“I expect that we’ll have a winning season and go to a bowl game. That’s the goal we’re going to start off with. You know, I’ve been to eight straight bowl games. I don’t want to break that streak.”
I KNOW that the ACC Tournament starts tomorrow!!! I hope that you are scrolling through all of the many entries that we are running on the blog this weekend. But, right after we threw some football your way as a nice break, ESPN ran a big feature piece on Tom O’Brien that we just can’t ignore.
O’Brien Ready to Win Right Away at NC State
O’Brien’s task in Raleigh is to get the Wolfpack program headed in a winning direction. NC State ended 2006 on a seven-game losing streak that resulted in the firing of Chuck Amato after seven seasons as coach.
The Wolfpack were arguably the ACC’s most undisciplined team, finishing next to last in penalties (58 yards per game) and tied for last in turnover margin (minus 0.92).
Enter O’Brien, a former U.S. Marine whose Boston College teams were nothing if not disciplined.
“That’s one thing we definitely need,” said NC State tailback Toney Baker. “He’s going to be able to bring that to us and that’s going to help us so much. I think it’s a real good match.”
“It’s a lot different around here,” said Toney Baker, a junior who rushed for a team-leading 688 yards and six touchdowns in 2006. “Everybody is on the same page. I’ve never seen it like this around here. Everybody is actually excited to come to workouts and get better and help this university win some football games.”
