There’s been some shakeup in the Football program over the past few days after our humiliating defeat at the hands of a very good Mississippi State squad in the Belk Bowl. Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada was given his walking papers while folks wondered, out loud, why Defensive Coordinator Dave Huxtable wasn’t given the same.
After the great ending of the 2014 football season with a convincing bowl win against Central Florida, the Wolfpack seemed to have momentum going into QB Jacoby Brissett’s final year. That 8-5 season ending mixed with a really soft schedule for 2015 seemed to set the stage for getting the Football program firmly in the right direction.
Then 2015 happened.
Jacoby Brissett was a shell of what he was in 2014.
The soft schedule seemed difficult to manage – even the cupcakes gave us a run for our money
Multiple problems with star running back Shadrach Thorton got him dismissed.
Talented running back Matt Dayes missed half the season with an injury – the harder second half.
We couldn’t get our most talented player Jaylen Samuels enough touches.
Passing plays over the middle of the field were treated like hot lava.
The defense was serviceable at times and a train-wreck during others.
The defensive line couldn’t get pressure on the QB opening up our susceptible secondary to big plays – and a lot of them
And on… and on… and on… So how do we fix them?
I won’t play Monday morning quarterback and tell head coach Dave Doeren what he has to do. He’s more qualified for that job than I will ever be. But I do have one mandate and I think I speak for all of Wolfpack nation.
WIN A DAMN GAME THAT MATTERS
The Wolfpack has a horrid record against Power 5 opponents in Dave Doeren’s tenure. It seems we beat the teams we’re supposed to and lose to the teams that matter. That’s a change from Wolfpack days of yore where the Wolfpack would always have the Top-25 upset and the baffling WTF loss the following week. As a matter of a fact, SFN tweeted this shortly after our bowl loss.
Top 25 wins through 1st 3 years:
Doeren – 0
TOB – 3
Amato – 3
MOC – 5
Sheridan – 5
Reed – 1
Kiffin – 0
Rein – 1
Holtz – 3— statefansnation (@statefansnation) December 31, 2015
Doreen's Top 6 wins in 3 years:
UNC (14)
UCF (14)
Syracuse (14 / 15)
C. Michigan (13)
Boston College (15)This is a sad tweet.
— statefansnation (@statefansnation) December 31, 2015
The strange twist of irony is that had we beat Louisville and Virginia Tech mid-season, we likely would’ve ended up with the same Bowl spot that we got. In an alternate universe, we win those two games and play Mississippi State in the Belk Bowl and either win or at least show up and the situation is quite different.
Dave Doeren is making some much needed moves. Canada being shown the door before Huxtable seems curious, but there’s no denying that Brissett regressed. I would have preferred to see more of Jalan McClendon this year knowing we have to break in a completely fresh quarterback with a much more difficult schedule next year. Given a new offensive scheme, perhaps we can get Jaylen Samuels more looks. A Jalan / Jaylen combo could be fun.
The defense is in need of deep repair. I’m not sure if the carousel is over yet, so we’ll hold tight and see what happens.
But the bottom line is this: I pay my LTRs. I pay my Wolfpack Club dues. I’m growing weary of the same result year after year after year. Wolfpack Nation is great and we deserve to win a few games that matter. And we deserve it soon.
