links to make your eyes water.

While I'm on the subject of blurry vision, LeGarette Blount may have seen his team embarassed in Boise and may have seen his draft stock plummet in a single night, but his stock as a boxer may have risen high. Especially if he continues to go after guys while they're not watching. Check out the evidence after the ad:

I think the Raiders may have found an option for their backfield.

Prizes after the fold.

NOTE: Rankings are taken from the AP poll. All times are central time zone.

Thursday recap

- North Texas @ Ball St., 20-10: This was a huge win for the Mean Green. To go into Muncie after posting a 1-11 season with so many games against the basement of college football, the Sun Belt conference, against a Ball St. team that went 12-0 last season (even if they lost QB Nate Davis and OT Robert Brewster to the NFL) and win is the kind of turnaround the Rams could enjoy with a win at Seattle in week 1. UNT QB Riley Dodge, who spurned Texas to play at UNT for his dad, head coach Todd Dodge, looked like, well, a respectable college QB in the first game of his redshirt freshman campaign; senior RB Cam Montgomery looked studly, racking up 149 yards on just 17 carries. Dodge's and Montgomery's play took the spotlight away from the one legitimate draft prospect going into the game, Ball St. senior RB MiQuale Lewis, who finished with just over 100 yards on 15 carries and a TD.

- South Carolina @ North Carolina St., 7-3: I'm so glad I didn't watch this one. I've got two prospects from these two teams on my radar: Senior SC OLB Eric Norwood (who racked up 2 sacks last night) and NC St.'s senior DE Willie Young. Might have been nice to evaluate these two defenders, but not against offenses as weak as this.

- GAME OF THE NIGHT: #14 Boise St. vs. #16 Oregon, 19-8: The story from this game will be the Blount fallout, but Boise St.'s defense was absolutely dominant. The Broncos allowed just 31 rushing yard to one of the most respected ground games in the country. Blount was in the top tier of RB prospects in what looks like a VERY weak draft for RBs. With him out of the mix for a while, I'll be watching two other Oregon seniors: CB Walter Thurmond (who I mentioned on this week's Turf Show Radio), and TE Ed Dickson. On to Saturday's action...

Saturday prizes

I've got four games I'll be checking in on throughout the day:

- #9t Oklahoma St. vs. #13 Georgia (2:30PM, ABC): Oklahoma St. hopes the opening of the recently renovated Boone Pickens Stadium doesn't end up being a sad day in the record books. The Cowboys are ranked higher than they ever have been in the preseason rankings, and this game has gotten as much hype as an opener possibly can. Few teams can boast an offensive quartet as talented as OSU's: QB Zac Robinson, RB Kendall Hunter, WR/RET Dez Bryant and OT Russell Okung. They could all come out in the draft and go in the 1st round. Scary thought, though I don't think Robinson will go until the middle of the draft. Georgia boasts one of the best DT tandems in the country in Geno Atkins and Jeff Owens. Of course, the NFL Draft will be the last thing on nearly everyone's mind on Saturday. OSU is trying to kickstart a run to the Big 12 Championship while Georgia is trying to open the post-StaffordMoreno era with a big non-conference win in Stillwater. For the Bulldogs, Senior QB Joe Cox will try to go to standout soph WR A.J. Green as much as possible, since their running back committee is one member short given the hamstring injury to Caleb King. Oklahoma St. will lean on the talents they boast on offense to make the crowd a factor early.

Kdiction: OSU 27, Georgia 10

- #3 Oklahoma vs. #20 BYU (6:00PM, ESPN - neutral site): Oklahoma comes to Dallas for a huge opener, just not the biggest game of the college football season, to play Brigham Young in Jerry Jones' wet dream-turned-temple. Oklahoma will be without the best TE in college football, Jermaine Gresham, who will miss several games with a knee injury. Still, with Sam Bradford at the helm making the most of OT Trent Williams' blocking, and the tandem of DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown (the one who beats defenses, not women), BYU will have its hands full. The Cougars have a TE prospect for the NFL themselves in Dennis Pitta, so there's still some talent at the position for the draftniks in this one. From a Rams perspective, one guy I'll be watching is DT DeMarcus Granger; Granger could be a solid mid-round pick for the Rams who I hope are thinking of DTs they can bring on to replace a certain permanently injured lineman whose name I don't feel like typing.

