A Season to Remember

'08 Football Fans Tom O'Brien100

Russell Wilson

NC State closed out the 2008 regular season with a convincing 38-28 win over Miami. The team that (for September and most of October) looked as if it could be one of the all-time worst Wolfpack squads turned out to be one of the most memorable. Clemson’s thumping of South Carolina means that 10 ACC teams will be eligible for 9 bowl slots. That said, it’s unfathomable that no bowl would want this NC State team.    We’ve already read that the EaglesBank bowl in DC is considering the Pack, and they had to leave Carter-Finley Stadium impressed with the Wolfpack team that they saw.

Consider the following:

  • NC State became the first team in ACC history to start 0-4 in conference play, and finish at .500. The 4 game ACC winning streak is the Pack’s longest since 1992.
  • Russell Wilson’s freshman season stats: 16 TDs passing, 4 TDs rushing, 1 INT. If justice is done, he is your ACC offensive POY. It would be a travesty if Wilson is not 1st team all-ACC. If he doesn’t win conference ROY, there should be a Congressional investigation. I am now ready to say, without reservations, that Russell Wilson is a better college QB than Philip Rivers. He is an absolute sensation. I’d take him over Tim Tebow right now. If we can hold back the MLB scouts, we are absolutely looking at a future Heisman candidate.
  • In its last four games, NC State has won three blowout/convincing victories (the Duke and Miami games looked closer in the box score due to a late garbage time TD, cutting the final margin to 10.
  • IIRC, NC State still has 5 current or former walk-ons in the two-deep, including today’s starter at safety (for the injured Clem Johnson). How many BCS conference teams (even of the 2-10 or worse variety) can say that?
  • Nate Irving is an absolute beast. He has transformed an awful defense into a espectable one. I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen a single player mean so much to a defensive unit. You could say he’s the defense’s Russell Wilson. If not for the injury time, he would be your ACC defensive POY.  Look for Nate to play in the NFL.
  • Tom O’Brien gets my vote for ACC Coach of the Year. I would have been impressed if he had just managed to keep the Wolfpack playing hard all year, and he got us bowl eligible against a very difficult schedule. He is the right man at the right time for NC State.
  • NC State will finish no more than one game behind the participants in the ACC title game. Don’t be surprised if the Pack is playing in the first week of December next year, or in 2010.

Add it all up, and this is a team that any bowl would be lucky to have. For all the tweaking we give him, ACC Commish Swofford actually does a good job making sure our eligible teams get bowl slots, especially the ones that hold up their end of the bargain and sell tickets. I am strangely confident that he will help find a very nice game for NC State.

About BJD95

1995 NC State graduate, sufferer of Les and MOC during my entire student tenure. An equal-opportunity objective critic and analyst of Wolfpack sports.

'08 Football Fans Tom O'Brien

100 Responses to A Season to Remember

  1. wufpup76 11/29/2008 at 11:45 PM #

    I certainly hope there are a few tie-ins from other conferences that aren’t filled … I was very certain we were headed to a bowl after the game today but completely forgot about the 7-5 vs. 6-6 rule …

    I still feel like we’ll be going somewhere, but I’m looking at it w/ much more trepadation now 🙁

    CStanley pretty much nailed the postseason for Div. I / FBS college football … ****** up is putting it mildly

    Oh well, we’ll see what happens … Either way, it’s great that the team worked this hard to get us in a position to even be talking about it after starting 2-6 🙂

    Go Pack (to DC, Boise, Mobile, SF, Hawaii, anywhere please)

  2. BJD95 11/29/2008 at 11:50 PM #

    Damn straight, CStanley. It is truly a fucked up system, with less fairness and more perverse incentives than one could ever imagine.

    This is why I favor a 16-team playoff based on computer rankings, with no restrictions on bowls outside of that. If a bowl wants to take a 3-9 team, then it can. It does whatever is best for the particular bowl, as it should – these are fucking exhibitions, after all. Why should they be forced to invite a lousy team like Hawaii or Florida Atlantic, and play before a nearly empty stadium?

