September 21, 2011
NC STATE FOOTBALL
JP Giglio (N&O)
Wolfpack’s Manning will miss 3 weeks
Gentry, who began his career as a walk-on, isn’t the first blocking back to be ignored in O’Brien’s offense. In 14 seasons and three games as a head coach, O’Brien hasn’t had a fullback run the ball.
A graduate of Raleigh’s Leesville Road High, Gentry said he has a dream about his first rushing attempt, which O’Brien hints on a weekly basis is going to happen this season. Gentry said he envisions a long run for a touchdown at Carter-Finley Stadium.“My plan is to go into the tunnel and throw the ball out and not come back,” Gentry said. “It’s just a dream right now.”
JP Giglio (N&O)
Homecoming for O’Brien, national spotlight for Wolfpack
N.C. State’s road trip to Cincinnati is a chance for the Wolfpack to play in the national spotlight and also for coach Tom O’Brien, and several of his players and assistants, to go home.
O’Brien grew up in Cincinnati and played high school football at St. Xavier. Offensive coordinator Dana Bible followed O’Brien at St. Xavier and played cornerback for the Bearcats in the mid-1970s and coached at UC and in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Assistants Don Horton and Jim Bridge are also from the city and there are seven current Wolfpack players from the state of Ohio, including three from Cincinnati.
“It’s always fun to go home,” O’Brien said.
Associated Press
O’Brien Brings N.C. State Team Home To Cincinnati
Akula Wolf (Backingthepack.com)
Cincinnati Items
The Sports Xchange
TSX: Wolfpack Still Figuring Itself Out
GoPack.com
Tuesday Football Notebook
Jacey Zembal (TheWolfpacker.com)
Cincinnati almost identical to last year
Cincinnati has added some new wrinkles: NC State hasn’t face the Wildcat formation this season, but the Bearcats have dabbled with the formation. Backup quarterback Jordan Luallen often comes in to run the football and has nine carries for 53 yards and a touchdown.
Starting quarterback Zach Collaros is a gifted scrambler himself, but by having Luallen run the Wildcat, the Bearcats are giving Collaros a chance to stay fresher later in games.
“There is always a challenge with the Wildcat,” O’Brien said. “In a lot of cases, it’s not an extensive package, but you have to understand what they do out of it, and why they do it.”
ACC FOOTBALL
Brett Friedlander (starnewsonline.com)
ACC REPORT CARD: Better late than never
N.C. State, B-: It’s hard to tell how much improvement the Wolfpack really showed against an opponent playing just the 20th game in its football history. But there were some signs that should give coach Tom O’Brien and his staff some reason for hope as they approach the most difficult part of their schedule starting with Thursday night’s game atCincinnati. QB Mike Glennon continued to show his growth by hitting on 17 of 20 passes for274 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. T.J. Graham continued to show that he can be just as effective as a WR as he is as a kick returner and the RB tandem of James Washington and Curtis Underwood Jr. combined to rush for104 yards while the defense picked off a pair of passes and yielded a much more respectable 286 total yards. There were also, however, some ominous signs in the 35-17 win. There were the three lost fumbles that helped prevent State from pulling away from its clearly outclassed opponent. There was also the fact thatUSA won the time-of-possession battle by nearly five minutes. And then there was the injury to LB Terrell Manning, which will cost the Wolfpack yet another top defensive player on a unit already racked by injuries.
Tim Hall (WRALSportsFan.com)
Cutcliffe hopes changes result in a yearly date with N.C. State
In the midst of a game week, Duke head football coach David Cutcliffe spared a few minutes to discuss the major news that the ACC accepted Pitt and Syracuse as the 13th and 14th members. Cutcliffe called the “inevitable move” great for the conference and he agrees that ultimately the ACC will be a 16-team league.
The expansion provides potential for the ACC to split into North and South divisions. And if it does there’s one rival Cutcliffe would definitely love to see on the schedule every year.