Kdiction: Oklahoma 42, BYU 13

- #5 Alabama vs. #7 Virginia Tech (7:00PM, ABC - neutral site): The lowest average ranking of the two teams of any game this weekend, just having this battle scheduled is a joy for college football fans. This is the kind of non-conference game I wish we had more of every season. They'll both head to Atlanta to open their seasons in the Georgia Dome in front of what will be a rabid crowd. I mentioned CB Javier Arenas on TSR (as well as my mancrush, WR Julio Jones), but keep an eye on DT Terrence Cody as well. If Spags has an inkling of moving to a 3-4, Cody is the mountain of a man (hovering around 400 lbs.) you want at NT. Tech will be without their sophomore rushing star Darren Evans all season, so they're going to need to prove they can still move the ball against the one of the better defenses in the country. I'll be interested in CB Stephan Virgil who also handles some return duties.

Kdiction: Alabama 24, Va. Tech 14

- #11 LSU @ Washington (9:30PM, ESPN): I've got this one on here not so much for Washington who might have a couple guys find their way to the NFL as undrafted pickups (except for a certain junior), but for LSU who is loaded with talent. The top two prospects from the Tigers are easily identifiable: WR Brandon LaFell and OT Ciron Black. Both could end up as first round picks. LSU is coming off an incredibly disappointing season, so I'm sure they want to get things moving in the right direction this year. Now for that mystery junior I referenced -- Washington QB Jake Locker. Locker has everything you want in a QB prospect... except talented targets. After a stellar freshman effort, Locker injured his thumb last year, so it will be interesting to see how he begins the 2009 season. Locker's also a highly-touted baseball prospect, so he might not end up in the NFL. Nevertheless, his talent demands scrutiny this season and in this game to see if he can make diamonds out of dirt.

Kdiction: LSU 38, Washington 18

So what are you interested in yakking for tomorrow? Is it certain games? Matchups in those games? And are you interested in specific prospects or positions? Holler.

Previewing N. C. State: The Wolfpack's Defense

Gamecock Man — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:44:00 -0000

by Gerry Broome - AP

4 months ago: North Carolina State defensive end Willie Young cools off during football practice in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

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N. C. State runs a traditional 4-3 defense. The Wolfpack were 83rd in total defense, 66th in rushing defense, and 96th in passing defense last year. The 'Pack are more experienced on defense this year and should be better overall. With a relatively experienced front seven and some questions in the secondary, the 'Pack project to continue to be stronger against the run than the pass.

State's defensive strength is their line. End and pass-rush specialist Willie Young leads this group; Young, who has 12 sacks over the last two seasons, projects to be one of the ACC's better pass rushers this year. The 'Pack also return their other three starting linemen. Their strength here should contribute to a stifling rushing defense.

On the other hand, N. C. State must rely on inexperience at safety. Clem Johnson, who was good but injury-prone last year, will start at boundary safety. Green sophomore Justin Byers will get the other spot. Corner is even more of a question. State looked OK at the position before Dominique Ellis transferred over the summer, but at that point State's already questionable depth at the position took a big hit. C.J. Wilson and Koyal George are projected starters, with DeAndre Morgan surely getting some time. State's coaching staff likes the talent these players bring, but experience and depth is a concern.

State should be good at linebacker, but, as you probably know, they will be without last year's defensive star, inside linebacker Nate Irving. Losing Irving is a big loss, but the 'Pack still look strong on the inside and weak side with Ray Michel and Dwayne Maddox, respectively. The question is whether or not strong-side linebacker Audie Cole can step up and whether the reserves are good enough to play a sufficient role in the rotation.

Continue reading after the jump.

State's game plan is likely to count on their talented defensive line to control the run and pressure Stephen Garcia. I expect that they will scheme their linebackers conservatively towards the pass to flank the unproven secondary. Therefore, I think the key for us in this game is to prove that we can run enough against State's line and get enough out of the short-passing game to get State to play the run more. That will open up the play-action and downfield passing game that Steve Spurrier thrives on, and considering that State has a lot of questions in their secondary, some big plays could be had in this game if we can surprise State with a well-chosen bomb and Garcia can make the throw.

Another key, I think, will be how well we contain Young off the end; if he gets a lot of pressure on Garcia, it could lead to some of the mistakes we know so well. At the same time, though, if we can contain him or Garcia manages to elude him, State may not be able to create much pressure at all.

I'll actually go ahead and say that I feel fairly confident in our ability to move the ball in this game. That is, of course, if our line has really improved and Garcia doesn't cough it up when we're driving, which are still ifs at this point. The game could, very well, be a pretty high-scoring affair, as I also think State is capable of moving the ball well against us