    Cut the NCAA out of the picture altogether. They just fuck everything up even more with every rule they put in place.

    We can see NC State fall victim (and the bowls with ACC tie-ins who want to pick State, but can’t) to silly rules on this end of the spectrum, while we decide who plays in the Mythical National Championship based on who can kiss more ass and grease more palms between Bob Stoops and Mack Brown (that’s one match-up where I always would bet on a used-car salesman like Ol’ Mack). And of course, you have USC lurking in the backfground. Why in God’s name would a sport not want to actually FIND OUT which team is the best, rather than arbitraily pick two out of a hat (essentially)?

  3. CStanley 11/29/2008 at 11:51 PM #

    Tony seemed damn near certain on the air after the game we were going somewhere. Guess somebody didn’t inform him of all these rules.

    As much as I love college football, this postseason system is antiquated and just plain idiotic. And now, with computers, we’ve totally eliminated common sense from the equation.

  4. tvp1 11/29/2008 at 11:59 PM #

    Little more info on what is really screwing us: Last offseason the Sun Belt conference signed an agreement where they would be the “back up” for the Independence, St. Pete, and Papa John’s bowls. Basically, a 6-6 Sun Belt team gets preferred over another 6-6 team if those bowls primary conference affiliations don’t have enough teams. Why these bowls signed these deals I cannot imagine. But since the SEC is not going to have enough teams, you could very well see a 6-6 Florida Atlantic team go bowling while we stay at home.

    Fowler/Swoff need to figure out some way to buy off the Sun Belt. If that means we go play at Troy next year, so be it.

    For now, if you are up, pull for Hawaii to lose!

  5. Defenestrator 11/29/2008 at 11:59 PM #

    ^crap!

    yea, from what i’ve been reading, the bowl situation doesn’t seem positive. We need to hope several teams on the fringe of 7-5 lose, like Arizona State next weekend

  6. Greywolf 11/30/2008 at 12:08 AM #

    RW POY? Ask Costner what he thinks RW’s chances are of beating Nicks out for POY.

  7. coppertop 11/30/2008 at 12:10 AM #

    Alpha, Well if the wolfpack play in the GMAC bowl it would be a great time to come down this way. We went last year and the weather is great for a bowl game. Just don’t plain on wearing that nice new heavy winter coat you got for Christmas!

  8. Noah 11/30/2008 at 12:23 AM #

    1) Before the season, I said that our ceiling would be 6-6. Of course, a few weeks ago, I didn’t think we’d win another game. Let’s forget that and focus on my preseason brilliance. 🙂

    2) Wilson is a redshirt frosh and Rivers was a true frosh, so it’s a little difficult to compare the two.

    3) That said, Wilson is clearly the first-team All-ACC QB and ROY. And TOB comes in second in the Coach of the Year award.

    4) We aren’t going to a bowl. We aren’t getting screwed. We had a mediocre year and the rules are the rules. Getting screwed would be going 8-4 and having a 6-6 team get the nod over you.

    5) For all of you playoff advocates, all you’ve got to do is figure out a way for the networks to make MORE money off the playoffs than they would from the current bowl system. Good luck with that.

  9. Cosmo96 11/30/2008 at 2:04 AM #

    My idea for a playoff would basically be the current bowl system, only tweaked a bit. There would be a four-team playoff, and the play-in games for that playoff would be the current BCS bowls. Have four BCS Bowls pitting the BCS conference champions against each other while also making room for the Boise States, Ball States, and Utahs of the world. The remaining three games (two playoff games and a championship) would be played at a neutral sight like the Superdome or Georgia Dome or something. (Actually, you could conceivably give the higher seed home field advantage, or make the two playoffs bowl games…whatever).

