– NC State vs. Wake Forest. Has any rivalry this old ever been so friendly? Outside of that time Chris Paul punched Hodge in the nuts, I don’t remember much bad blood (and even that never spread to the fans, as every Deacon fan I knew was aghast and apologetic).
– Hidden yardage will be the key. I have seen nothing to indicate that Sam Swank will play today, which gives State a chance. Backup Shane Popham isn’t as awful as he was in his first few games, but the dropoff is still huge. Sam Swank is in FG range when the Deacs sniff the 35 yard line (where Wake’s offense frequently begins to stall). Popham’s career long is 44 yards, and all of his FGs don’t make it even that far. Sam Swank can boom 50+ yard punts if he hits them right. On a good day, Popham’s go about 40 yards. Without Swank to leverage a huge field position battle, Wake has to count on…
– Turnovers. Wake has continued winning because they lead the nation with 28 takeaways. But today, the Deacon defense faces a classic irresistable force/immovable object situation – despite frequently playing from behind, Russell Wilson has only thrown one INT all season. His current streak of passes without a pick is the second longest in NC State history. It is exceptionally unlikely that Wake can beat State by forcing Wilson into a turnover machine.
– Don’t underestimate the emotional boost the Pack will get from the home crowd today. Neither the team nor the fanbase has the lingering fear of an 0-8 ACC season in the back of their mind. That should make all parties involved looser, and more focused on the battle at hand.
– As a fan, it’s hard not to look ahead. Assuming Maryland shits the bed today (as I fully expect), only NC State stands between a UNC appearance in the ACC title game (yes, I am leaving Duke out of the equation). I am already extremely tense just thinking about it. I want to beat Wake today. But the desire to knock Butch Davis’ smug ass out of the spotlight is almost overwhelming.
– This is the worst November Saturday TV schedule I can remember. The prime time games are FSU/BC, Okie State/Colorado, Mississippi State/Alabama, and Kentucky/Vanderbilt. Seriously, that’s it. No games between 2 ranked teams.
