oh yeah...about that State-Cincinnati game on Thursday...

State got crushed 44-14.  The defense was ineffective and really felt the loss of 4 starters to injury.   The Bearcats piled up 503 total yards on the Wolfpack defense.

State's offense was rendered one-dimensional.  State rushed for -22 yards on the game.  Nobody on the team had  positive yards for the game. A late scramble by Mike Glennon for 12 yards surpassed the previous game long run of 4 yards.

Glennon was 25-36 for 336 yards.  He had 2 TDs and 2 INTs.  T.J. Graham caught 7 balls for 176 yards and both TDs.

Glennon was sacked 6 times.  He's just not very mobile and State's offensive line is not that good.  Glennon is neutralized if he doesn't have time to hit his receivers.  He's not going to have that time if State can't run at all, so the defense can look pass, set themselves up in 3rd-and-long, and blitz, blitz, blitz.

State fell to 2-2 on the season.  I don't see anything in the team that points to anything better than a 5 win team, maybe 6 for a minimal bowl bid if they're lucky. 

Would Russell Wilson fare any better?  Probably just a bit since his legs can make some plays as things collapse around him better than Glennon can.  With a new receiving corp and an anemic running game Wilson could probably get them to 7 wins.

So hey good for you moving on to get some deserved limelight Wilson.  He led State to a 9 win season, second highest in school history, and a bowl win last year.  That was as far as he could take them.  I see a lean year next year too unless they can fix the offensive line to be able to have a rushing game that could  approach 100 yards a game against FBS competion.

well, NC State looks terrible on national TV

They're getting trounced at Cincinnati, 34-7....okay make that 34-14, as TJ Graham just caught a 49 yard TD pass, his second of the game.

But State is too one dimensional.  They have no running game.  Their longest run of the game is 4 yards.  Mike Glennon isn't playing badly, but since the offense is pass pass pass, the rush is getting to Glennon.  They're either taking him down or rushing him.

NC State rolled over South Alabama yesterday

Mike Glennon was 17-20 for 294 yards and 4 TDs yesterday as State rolled over South Alabama 35-3.

TJ Graham had 5 catches for 128 yards, including a 64 yard TD.  Taylor Gentry also caught 2 short TD passes.

James Washington carried the ball 16 times for 54 yards and a TD.  Curtis Underwood also carried 10 times for 50 yards and caught an 18 yard TD pass.

State mounted a comeback but it fell short

State finally opened up the offense in the second half and stretched the field.  They mounted a comeback but a fourth down pass in Wake Forest territory fell incomplete to end the comeback.  Mike Glennon found a rhythm finally.  He completed 24-41 passes for 315. He had 3 TDs and 1 interception.  State rolled the dice on 4th and 10 from their own 36.  Glennon found TJ Graham wide open for a 63 yard TD.  Graham caught 6 balls for 119 yards.  He also had a kickoff return for a TD called back for a block in the back.  It looks like State may have found the big play weapon in the passing game.   Tobias Palmer also had a 65 yard TD and 96 yards overall.

George Bryan also caught 3 balls for 40 yards and a TD.  However he had a couple bid drops, including a what would have been a first down on the third down that preceded the final 4th down.  He's had more drops than catches through 2 games.  That inexplicable since he's so sure handed, including one great one handed leaping catch today over the top of a defender.

The final was 34-27.  Despite the loss State at least look like they have an idea of what they want to do in the passing game.  They need to work on their third down conversions.  5-14 in this game hurt them.   They also need to work on being overly aggressive to the ball on defense.  They got hurt on a reverse and a reverse - wide receiver option pass for a long TD.  Over-pursuit in both cases led to huge plays.

In game observation: NC State at Wake Forest

State's defense is being confused by Wake Forest's misdirection and crossing routes.  State's moved the ball at times but have had to settle for field goals.  State has 125 yards of total offense.  They're down 20-6.  They're lucky to be that close.  The defense stiffened a couple times to hold Wake to field goals.

State's offense doesn't look good.  The new quarterback and new receiving corps just isn't clicking.  Mike Glennon is 8-12 for 52 yards at the half.

NC State's season opener was The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good:  State pulled away from Liberty in the second  half and won 43-21.   They did it with some defense and special teams.  State had 4 interceptions and recovered 3 fumbles.  Liberty's mobile quarterback tossed 3 of those INTs and lost all 3 fumbles, one of which was returned 52 yards for a Wolfpack TD.  TJ Graham also had an 82 yard punt return for a TD in the first half.