    Meanwhile, all the other bowls would still take place, just like they do now, to reward teams with winning records. It would kind of be like the NIT in basketball, only expanded. Even though BCS TV ratings are pretty high, I think a playoff would garner even better ratings. Plus, everything else would remain the same, so no money’s being lost there. It would require a few teams to play extra games, but if the FCS does it, and has done it for years, then why can’t it work at the highest level?

  10. b 11/30/2008 at 2:26 AM #

    Not so fast….. the Big Ten may get two into the BCS with Oregon St losing. Leaving five teams to fill their six bowl tie-ins and thus….an opening in the Motor City and the honor of getting mauled by Ball State. Plus Detroit sucks this time of year, but the extra practice is all I really care about.

    And I disagree to an extent, if we get dumped in lieu of Clemson, our conference screwed us as we were chosen to play a Big East team (USF) as part of the expansion settlement while Clemson was not and got to play South Carolina St (or the Citadel if you prefer) to net that seventh win. And of course I’m disregarding the fact they beat us head up.

  11. Daily Update 11/30/2008 at 7:12 AM #

    Our bowl chances look slim at this point. The NCAA rule requiring bowls to take 7-5 teams over 6-6 teams might keep us out. As things stand now, we will not make one of the 9 ACC affiliated bowls.

  12. basspacker812 11/30/2008 at 7:36 AM #

    Chiming in late here but “How Sweet it tis” bowl or no bowl. Pack Nation should not only be proud of this football team but proud of its fans. I was worried the stands would be empty with holiday and weather but wrong. Dang, CF was loud yesterday ! The crowd seemed more engerized than I can remember in along time, maybe it was the UNC win kicking in since it was the first mass gathering of Packnation. But what ever, the 12th man came to play yesterday.

    Lets hope Santa comes to Raleigh Dec 7th!

  13. kevirose 11/30/2008 at 7:57 AM #

    So, did the N and O have it all wrong regarding the rules for bowl selections (and even Will Webb, exec director of the muffler bowl)?

    “At 4-4 in the conference, State is technically eligible for any of the ACC’s bowl slots except the Orange Bowl or an at-large slot in a non-ACC affiliated bowl.

    Charlotte, with the Meineke Car Care Bowl on Dec. 27, and Washington, with the inaugural EagleBank Bowl on Dec. 20, are prime targets for State’s postseason.

    “At the end of the season, I think they are playing as well as anybody in the conference,” Meineke Car Care Bowl executive director Will Webb said of the surging Wolfpack, which has won four straight.

    Charlotte, which picks sixth in the ACC bowl order, might have its choice of Clemson (7-5) or the Wolfpack, two teams with large fan bases and proven track record of selling bowl tickets.

    “We’d be excited to have either one of them,” Webb said, without committing to either team.”

  14. cowdog 11/30/2008 at 8:47 AM #

    As I interpret the rules, Clemson is in the same boat as we are given that they have 2 wins over FCS teams, making their ” Bowl” eligible record 6-5. I have seen nothing that relates to teams with a better record % wise given preference over any other team with 6 wins. All that I’ve seen revolves around the magic #7.

    Am I correct? And if so, has ayone ventured to check out other 7-5 teams with 2 FCS wins?

    Did I overlook some verbage?

  15. nikemike 11/30/2008 at 8:49 AM #

    I think you guys are misreading the 6-6 rule (at least according to to this ESPN article when the rule was first announced):

    “The NCAA board of directors also approved a proposal allowing teams with .500 records to qualify for bowl games if the conference has a contract with a bowl game. Also, teams with .500 records could earn bowl bids if all other Division I-A teams with winning records have been taken and postseason spots still remain vacant.”

    See http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2424711.

    If this summary is correct, then a 6-6 team is eligible for a conference tie-in. End of story. Whether other teams above .500 within your conference have been selected is irrelevant to the analysis.

