August 31, 2011
NC STATE FOOTBALL
COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF: 3 DAYS!!!
Brett Friedlander (Wilmington Star)
Glennon, Renner face similar challenges … with different levels of scrutiny
As if the bar wasn’t already set high enough for his first real test Saturday against Liberty, his performance will also be judged against another, long-distance opponent when Wilson gets a head start by playing his first game at Wisconsin on Thursday.
If anyone is equipped to handle the attention and the inevitable comparisons, it’s Glennon.
Not only did his brother Sean go through something similar at Virginia Tech a few years ago, but as he has from the very start, the strong-armed 6-foot-6 junior has the unconditional backing of a coach who is convinced he’s the right man for the job.
NCStatePride (SFN)
Liberty vs NC State Preview: Why the Hell Not?
The Sports Xchange
TSX: Keep It Rolling
AREAS OF CONCERN
There’s not a senior on the two-deep chart in the secondary and so depth could eventually become an issue in the defensive backfield. But the bigger questions might come on special teams and Tom O’Brien said that’s why he’s pleased to be starting the season with a home game. The Wolfpack will be lineup up a new punter and new kicker and O’Brien rarely misses a chance to express his concerns about that fact.
Pack Pride Staff
PREDICTIONS: Pack Or Terps Will Win The ACC
The Atlantic Division race will be tightest, with FSU, Maryland and N.C. State jockeying for a shot at the title. It’ll go down to the wire, and to which quarterback has the most success, especially late in the season.
Florida State’s E.J. Manuel is projected to be one of the top players in the conference, and while he may be the most athletically gifted, it’s too early to hand him the MVP award. He’s 4-2 as a starter, playing in relief of Christian Ponder, but last year’s stats – 6 touchdowns and 10 interceptions – will not take the ‘Noles to the top of the ACC, much less the BCS title game as many have predicted.
Ryan Tice (TheWolfpacker.com)
Q&A: Mike Archer talks season opener
The linebackers are experienced with Terrell Manning and Audie Cole. Talk about how D.J. Green is fitting in with that group.
D.J. has gotten better. [Linebackers coach] Jon [Tenuta] has done a tremendous job, Jon’s a great football coach. If they just listen to what he tells them, they’re going to get better. Obviously, Terrell and Audie are very important, they’re going to make a lot of the checks and calls. They’re going to make sure D.J. has his feet grounded and doing what he’s supposed to do but he’s made improvement each and every scrimmage. This is going to be his first time out there at that position with the lights on and with a different color helmet and jersey out there. There’s a tendency sometimes to forgot what you’ve been coached on. That’s the great thing about the start of the season, you find out what guys do first time under the lights.
Brett Friedlander (Wilmington Star)
South Brunswick’s A.J. Ferguson looks to make a lasting impression with Wolfpack
Instead of playing a mop-up role in the fourth quarter and never being seen or heard from again – he played only eight more snaps in two other games all season – Ferguson is being counted on to be a productive member of the Wolfpack’s defensive line.
The 6-foot-3, 281-pound graduate of South Brunswick High moved into the rotation when senior captain J.R. Sweezy was sidelined for six weeks with broken left foot. He’s listed as second on the depth chart behind starter Markus Kuhn and will be given every opportunity to show what he can do during the early part of the schedule.
Aaron Schoonmaker (WRALsportsfan.com)
Liberty coach familiar with NCSU’s O’Brien, challenge still great
Raleigh, N.C. — North Carolina State University has never played Liberty in football. Head coach Tom O’Brien has never led a team against the Flames. But Liberty head coach Danny Rocco believes he has a beat on the Wolfpack and their head man – even though the challenge will be great.
Rocco is a Wake Forest graduate. He was an associate head coach at Virginia from 2001-2005 and an assistant 1991-93 at Maryland when O’Brien was at Boston College. Rocco spent six years as an assistant at Wake Forest and Boston College during the years that O’Brien was an assistant at Virginia. He is well versed in the ACC and in O’Brien’s style.
“Always very disciplined, always very physical, always play hard and smart,†Rocco said of O’Brien’s teams during an interview with Mark and Mike, The Insiders, on 620 The Buzz Tuesday morning. “Those are four things right there that are going to give you a chance to win.â€
Fayetteville Observer
College football preview: N.C. State
Sammy’s take
A strong defense and favorable non-conference schedule should ensure the Wolfpack gets off to a strong start to the 2011 season. Many believe N.C. State will make it to 7-0 before they face any real test against Florida State on Oct. 29. My expectations aren’t quite that high, but a nine-win regular season should be reachable. I don’t, however, see the Wolfpack overtaking the Seminoles in the Atlantic Division race.
