Long-time Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden will coach the team in their bowl game (as yet undetermined), and will then hand the reigns over to Jimbo Fisher.
A lackluster 6-6 season hastened Bowden's departure. It was widely believed that he would be the coach in 2010 before Fisher's takeover. Fisher was "coach in waiting", and was due a multi-million dollar payment if he wasn't head coach in 2011.
The FSU administration decided to get on with the rebuilding process, rather than let the legendary Bowden get one more shot at resurrecting the program he built from scratch. Evidently, they don't believe in karma.
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
NC State versus South Carolina
The 2009 college football season gets under way Thursday, in a nationally-televised contest between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the NC State Wolfpack. The game is a rematch of last year's season opener, which saw the Gamecocks win in a rout, 34-0.
I have spent a some time over the last week or so in message board conversations at GamecockAnthem.com, the South Carolina scout.com affiliate. According to most of the fine people there, NCSU shouldn't even bother to take the field. Granted, the people there aren't coaches or players, so there opinions don't matter anymore than mine, but I've never seen a fanbase so convinced that a game is over before it starts.
"johnnyplaid" wrote:
"It should be an easy win for us. We'll probably hold back so as to not give too much away to Georgia, our first real test."
"kickatigerinthearse" wrote:
"Your WR corps is about the 10th best we'll see this season."
It goes on and on.
The most entertaining idea they have come up with is that NC State's offense is not any good. Since South Carolina shut out the Wolfpack, obviously the Wolfpack is no good. Nevermind the firepower that the offense showed down the stretch last season. Forget that Russell Wilson was All-ACC as a redshirt freshman. NC State's offense returns almost everyone from last season, so the most likely occurrence will be that the offense will come out of the gate firing on all cylinders.
I'm not going to suggest that Wilson will only throw one interception. That was a highly unusual event, and isn't likely to repeat. However, Wilson doesn't seem to be the type of QB that is going to make huge mistakes, as some recent NCSU QB's have done. The running game is solid, with a healthy Jemelle Eugene and a rejuvenated Toney Baker. The wide receivers are talented, fast, and experienced.
Most of the time, teams whose lineup is peppered with freshmen and RS-freshmen (or upperclassmen who haven't played a lot) are much better in the last half of the season than they are at the beginning. That's what happened to NCSU last season. Just don't suggest that to a South Carolina fan.
The Gamecocks have (by my non-scientific count) 13 freshmen listed on their two-deep depth chart. 3 RS-FR and 1 true FR will be starting, the other 9 players will be coming off the bench.
South Carolina fans seem to expect that these players will be able to step in and play without any first game jitters. They lost seven players to the NFL draft last year, and will tell you that every player who replaces them is an instant upgrade. They replaced their offensive line coach (among others), and don't expect the line to have any problems adjusting to the new philosophies.
Don't get me wrong. I don't pretend to see things objectively. I do, however, realize that NCSU has some question marks. There are several untested players in the secondary. Audie Cole has to live up to the hype he's been getting at LB, and Dwayne Maddox or Terrell Manning (or both) have to try to fill the gap left by Nate Irving's absence, which will not be easy.
I am very confident in the offense, though. I don't think NC State is going to have problems scoring points against South Carolina. South Carolina has talented players on offense, but they don't have a lot of talented players who have been productive. Their quarterback has had turnover issues (among other issues), and you can't tell if that is solved by preseason scrimmages (right, Daniel Evans?).
To sum up, I think any South Carolina fan expecting anything close to last year's result is in for a rude, rude awakening. This game is a big game for both teams, but it's bigger for NC State. South Carolina is basically playing for 3rd in their division. NC State has its eyes on a bigger prize: a division title, and a chance to win an ACC Championship.
I expect the Wolfpack to win, and I don't think it's going to be a terribly close game.
I have spent a some time over the last week or so in message board conversations at GamecockAnthem.com, the South Carolina scout.com affiliate. According to most of the fine people there, NCSU shouldn't even bother to take the field. Granted, the people there aren't coaches or players, so there opinions don't matter anymore than mine, but I've never seen a fanbase so convinced that a game is over before it starts.
"johnnyplaid" wrote:
"It should be an easy win for us. We'll probably hold back so as to not give too much away to Georgia, our first real test."
"kickatigerinthearse" wrote:
"Your WR corps is about the 10th best we'll see this season."
It goes on and on.
The most entertaining idea they have come up with is that NC State's offense is not any good. Since South Carolina shut out the Wolfpack, obviously the Wolfpack is no good. Nevermind the firepower that the offense showed down the stretch last season. Forget that Russell Wilson was All-ACC as a redshirt freshman. NC State's offense returns almost everyone from last season, so the most likely occurrence will be that the offense will come out of the gate firing on all cylinders.