    A 6-6 team is also eligible for an at large bowl (i.e. a slot not tied to the conference), but only to the extent that all other bowl eligible teams with a winning record (whether in conference or not) have been selected. This is the rule I think you guys are incorrectly applying to the ACC tie-ins.

  16. Defenestrator 11/30/2008 at 9:38 AM #

    ^ I think you’re getting confused thinking .500 is a winning record. Everyone with 5 losses is going to get chosen before us. Its NCAA rule, as you’ve quoted.

  17. BJD95 11/30/2008 at 9:48 AM #

    All of this is utter bullshit. Here’s the NCAA summary: 6-6 isn’t enough, unless there’s a contract. Then, it’s OK. A 6-6 SEC team would be required to go to Bowl X, but since they finished 5-7, the bowl needs an at-large team. 6-6 NC State is totally unacceptable to the NCAA – why don’t you guys invite 7-5 Arkansas State instead? That must be an acceptable substitute – after all, they’re a WINNING TEAM!

    The NCAA is trying to have it both ways, by inserting their idea of “merit” into an insane system that is not set up for merit at all (just ticket sales and TV ratings). It’s an absolute clusterfuck.

    We are only scracthing the surface of the perverse incentives here. Numerous bowls want NC State, who has the same conference record as all but 4 bowl-eligible ACC teams. The only difference is that NC State played 3 OOC games against legitimate comptetion, and their overall record suffered. But legitimate OOC games are GOOD for college football. So, why would you punish NC State by invoking these strange arbitrary rules (which could have been worked around if the ACC was contracted as “backup” for the SEC, Big Ten, or Pac Ten)?

    Maybe we should do this for basketball, too. Nobody should get an at-large bid with fewer than 20 wins, as long as there is any D-1 team (without an automatic bid) with 20 wins or more. No matter if the team is in the 150-200 RPI range or worse, they’re “winners” by God, and we should reward them whether it dilutes the post-season or not!

  18. Texpack 11/30/2008 at 9:49 AM #

    One the 6-6 vs 7-5 rule can be circumvented by placing a 7-5 ACC team in a bowl where the conference tie-ins don’t fill the bowl. That sets us up to go to one of the ACC bowls.

  19. BJD95 11/30/2008 at 10:03 AM #

    The only possible life raft is Swofford.

    I know everyone is skeptical about him, but he will work like mad to do what is best for the conference. He knows that we will sell tickets and not screw over the conference, money-wise. He knows that we are attractive for TV, an up-and-coming team with a true star player that could enhance the ACC’s reputation with a little national publicity.

    If there’s a way (even if it involves rule-bending and arm-twisting) to get us into the post-season, I truly believe Swofford will make it happen.

    Per the Sagarin ratings. NC State is 44th overall, having played the nation’s 3rd hardest schedule. The Top 4 teams schedule-wise are all from the ACC (Virginia, Duke, NC State, Wake Forest). For the record, Hawaii is 84th. Louisville checks in at #89. Memphis? 100. Arkansas State is #105, one slot ahead of 8-4 D-1AA Elon!

  20. cowdog 11/30/2008 at 10:04 AM #

    I knew I’d wind up feeling stupid for looking to deeply at this. It’s clear that a 7-5 record cannot take precedence over us with the available 7 of 9 ACC tie-ins. VaTech and BC occupy 2 automatic slots. Only ACC teams with 2 or more BCS wins better can be chosen in lieu of Clemson or State.

    FSU,UNX and GT must, by rule, take 3 of the remaining tie-in games over State and Clemson. Therefore, there are 4 available Bowls for the Pack. Records after the 2 or better rule mean zip.

    Given what we have accomplished over the last 4 wks. I think Wake, Maryland,Miami and Clemson are much more vulnerable, than we are to exclusion.