“It’s a chance for us maybe to play N.C. State every year, which I would be all for,” Cutcliffe told Mark and Mike, The Insiders, on 620 The Buzz Tuesday. “You know we’re going to go to nine conference games in this circumstance. Who knows what it brings in that regard but we’ll just line up and play whatever it brings. I’m just excited about it.”
MULTIMEDIA/PODCASTS
Riddick & Reynolds
R&R Podcast: Episode 19 (Now with 100% More Dave Odom!)
Episode 19 is just another typical Riddick & Reynolds Podcast episode: The ACC goes from 12 to 14 teams in 36 hours, Chuck gives us his thoughts on expansion and South Alabama, and a new intro for the ever-popular Sniff Ratings is unveiled.
Oh, and DAVE FREAKING ODOM sits in on the podcast! That’s right: former Wake Forest basketball coach Dave Odom, in town meeting with Mark Gottfried and his staff, stopped by Amedeo’s before leaving town for Winston-Salem, so we humbly begged him for a few moments of his time and he graciously agreed. He joins us after Chuck’s second segment and waxes poetic on the ACC of old, expansion and his memories of Reynolds Coliseum.
To say it was an honor is an understatement.
GoPack.com
Inside Wolfpack Sports
In today’s episode, Don Shea updates Wolfpack fans on where former State football players are currently playing in the NFL.
WRALSportsfan.com
Taylor Gentry: Thursday’s a bigger stage
NC State’s fullback Taylor Gentry said they want to show the world who NC State football is Thursday against Cincinnati.
WRALSportsfan.com
Markus Kuhn: We have to set the tone
NCSU defensive tackle Markus Kuhn said they will have to set the tone in their game against Cincinnati Thursday.
WRALSportsfan.com
Ovies: No real surprises in response
Joe Ovies of 99.9 the Fan ESPN Radio says that there were not many surprises in UNC’s response to the NCAA Monday, but more penalties may be added.
WRAL
Owens: UNC students ready to move past football investigation
Students at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill say the NCAA investigation into the school’s football program has tarnished its academic integrity.
WRALSportsfan.com
Tom O’Brien previews Cincinnati
Tom O’Brien talks about Thursday’s game with Cincinnati and conference expansion.
WRALSportsfan.com
NCSU DT Marcus Kuhn previews Cincinnati
NCSU Defensive lineman Marcus Kuhn says his team is struggling with injuries as they get ready for Thursday’s game with Cincinnati. He also answers a question in German.
Jim Young (ACC Sports Journal)
The ACCSports.com Podcast, Sept. 20
I’ve always admired the Syracuse blog, Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician, but I’d never really had much of a reason to have its creator, Sean Keeley, on the podcast. Well, I guess I could have had him on to break down the Wake-Syracuse game earlier this season … actually that just proves my point.
But that all changed over the weekend when the ACC added Syracuse and Pittsburgh to the fold, expanding the conference to 14 teams. So I took the opportunity to call up Sean and get his thoughts on the whole affair.
Among the things Sean and I discussed:
• Are Syracuse fans happy about the move? Sad? Relieved?
• If given the choice, would he rather be in the Big Ten, or the ACC?
• Which current ACC team, aside from Boston College, is the best candidate to become a new rival for the Orange?
• Can Jim Boeheim perform the role of ACC coaching curmudgeon and fill the void left by Gary Williams’ retirement?
David Glenn (ACC Sports Journal)
David Glenn Chats With Dick Baddour, Sept. 21
David Glenn recently caught up with UNC Athletics Director Dick Baddour on Glenn’s afternoon radio show to talk about the university’s self-imposed sanctions.
Among the topics they discussed: the factors you have to take into consideration when self-imposing penalties; what impact response time and how you react to the situation has on how the NCAA handles your case; how much North Carolina took past precedent from the NCAA into account when formulating its response; and what UNC fans can expect to happen between now and December or January, when the NCAA will likely make its decision on what penalties UNC will face.
Yahoo! Sports Radio
John Swofford- ACC is in no rush to get to 16 teams
WRALSportsfan.com
UNC targeting South Carolina AD Eric Hyman
WRAL has learned the University of North Carolina is targeting South Carolina athletic director Eric Hyman to replace Dick Baddour.
