There is less than a month remaining inthe 2006 college football season we have a good feeling about the direction of the season and the strength/weakness of teams.
StateFans works very hard to try to stay in front of issues and items – sometimes we end up being wrong; often we end up looking pretty good. Today we thought that we would ask Jeff to ‘take a bow’ regarding two of his pre-season football pieces.
First, let’s focus on NC State. Sitting with a 3-6 record we know enough about the Wolfpack’s strengths and weaknesses to accurately comment on them. But on May 30th SFN told you what positions were the weakest heading into the season in this entry that includes some fantastic comments from our community.
In order of “most concern” to “least concern”, the following is a list of how I feel about the Wolfpack’s different positions:
(1) Offensive line
(2) Linebackers
(3) Wide receivers
(4) Quarterbacks
(5) Secondary
(6) Defensive Line
(7) Special Teams
(8) Running Backs* No surprises at quarterback. At this point, no reason exists to expect Justin Burke (see feature story) to burn a redshirt this year. Daniel Evans has earned raved-reviews from those close to the program over the last two years and could see time if Stone struggles. But, the coaches were very complimentary of Marcus Stone during spring practice, so some reason exists to hope that Stone’s passing skills are improving.
* Looks like a moderately experienced and talented secondary that does not provide me a lot of concern right now. We’ll learn how much talent the group possesses sicne they will be tested more than last season if for not other reason that the defensive front won’t get as much pressure on opposing quarterbacks this year as last year.
* Don’t misunderstand me, the talent exodus that took place last year was painful to stomach. But, 90% of all college football teams would still trade their defensive tackles for DeMario Pressley and Tank Tyler. We are not as talented (or deep) as before, but don’t confuse that for being untalented.
* Because of the presence of Tyler and Pressley, I think that the premature loss of Stephen Tulloch will ultimately be the most impactful to our program this year. Tulloch was an All-ACC linebacker; a very important position where the Pack is thin and inexperienced. Had Tulloch stayed in school he would have made a mark on the NC State record books. He was THE BEST pure tackler on the squad, almost never failing to wrap up the ball carrier.
Secondly, on August 8th Jeff asked who was Looking for a College Football Sleeper? in this preseason entry.
This piece suggests that Louisville, Pittburgh, and Tennessee may surprise this year. I actually believe that these are all GREAT picks.
For the sake of being original, please allow me to throw out the names of Arkansas and Nebraska to go with Louisville, Pitt and Tennessee. I don’t think that the Razorbacks will beat USC or Auburn, but they could surprise with an unexpected 9 or 10 win season. Additionally, Bill Callahan has been at Nebraska long enough to gain some traction with his system. The recent issues at Oklahoma certainly do not hurt the situation.
As I am writing this, I have run across this great entry at Sunday Morning Quarterback titled, “Anatomy of an underdog�. (I see that they have my Nebraska pick in their article and my Arkansas pick as an “other considered�) It’s really a great piece.
Louisville, 8-0, #3 in the country
Arkansas, 8-1, #11 in the country, leads SEC West
Pittburgh, 6-3 (was 6-1)
Tennessee, 7-2, #13 in the country, second place in SEC East
Nebraska, 7-3, first place in Big 12 North
Damn good stuff.