BJD95 (SFN)
Dare to Dream – Making the Pitch For NC State in the SEC
A few weeks ago, the college sports internets were all aflame with talk of SEC expansion and what it would mean for everyone left in its wake. Just when things calmed down a bit, Texas A&M is in the news again.
Whether anything is imminent with the SEC and the Aggies, it’s clear that Texas A&M isn’t going to lay back and quietly take the “most favored nation†status that the Big Twelve granted their arch-rival, in order to keep Texas in the fold. And they don’t really care who they piss off in the process.
Good for them.
It’s highly unlikely that the SEC goes to 13, even temporarily, without #14 slotting into place in short order (with 15 and 16 not far behind). In my humble opinion, whoever is that #14 will be in the last “first class†seat on the expansion train. You don’t want to be in the mad scramble for the two “coach†seats – or far worse, left behind at the airport. NC State needs to do everything it possibly can to be #14.
NC STATE BASKETBALL
Edward Robinson (N&O)
Upper Room Christian Academy’s Purvis re-opens recruiting, releases list
Purvis considered Duke among his recruiting choices until he recently received a call from Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski.
“Coach K called Rodney and said with the number of guards they had he didn’t think it would be fair to him to bring him in,†Shanda McNair said. “We respect it. We understand it. Our quest for the right fit continues.â€
Purvis and McNair outlined the right fit as a place where he could play immediately. Also, they intend to find a school that fits Purvis’ style of play, with the request that he primarily play the point guard position.
THE U-NIVERSE
TIM REYNOLDS (AP Sports Writer)
NCAA: 8 Miami players must sit out games
Quarterback Jacory Harris and 11 other Miami players who accepted extra benefits from former booster Nevin Shapiro will be allowed by the NCAA to play again, some as soon as the second game of the season.
The harshest penalties handed down Tuesday were reserved for those who took gifts from Shapiro while being recruited. Defensive lineman Olivier Vernon will sit out six games, while Ray Ray Armstrong—considered among the nation’s top safeties—and tight end Dyron Dye will miss four games apiece. They are three of eight players, including Harris, who must sit out games and repay benefits before they can be reinstated.
NCAA FOOTBALL
Spencer Hall (EDSBS.com)
FULMER CUPDATE: THE PENULTIMATE SCOREBOARD
THE FINAL SECONDS TICKING OFF THE CLOCK. A notable first is upon us: the first Switzer Slam, the possession of the National Title, Heisman, and Fulmer Cup by one team in the span of a single year. This is truly new ground for the Fulmer Cup, but don’t give Auburn all the credit. This would have been impossible without K2, some truly terrible decisionmaking by young, possibly potpourri-addled young men in need of cash, and the zealous prosecutors of Lee County who showered each of the accused in Auburn’s home invasion with an avalanche of points-rich felony charges. No champions without team; no teams without committed individuals.
Barring Georgia’s entire team going out and getting one count of disorderly conduct each from the pesky hand of the Athens PD, this is over. (And Georgia’s saving all their disorderly conduct for their defensive downs against Boise on Saturday night! Wocka Grantham wocka!)
MULTIMEDIA/PODCAST
Gopack.com
Inside Wolfpack Sports
In today’s episode, Don Shea visits with Preseason All-ACC Tight End George Bryan after practice.
We have a special guest who joins us in the first segment of Episode 16: Chandler Thompson, the newly elected Student Body President at NC State, stops by to discuss several athletic-related items. We spend a good bit discussing the new student ticketing policy that hopes to solve a lot of the angst the old policies created by rewarding those students who are the most loyal while punishing those who are habitual game-skippers. She also fills us in on the latest with the “Coaches Corner,” the memorial zone that will soon feature busts of Case, Sloan and Valvano to go alongside the one currently honoring Kay Yow.
Chuck Amato joins us in the second segment via Skype. We talk scheduling philosophy and the importance of building quality depth to shelter your team against the inevitable injuries that every team faces.
And in the last segment, we piggyback on the conversation Chuck began about schedules, depth and managing the team’s emotions heading into the first game. We also give our thoughts on what we’re hoping to see from this week’s game.
JUST FOR FUN
One of the best things about college football is the scenery…and I’m not talking about Pine Trees. Check out #9.
Bleacher Report
College Football 2011: Hottest Fanbase Video Countdown
The hottest coeds live in Austin. The University of Texas is No. 1.
Well, that’s what every Longhorn wants to hear. Oregon would disagree. So would USC. And that’s not even considering the SEC.
Playboy has their crappy version of the girls of whoever, but who trusts Playboy? The world is Maxim, not Hefner. Every school has hot girls, but which college fanbase really is chock full of good-looking girls?