  21. GAWolf 11/30/2008 at 10:16 AM #

    The payout for the Eagle Bank Bowl is exactly One Meeeellion Dollars ($1,000,000) to the ACC. Assuming Swofford and his cronies can get another team into an at-large spot freeing up the Eagle Bank Bowl for us it will be a job well done for the conference to the tune of $1m + (differenc in value of the at-large bowl spot minus $1m).

    Two thoughts:
    1) Even Swofford is going to HAVE to help us here to make himself look good.

    2) Should he be able to swing it, we should probably lay off his back at least until we get shafted by the ACC again (which is inevitable) even despite the fact that he and the conference (should) have selfish motives ($1m+ really green motives) to do all they can to make this work.

    Get to work, Swofford…. get to work.

    Despite all that, I don’t know how many times I’ve said a .500 team doesnt deserve a bowl. It’s easy to get caught up in the jubilation of what this team has accomplished over the past 4 weeks, but the bottom line is our entire season was pretty meh.

  22. Daily Update 11/30/2008 at 10:17 AM #

    Here is the official rule for 6-6 teams from the NCAA:

    An institution with a record of six wins and six losses may be selected for participation in a bowl game under the following circumstances: (Adopted: 4/27/06 effective 8/1/06)

    (a) The institution or its conference has a primary contractual affiliation, which existed prior to the first contest of the applicable season, with the sponsoring bowl organization. In the case of a conference contractual affiliation, all conference teams with winning records must be placed in one of the contracted bowl games before any institution with a record of six wins and six losses may be placed in a contracted bowl game. There shall be no contingency agreements with other sponsoring bowl organizations intended to enable an institution with a record of six wins and six losses to become eligible for those contests; or

    (b) All contractual affiliations per Bylaw 30.9.2.1-(a) have been fulfilled and all institutions with winning records have received bowl invitations (either through a contractual affiliation or as an at-large selection).

  23. LRM 11/30/2008 at 10:17 AM #

    Gentlemen, the NCAA 7-win rule was written for at-large bowl bids, not conference tie-ins. It was amended in 2007 because 8-4 and 7-5 MAC teams were being left at home while 6-6 Big Ten teams got at large berths.

    Technically, based on the rules, the only ACC bowl State can’t play in is the Orange. But we could not be selected as an at-large team if any qualifying 7-win teams remain.

    Colorado lost, leaving the Big 12 short of their bids; UCLA lost, leaving the Pac-10 one short, and if Arizona State loses it will be two short; the SEC is a bowl short.

    Relax, we’re going to D.C.

    And even if we did get left out, we’re the only 6-6 team in the ACC, so we’d be the one that deserved to stay home; Clemson and Wake both finished 7-5. I’m excited we’re going to a bowl, but it’s appalling that the current system “rewards” a .500 team with a bowl.

  24. GAWolf 11/30/2008 at 10:23 AM #

    BJD: Ask yourself, too, would we have been prepared to make this 4 week run had we played terrible teams to start the year? How many times have we fussed about our weak OOC games because don’t prepare us for the competition that follows?

    New school motto? NC State: Damned if we do, damned if we don’t.

    Further, while the game itself is nice reward for the players and further exposure for the program, I would take the extra month of practice without a game if that would be possible. I personally believe that month of practice with our young team could make the difference of one or maybe two wins next year.

  25. BAC79 11/30/2008 at 10:24 AM #

    All NCSU athletic teams could learn important lessons from the football team.

    First, Never quit. How many other teams would have thrown in the towel with a 2-6 record. This team never gave up, always kept hope, and continued to work hard. A recipe for success.

    Second, this team continued to improve every week. They worked hard, obviously listened to the coaching staff and IMPROVED every week.

    What more could you ask for from an athletic team. In addition, this team has class. After last weeks game, RW was interviewed on the field by some TV reporter. The reporter asked a question followed by an impressive answer from RW then the reporter said thank you, RW replied, yes sir. When was the last time you heard that from a player in an on field interview.

    This team persevered when others would have folded which is a testament to the entire coaching staff and players.

    Go pack.

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