CONFERENCE EXPANSION
Barry Jacobs (ACC Sports Journal)
Jacobs On Expansion: Here We Go Again
The details emerged suddenly. But, given the current climate in college athletics, the inevitability of ACC expansion, like the truths it revealed, was obvious.
Equally obvious is the disrespect paid those who cherish the ACC and its traditions. If you count yourself in that camp, the world has passed you by. If you didn’t know before that your concerns are no longer influential, you certainly should know it now.
PETE THAMEL – NEW YORK TIMES
Pac-12 staying at 12
With two unexpected plot twists emerging Tuesday in the drawn-out drama of conference realignment, the turbulent world of college athletics has suddenly appeared to stabilize.
Late Tuesday night, the Pac-12 released a statement saying it would remain a 12-team conference. That decision severely limits the options of Big 12 universities like Texas and Oklahoma, which had been considering moves.
“After careful review, we have determined that it is in the best interests of our member institutions, student-athletes and fans to remain a 12-team conference,” Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott said in the statement.
UNC FALLOUT
Ken Tysiac (N&O)
UNC shares documents in NCAA probe
Documents released to the public Tuesday in connection with the NCAA’s investigation of the University of North Carolina shed light on some of the impermissible benefits received by football players at the school.
Flight records show employees of a financial advising company called Pro Sports Financial paying for plane flights by former defensive tackle Marvin Austin on at least two occasions.
Jeffrey Rubin, president of the company, paid $146.70 for Austin to fly from Raleigh-Durham to Baltimore-Washington on May 7, 2010, according to records. An Austin flight from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Raleigh-Durham on March 14, 2010, worth $237.40 was paid for by Crystal Sheffield, records show.
She is an executive assistant in charge of flight and hotel arrangements for Pro Sports Financial, according to the firm’s website. Documents also show a Colin Keeler is identified as purchasing flights for Austin on two occasions; his association with Austin is unclear.
Brett Friedlander (starnewsonline.com)
Expect NCAA to spank UNC harder than self-imposed sanctions
My wife grew up in rural South Carolina at a time in which corporal punishment was still considered a form of discipline rather than child abuse.
Spankings in her house were a particular deterrent to bad behavior because of the twist her mother put into the process.
Instead of just paddling her two brothers, her mom would make the offending parties go outside and bring back their own switch.
Inevitably the kids would come back with a small twig that wouldn’t inflict much discomfort, forcing her to fetch one much more suitable for the task at hand.
I tell you this story because that’s exactly what the University of North Carolina did Monday by self-imposing sanctions on its football program for committing nine major NCAA violations.
Associated Press
Spurrier: South Carolina not in serious trouble with NCAA
WUNCRAL Sports
Erin Summers (WRALSportsfan.com)
Is the NCAA being fair?
It’s tricky business, and one player will tell you he doesn’t think it’s fair.
Former Tar Heel safety Deunta Williams joined Adam and Joe on 99.9FM The Fan ESPN radio Tuesday and had a lot to say on the topic of the investigation, response to the NOA and self imposed sanctions.
“If you take a microscope, the same microscope that they did with us, and look at every team in the NCAA, I guarantee it will shake up the foundation that we have right now. There are a lot of teams out there that are doing a lot worse than we’re doing,” Williams said. “O-State, Miami their guy goes on record snitches on every player that was good there. It seems like it gets brushed under the bridge a little bit. Every time we turned around, our names and our families were getting questioned, everything was on ESPN. It just seems like its not fair, and I understand that guys broke the rules and they deserved what happened but it just seems like the magnitude that they went at Carolina these past two years was a little crazy.”
Tim Hall (WRALSportsfan.com)
Once again the Wolfpack leave me unimpressed
If I learned anything from Week 3 of the college football season I don’t know if I learned it at the N.C. State-South Alabama game. I know that people total overreacted by saying the Butch Davis firing and the timing of it would “torch the season”. Yeah, they’re in real bad shape over there in Chapel Hill at 3-0 aren’t they? And Duke needed to catch a lucky break to get its first win of the season.
