Football: Wolfpackers saw it coming; is there more ahead?

Tom O’Brien’s 2012 Wolfpack laid an egg of epic proportions last Saturday afternoon. The 33-6 loss to previously winless (in the ACC) Virginia is one of those losses that live with the die-hard fanbase forever — Click Here for more.

No matter how perplexing, Saturday’s loss (unfortunately) did not come as a total surprise to StateFans.

Last week before the game SFN opened a poll on our front page asking readers to choose the remaining game that the Wolfpack would lose from a subset of Virginia, Wake Forest, and Boston College? At first blush, I can understand such a poll feeling a little callous. We promoted the poll on our twitter account and immediately received a tweet from 99.9’s Adam Gold asking with incredulity if we were serious?

Well, pardon me for being an NC State fan, and being astute enough to raise the topic. As an NC State fan with over 40 years of personal experience and pain please allow me to ask you now — were we serious?

Hell, not only were we serious but we were pretty spot on!

I thought the vote distribution in our poll were interesting enough to share It is interesting that the votes prior to Saturday shook out with only 10% to 15% of State fans choosing Virginia as the team State would lose to before the end of the season. Wake Forest held the overwhelming majority of votes at about 65% to 70%, followed by Boston College with a tally that that was similar to the Cavs.

So, before the Virginia debacle last Saturday the most educated Wolfpackers that we know predicted that Wake Forest had the highest probability to trip up the Wolfpack in Raleigh. The Demon Deacons come to town Carter-Finley Stadium this weekend. Do you think the loss to Virginia was enough to snap the Wolfpack back into gear?

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43 Responses to Football: Wolfpackers saw it coming; is there more ahead?

  1. Codebrown 11/08/2012 at 9:44 AM #

    We have a football team?

  2. rtpack24 11/08/2012 at 10:12 AM #

    As someone has already pointed out we have not played a good entire game all season. We have one win against a D1 program with a winning record. We have over 30 pre snap penalities. It is my understanding that there is a tremedous amount of confusion on the defense on what sets we are supposed to be in pre snap. TOB stated before the season we could beat every team on our schedule. We are average at best with not a bright future. Bible’s offense is as predictable as the sunrise, yet we never seem to change anything. The only time our offense was unpredictable was when RW took off on his own. Thank God b-ball season is here!

  3. Khan 11/08/2012 at 10:52 AM #

    We have an antiquated style, an emotionless staff, and a stale recruiting philosophy. We’re analogue players in a digital world, to pull an Ocean’s 13 quote.

    Until we upgrade and modernize, this will be as good as it gets… the 6-9 win, mediocre bowl bid program.

    Questions are:

    1) Is this good enough for you? If so, then have a Coke and a smile and go back to your TPS reports. If not, then we’re justified in asking for a change.

    and

    2) Is this the best we can expect at NC State? If you believe that, then why even try in the first place? I don’t think it is and don’t think we should just have to be content with world-class mediocrity.

    We can do better. We should want it. We should expect it. We should demand it. We can do better.

  4. ryebread 11/08/2012 at 11:27 AM #

    I will admit. I honestly didn’t see that loss coming. I thought we’d had our WTF loss against Miami and that the games on the schedule that were in the poll were so easy that we’d win them all. Heck, if that poll would have had “we will win all our remaining home games” then I’d have picked that.

    I should have been smarter. We’ve really only played well for at most two quarters a game (outside of FSU). It’s starting to look like FSU was our WTF outlier game — not any of the losses.

  5. Pack78 11/08/2012 at 11:48 AM #

    ^^Khan-TPS reports LOL-so does that make TOB Bill Lumbergh in essence?

  6. Khan 11/08/2012 at 12:26 PM #

    ^ Um….yeeaahhh. 🙂 We’re gonna go ahead and ask him to move on down to Storage B….

  7. eas 11/08/2012 at 12:47 PM #

    Talking about playing style, remember when TOB changed RW’s playing style to be more of a pocket passer? We really struggled and finally RW started scrambling again (thank goodness). My point is it seems TOB and Co do not recognize a players strength very well. Or maybe they do and refuse to use it as they should. Play and shape your game to YOUR TEAM in a given season.