I'm not going to suggest that Wilson will only throw one interception. That was a highly unusual event, and isn't likely to repeat. However, Wilson doesn't seem to be the type of QB that is going to make huge mistakes, as some recent NCSU QB's have done. The running game is solid, with a healthy Jemelle Eugene and a rejuvenated Toney Baker. The wide receivers are talented, fast, and experienced.
Most of the time, teams whose lineup is peppered with freshmen and RS-freshmen (or upperclassmen who haven't played a lot) are much better in the last half of the season than they are at the beginning. That's what happened to NCSU last season. Just don't suggest that to a South Carolina fan.
The Gamecocks have (by my non-scientific count) 13 freshmen listed on their two-deep depth chart. 3 RS-FR and 1 true FR will be starting, the other 9 players will be coming off the bench.
South Carolina fans seem to expect that these players will be able to step in and play without any first game jitters. They lost seven players to the NFL draft last year, and will tell you that every player who replaces them is an instant upgrade. They replaced their offensive line coach (among others), and don't expect the line to have any problems adjusting to the new philosophies.
Don't get me wrong. I don't pretend to see things objectively. I do, however, realize that NCSU has some question marks. There are several untested players in the secondary. Audie Cole has to live up to the hype he's been getting at LB, and Dwayne Maddox or Terrell Manning (or both) have to try to fill the gap left by Nate Irving's absence, which will not be easy.
I am very confident in the offense, though. I don't think NC State is going to have problems scoring points against South Carolina. South Carolina has talented players on offense, but they don't have a lot of talented players who have been productive. Their quarterback has had turnover issues (among other issues), and you can't tell if that is solved by preseason scrimmages (right, Daniel Evans?).
To sum up, I think any South Carolina fan expecting anything close to last year's result is in for a rude, rude awakening. This game is a big game for both teams, but it's bigger for NC State. South Carolina is basically playing for 3rd in their division. NC State has its eyes on a bigger prize: a division title, and a chance to win an ACC Championship.
I expect the Wolfpack to win, and I don't think it's going to be a terribly close game.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
The Rock Star Coach
The University of North Carolina Tar Heels are having a very good season.
Currently, they sit at 7-2, ranked 17th in the country, and are tied for first in the ACC's Coastal Division. Virginia Tech is the only team that can knock UNC out of the ACC Championship Game without the Heels losing a game.
That's the good.
The bad is...this. According to published reports, the University of Tennessee is attempting to lure head coach Butch Davis away from Chapel Hill. Last year, it was Arkansas, Butch's alma mater, that showed interest. That interest cost UNC almost $300,000 a year, and also resulted in promises being made for facililty improvements at Kenan Stadium. All of that followed a 4-8 first season in Chapel Hill.
This year, the team is better, and the (apparent) suitor is much more serious. Rumors are flying about UT potentially offering Nick Saban money ($4 million+) to lure Butch away. If true, UNC may not be able to keep Butch with a few hundred thousand dollars and some extra seats.
Two years, two rumors. Most likely, two raises. That is the problem with "Rock Star" coaches like Davis. As long as he is at UNC, whether it's for two more months or five years, there will always be a traditional "football" school that thinks they can lure him away. If UNC keeps him, it will get expensive...especially if the idea that "whatever Butch gets, Roy Williams gets" is true.
I wonder if UNC can continue promising Butch improved facilities, while at the same time doing nothing to the Dean Dome. Will ol' Roy start to get miffed? I don't believe that Roy will sit idly by while a football coach makes demand after demand. The one problem is that Roy doesn't really have any leverage. Everyone knows that Roy is at his dream job, which also happens to be THE big dog in college basketball. In order for Roy to get rumors started, he'd have to flirt with an NBA team (like Coach K a few years ago), and I just don't think Roy can convince anyone he'd leave UNC for the NBA.
Butch Davis' leaving UNC wouldn't surprise anyone.
Contrary to popular belief, most State fans I know don't think Davis is leaving. They also don't care one way or the other. It's just funny to see the "dance" start every season. UNC signed Davis to a larger contract than any football coach at the school had ever had...and if Butch is still the coach on New Year's Day, they will likely have given him raises after each of his first two years.
Can UNC afford to pay Butch $4 million a season? Should UNC add the 6 or 7 thousand seats (at a cost of $$millions) to Kenan Stadium it will take to make him happy? If Butch gets a big raise at the end of the year, how much will the assistants' pay go up? Will Butch actually agree NOT to let his agent float his name out next season? Will this process start all over again in a few weeks if Charlie Weis gets fired at Notre Dame?
Stay tuned...the show is just beginning.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Wow...
I haven't posted anything since August 25. At that time, I was quite excited by the fact the Russell Wilson was taking over as quarterback at NC State. I announced it by saying "Hello Mr. Wilson!" in the post just below this one.
As I write this, NCSU sits at 1-2. They have sandwiched losses to South Carolina (34-0) and Clemson (27-9) around a relatively lackluster victory over William and Mary. The defense has actually looked pretty good, and has been getting the turnovers that defensive coordinator Mike Archer and head coach Tom O'Brien talked about last year and over the summer. The problem has been that the offense has been inefficient.
