Less than 24 hours after I wrote this piece, Frank Dascenzo of the Herald Sun helps support my point (just a little bit) with a few stray statements in his article this morning, “Amato still needs a title.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not offering a huge complaint here. The article is full of great statistics and records, and factual information. (Interesting timing after VaWolf ran his awesome piece of NC State Football History 101.) I understand that if you look hard enough for something to complain about then you are likely to find something; I just thought that there were a couple of things that Dascenzo could have done a little better in his article.
First…the good stuff. I think that Dascenzo’s overall summary of what Amato needs to help create a little more breathing room is a pretty accurate representation of the situation:
What Amato needs in ’06 is to finish better than fourth in the ACC, a win at UNC on Nov. 18 and avoid another early season slump. It will not be easy. A Sept. 16 game at Southern Mississippi would be dangerous for any ACC team, and Boston College and FSU are games No. 4 and No. 5.
I’ll generally go with that^ (along with a win over ECU) except I’m not quite as stringent on the “finish BETTER than 4th in the ACC”. Considering how good Clemson is expected to be this season and the general make-up of the “NEW” ACC…I don’t think that a 4th place finish would be unacceptable for such a young team that has as many questions as the Wolfpack heading into the season.
My biggest complaint is with what Dascenzo didn’t share in some of his comparative numbers (and implied conclusions). For example, he wants to compare Amato’s ACC record to that of Mike O’Cain. That makes a little sense as it is always good to use historical results of the program as a benchmark.
Just under the photograph of Amato is the caption “The Amato Era,” which includes his 46-28 (.622) overall record. What it does not report is that Amato-coached N.C. State is 23-25 in the ACC, and that’s exactly what O’Cain’s record was in the ACC during his first six seasons. None of Amato’s teams have been able to finish higher than fourth in the conference, and don’t think that doesn’t terribly bother Wolfpack fans.
But, Dascenzo knows that any such direct comparison would be made significantly more valuable by a clarifying statement (asterick) that makes mention of the new ACC. Mike O’Cain’s ACC record did not include four games against Virginia Tech, Miami and Boston College. Some of you pie-in-theskiers can fool yourself into thinking that MOC might have been able to win some of those games. You people weren’t sitting in the same stands (both in Raleigh and on the road) as I was during those years. Additionally, O’Cain’s record had the luxury of including two extra games against lowly Duke that Amato has not enjoyed.
This all adds up to a six game difference in comparative ACC records.
Maybe that is one of the reasons some boo Amato at the RBC Center when his face shows up on the big screen at a Hurricanes game.
This is just absurb. 20,000 Hurricanes fans are all supposed to be NC State fans because we share the same building? Friggin Roy Williams was also booed (louder) than Amato. I can’t wait to see the mention and the article about how Carolina fans are sour on Roy Williams because he was booed at a pro hockey game. How was this comment even allowed in this piece
It’s always a good question to ask any N.C. State football coach: When will his team win an ACC championship?
Why is that a good question to ask any NC STATE football coach? Why is that not a good question to ask ANY football coach? Someone remind me…was Frank Dascenzo asking Herb Sendek when will his team win an ACC championship? Just curious about the consistency here.
Again, please don’t read this with the presumption that I am going overboard in criticizing Dascenzo. His work is pretty damn stellar. Just a few perspectives on some of his comments. Thanks!