Curtis Underwood carried 14 times for 114 yards and a TD.  James Washington carried 14 times for 67 yards and 2 TDs.  State was finally able to wear down Liberty's defensive line in the second half and ripped open big gains on the ground, especially in the 4th quarter.

The Bad:  All of this was against Liberty, an FCS divison team. Even though they are the 4 time reigning Big South champions it's still an FSC team.  Liberty outgained NC State 406-318.  It was Liberty's defense that was more aggressive throughout, dialing up blitzes and getting pressure on Mike Glennon who seemed immobile and slow to release the ball in the pocket, and not feel the pressure.  He got drilled from the blind side a couple times, one of which forced a fumble that Liberty returned for a TD.

The Ugly:  Mike Glennon was 18-31 for 156 yards with 1 TD and no interceptions in his first career start.  He was rushed and harassed by the Liberty pressure and seemed out of sync with his receivers.

State's kicker missed an extra point and had a second one blocked.

State won it but they have Wake Forest next week at Wake.  They have alot to improve on or they'll get beat handily.

In game observation: Liberty at NC State

NC State is making Liberty's defense look like Nebraska.  I realize that Mike Glennon is not Russell Wilson, but the offense is just not dynamic.  Receivers aren't getting into space to get open.  State's offensive sets just aren't generating any misdirection or confusion in Liberty's defense.   Everything is rushed.  Most everything is into coverage.  The running game is non-existent.  The loss of Jarvis Williams and Spencer Owen seems to be a huge problem in addition to the quarterback change.

In game observation: Liberty at NC State

A bit over a quarter does not a season make.  However in this early stage it looks like defenses are going to be dialing up the blitzes on Mike Glennon while he stands in the pocket like a statue.  Liberty dialed up another corner blitz and got to Glennon again.  That time it was a hit from the blindside that he never saw.  The result was a fumble, returned for a TD by Liberty.  It's 7-3 Liberty.

In Game Update: Liberty at NC State

Early on in NC State's season debut it looks like State hasn't practiced.  Mike Glennon started 2-6 for 19 yards.  They didn't get a first down until their 3rd drive, and that was on a 16 yard third down scramble by Glennon.

It's been Glennon throws into double coverage and 1 yard and a cloud of dust for the running game.  Liberty on the other hand has moved the ball but stalled in the red zone.  Their defense has blitzed and gotten pressure on Glennon, including a sack on a corner blitz.

Russell Wilson will be a Wisconsin Badger

Russell Wilson has decided to use is one year of football eligibility at Wisconsin. He left the Asheville Tourists on Monday, meaning that is baseball career is on hold for sure for at least a year. Colorado is keeping his draft rights however.

I wish Wilson the best. He's going to add a dynamic element to an already talented Wisconsin team. I'll be sad to see him torment Michigan next year.

I'd say with the fall of Ohio State, Wisconsin is probably the favorite in the Big Ten now, and this may elevate them to a national championship contender.

Russell Wilson is visiting Auburn

Wilson is considering transferring to Auburn for his remaining year of football eligibility. That would be a win-win for both parties I would say. Auburn has a lot of offensive pieces back for an offense that was build around Cam Newton, who was a similar style quarterback. Newton is significantly bigger and more physical than Wilson, so he can run through as well as around people. Wilson also is not going to absorb some of those big hits the way Newton could. On the other hand, Auburn almost certainly has a much better offensive line than NC State, giving Wilson more time to make big plays with either his legs or arms.

Auburn, being Auburn and the reigning national champion, almost certainly has another big time QB recruit coming. They need a high quality veteran to bridge that gap with the loss of Newton to the NFL (though I'm sure that didn't coming as a stunning outcome). Wilson has one year left. Hell, he's a good kid. He deserves a shot at being in a national title hunt, something that's not happening next year for NC State for sure, if it ever does at all.

the "pretty much official" became "official" today

Russell Wilson was granted his release from NC State today. He's graduated and in the NC State graduate program. He's also playing baseball with the Asheville Tourists right now.

But he does have one year of football eligibility left if he wanted to use it.

It's been expected that Mike Glennon will be State's new starting QB to open the season, but Russell Wilson and NC State wanted to officially end any distraction about "will he or won't he come back" talk.