That's really the nicest thing I can say about the offense.
Some of the ineptitude of the offense I attribute to Russell Wilson getting knocked out (literally) during the South Carolina game. The team had seemingly found a groove, and was moving the ball down the field, when Wilson got his bell rung. Daniel Evans entered, and you could literally hear the air come out of NC State's sails. Before you knew it, a 0-0 defensive struggle was a 34-0 blowout.
After missing the William and Mary game, Wilson played OK against Clemson. He didn't light the world on fire, but he did show an ability to avoid "big negative" plays. He may actually be too quick to throw the ball away. But, he is a redshirt freshman...I expect that as the season progresses he will learn when to challenge defenders and when to throw the ball away. Right now, he's a little timid about throwing the ball to receivers who aren't wide open.
So, going into this week, here's the story: NC State, decimated by injury, is getting ready to host the 15th-ranked team in the country. They are down to the 3rd string TE, have no receivers who made any significant contributions last year, have two converted defensive linemen starting on the offensive line, have lots of freshman and sophomores in the two-deep, and their quarterback is a RS-Fr. who has already been knocked cold this season. Recipe for disaster, right?
WRONG!!
That 15th-ranked team is from Greenville, NC. The East Carolina Pirates.
NC State's "get right" opponent.
Remember last year? 1-5 NC State went to Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium and thumped the Pirates.
This year, ECU is riding high. Their fans are talking about going undefeated and making the a BCS bowl. Tickets for the game are selling on the "black market" for ridiculous prices. The Pirates and their fans are hyped and ready to come to Raleigh. They have something in store for the Wolfpack.
Whatever. I do not and will not believe it until I see it.
I think that the ECU team that played Tulane is much closer to the real thing than the team that beat West Virginia. I don't think the Virginia Tech victory means much, because Virginia Tech with Sean Glennon at QB is not much better (if any) than NCSU on offense. I think that Russell Wilson will be much more comfortable this week, and will begin to put things together. The Wolfpack offense doesn't necessarily need to score a ton of points. They just need to string together a few first downs, so that the defense can stay off the field for a while. I think that happens this week.
I don't care who they have beaten. I don't care where they are ranked. They are still East Carolina.
North Carolina State will win the game.
As I write this, NCSU sits at 1-2. They have sandwiched losses to South Carolina (34-0) and Clemson (27-9) around a relatively lackluster victory over William and Mary. The defense has actually looked pretty good, and has been getting the turnovers that defensive coordinator Mike Archer and head coach Tom O'Brien talked about last year and over the summer. The problem has been that the offense has been inefficient.
That's really the nicest thing I can say about the offense.
Some of the ineptitude of the offense I attribute to Russell Wilson getting knocked out (literally) during the South Carolina game. The team had seemingly found a groove, and was moving the ball down the field, when Wilson got his bell rung. Daniel Evans entered, and you could literally hear the air come out of NC State's sails. Before you knew it, a 0-0 defensive struggle was a 34-0 blowout.
After missing the William and Mary game, Wilson played OK against Clemson. He didn't light the world on fire, but he did show an ability to avoid "big negative" plays. He may actually be too quick to throw the ball away. But, he is a redshirt freshman...I expect that as the season progresses he will learn when to challenge defenders and when to throw the ball away. Right now, he's a little timid about throwing the ball to receivers who aren't wide open.
So, going into this week, here's the story: NC State, decimated by injury, is getting ready to host the 15th-ranked team in the country. They are down to the 3rd string TE, have no receivers who made any significant contributions last year, have two converted defensive linemen starting on the offensive line, have lots of freshman and sophomores in the two-deep, and their quarterback is a RS-Fr. who has already been knocked cold this season. Recipe for disaster, right?
WRONG!!
That 15th-ranked team is from Greenville, NC. The East Carolina Pirates.
NC State's "get right" opponent.
Remember last year? 1-5 NC State went to Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium and thumped the Pirates.
This year, ECU is riding high. Their fans are talking about going undefeated and making the a BCS bowl. Tickets for the game are selling on the "black market" for ridiculous prices. The Pirates and their fans are hyped and ready to come to Raleigh. They have something in store for the Wolfpack.
Whatever. I do not and will not believe it until I see it.
I think that the ECU team that played Tulane is much closer to the real thing than the team that beat West Virginia. I don't think the Virginia Tech victory means much, because Virginia Tech with Sean Glennon at QB is not much better (if any) than NCSU on offense. I think that Russell Wilson will be much more comfortable this week, and will begin to put things together. The Wolfpack offense doesn't necessarily need to score a ton of points. They just need to string together a few first downs, so that the defense can stay off the field for a while. I think that happens this week.
I don't care who they have beaten. I don't care where they are ranked. They are still East Carolina.
North Carolina State will win the game.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