    I think with TOB you have one game plan and it is up to the players to fit in that role/plan. If they don’t perform we’ll then it is their fault. That is truly old school and I respect it. However, the game has changed and you MUST play to the strength of your players. Which means the offense and defense could look completely different every year if it needs to be. The days of recruiting one style of player for one style of play are long gone at this level.

  8. 61Packer 11/08/2012 at 1:22 PM #

    eas and primewolf pretty much nailed it about our coaching situation. and eas is right about the WF game being loseable. I remember the season they came over here and beat us with 3 FGs from the 50-yard line.

    I also remember 1963. Unlike Adventuroo, however, my only game attended that season was, ironically, with a youth group over in Chapel Hill. I remember cheering lustily that afternoon for Clemson, who won 11-7. Some things are worth remembering!

  9. 61Packer 11/08/2012 at 1:24 PM #

    The Maryland game SHOULD have been our WTF game. But Murphy has a way of evening things out, which happened last Saturday.

  10. TeufelWolf 11/08/2012 at 2:30 PM #

    Maybe FSU was our WTF game.

  11. eas 11/08/2012 at 3:04 PM #

    I’m sorry but I just can’t get past how the TOB staff doesn’t take advantage of the attributes these kids offer…..

    Glennon: consistently better in a no huddle offense, a giraffe with a cannon and plays to his ability in a run and gun offense. But yet we continue to go away from this.

    RW: (still relevant I think) A true play maker, leader and scramble QB. Excellent decision maker and best suited for run and gun offense. Same story here….TOB literally forced him to stay in the pocket for nearly 2 years trying to make him a pocket passer.

    We lack size in comparison to almost every team we play but yet try to play BIG, particularly on offense (slow developing plays in which we rely on on our O-line). Great in theory but you need a massive line with talent to accomplish that.

    Lastly, even cocky Saban has some freaking emotion from time to time. How will our players ever be motivated with a coaching staff taking a nap and sipping lemonade on the sidelines.

  12. WuffDad 11/08/2012 at 3:21 PM #

    Not to worry. The answers to all of our problems lie just under the grass along the sidelines. That’s why TOB spends so much time with his head down, arms folded and brushing the grass back and forth with his foot. He will find it one day n have a little faith.

  13. Wulfpack 11/08/2012 at 4:26 PM #

    Saban has tons of emotion. If one of his guys or units screw up he meets them right there on the sideline and let’s them know it. He is all business.

  14. wolfpack4ever 11/08/2012 at 6:41 PM #

    Eas,

    “I think with TOB you have one game plan and it is up to the players to fit in that role/plan. If they don’t perform we’ll then it is their fault. That is truly old school and I respect it. However, the game has changed and you MUST play to the strength of your players. Which means the offense and defense could look completely different every year if it needs to be. ”

    Herb Sendek says hi, remember me!

  15. eas 11/08/2012 at 7:17 PM #

    Lol! So very true…..

  16. MISTA WOLF 11/08/2012 at 7:54 PM #

    eas,

    I’m in the same boat you are man both of us paddling into the unknown abyss, not knowing which N.C. State football team is going to show up each Saturday. I’m a young Wolfpacker like you (28), and I guess the performance bothers me more because I played college football and lean more towards that sport than anything else. I know historically we are a basketball school, but while some of my beloved brethren are ready to move on to basketball and forget football, I just can’t seem to get over the crap that I seen on the field versus Virginia. I could see us losing out, but I also could see us winning out. Hopefully, O’Brien gets this figured out and sees what disservice he’s providing to himself, his team, the school, the faculty, the students and of course the blogging red faithful. If not hopefully Yow is playing phone tag with some hungry coach who realizes what facilities , utilities, proud university and fan base is awaiting him if he were to step in and take the job.

  17. ADVENTUROO 11/08/2012 at 8:54 PM #

    I pulled out a T-Shirt to put on under a biking shirt. It was RED….the front said….NC State Football. The back said….The Pack is BACK. I started to write on it, UNFORTUNATELY……

    It is the SAME Pack since 1979….the year of the PSU loss with a 60+ YD FG….

    WF will be interesting…..

  18. PackerInRussia 11/09/2012 at 1:52 AM #

    I think we need a coach that recruits will really be drawn too. Someone hip and cool, but who has still had lots of experience, so not too young.
    My vote: Snoop Dogg.

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