Wilson ends his State career 5th all-time in passing yards, essentially in 2 years of being a full time starter. He's 3rd in career touchdown passes. His 31 TD passes in a season is second only to Philip Rivers. He's got the 5th most passing years in any season in Wolfpack history. 3 of the 4 ahead of him are from Philip Rivers. He finishes up second to Rivers in QB Passing Efficiency Rating, and 3rd all time for total touchdowns responsible for.

Wilson will cast a pretty long shadow. He's #2 to Rivers in terms of best NC State quarterbacks since I've been paying attention to State.

State had some lean years finding a good QB after Rivers. Hopefully it won't take as long this time around before the position is out of shaky hands.

Thanks for everything Russell. I don't fault you one bit for wanting to give a professional baseball career a try. That's the better career path if it's an option.

a neat little tidbit

I just read that (former?) NC State quarterback Russell Wilson has received his first minor league assignment from the Rockies. He'll be starting the season playing second base for the Asheville Tourists.

bad but unsurprising news for the NC State football team

Tom O'Brien announced today that Russell Wilson will be attending Colorado Rockies training camp in the spring. He doesn't expect him back and is moving forward as if Mike Glennon will be the starting QB next season. Wilson has not said that he's NOT coming back, but they're presuming he will not be returning.

NC State finished the college football season ranked in the Top 25

After beating West Virginia in the Champs bowl to finish 9-4, State finished 25th in the final Top 25 poll. Auburn is of course #1 and TCU finished behind them at #2.

Pretty successful season for State. They were picked in the division cellar but finished with the second most wins in team history and a Final Top 25 ranking.

man, Maryland is piling it on ECU

It's 50-13. The announcers are playing up the beef they have about their bowl spot. Maryland does have a beef but the announcers have mentioned "a team like NC State that finished below Maryland and lost to them" in terms of teams that got an unjustifiably better bowl.

I admit that Maryland got the short end of the stick a bit. But their fans don't travel well. The fact that they finished ahead of State was a tiebreaker. They had the same record. State also lost a close game. It's not like State was 7-5 or something and lost by 40 to Maryland. Maryland did deserve a better bowl, but State handled the Big East co-champions pretty easily last night, so they too made the statement that they needed to make.

In terms of Maryland taking out their frustrations on the other team, it couldn't happen to a nicer team than ECU (well except for Notre Dame).

NC State beats West Virginia 23-7

In the process they finish the season 9-4, earn Tom O'Brien his 100th career coaching victory, and become the first team all season to score more than 21 points in a game against West Virginia. West Virginia was the last FBS school to have not allowed more than 21 points. Russell Wilson was 28-45 for 276 yards with 2 TDs and no picks. He also rushed for 41 more yards, in what could be his last game for the Pack. I'd be very surprised if it wasn't. He has his baseball contract with Colorado and also graduated in May.

West Virginia turned the ball over 5 times in the second half. State kept setting for red zone field goals and missed a field goal to allow the Mountaineers to hang around. But then West Virginia muffed a punt inside the 10 and State recovered. State finally scored a touchdown when Russell Wilson scrambled for about 10 seconds, avoided 3 arm tackles that about took him down, and finally found Jarvis Williams in the middle of the endzone wide open for the icing score. His previous TD was back in the first quarter to Mustafa Greene out of the backfield.

State never played poorly but couldn't run the ball at times in the fourth when they could have worked the clock. They also dropped a couple big drive extending passes in the second half while the game was still a single digit lead for the Pack.

State finishes 9-4, the second most wins in team history. If this is the end for Wilson he'll go down as the second greatest QB in NC State history, behind only Philip Rivers.

State fans can now feel that Tom O'Brien has achieved what he was brought here to do. But the question will be sustaining it if in fact they have to re-tool with Mike Glennon at QB, a guy with tons of talent but little testing. They'll also experience losses at tight end, wide receiver, and Nate Irving on defense, who will definitely be playing on Sundays next season.

Chammps Sports Bowl

Finally NC State has put the game away, after West Virginia has given them about five changes in the last quarter and a half.

the Chammps Sports Bowl

I think West Virginia just wants it a little less than NC State at this point...

NC State's bowl matchup

NC State will be taking on West Virginia in the Champ's Sports Bowl.  That should be a good matchup.  This is the third time they two teams have matched up in a bowl, following the 1972 and 1975 Peach  Bowls, but the first time they've played since I've been a member of Wolfpack Nation.