Photo gallery: USC 7, N.C. State 3
First Look: See 293 raw images from the game
RALEIGH — Under Tom O'Brien, N.C. State is unbeaten against East Carolina and North Carolina but winless against South Carolina.
The Gamecocks did it again Thursday, handing the Wolfpack an ugly season-opening loss, 7-3 at Carter-Finley Stadium.
It wasn't as bad as last season's 34-0 thrashing in Columbia but equally disheartening for an N.C. State team with such high hopes.
South Carolina's defense held up an early touchdown and stifled Wolfpack quarterback Russell
Wilson with its speed. Wilson was ineffective and a step slow to elude South Carolina's
edge rush. The sophomore quarterback finished with just 74 passing yards and was sacked six times.
The Wolfpack fumbled on its first snap on offense — Toney Baker fumbled on his
first carry since the 2007 opener — at State's own 14-yard line, which led to a 1-yard touchdown run by Brian Maddox with 9:10 left in the first quarter.
It was the game's only touchdown.
State, trailing 7-3, had a chance to pull ahead late in the fourth but Jay Smith dropped a would-be 32-yard touchdown pass in the end zone.
South Carolina forced a turnover on downs and bled out the clock.
South Carolina has had its own litany of errors. The Gamecocks
muffed a snap, missed a 27-yard field and had a touchdown called back
because of a penalty. But their defense was faster and better than State's ineffective offense.
The Gamecocks would have scored more if not for their own unforced errors. After Devin Taylor's blocked punt, South Carolina quarterback Steven Garcia hit Tori Gurley for a touchdown but it was called back for pass interference. The Gamecocks ended up punting on the series.
State dodged a bullet in the second quarter when Stephen Flint bobbled a snap on a
31-yard field goal attempt. When USC did execute a successful snap, Spencer Lanning missed a 27-yard field goal in the third quarter.
After a Michael Lemon interception, State put together its only scoring drive of the game — which was aided by an overturned fumble — which ended with a 43-yard field goal by Josh Czajkowski with 55.8 seconds left in the third.
Given the chance to win the game in the fourth, State let the opportunity slip through its hands.
Staff video by Travis Long
Comments
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 09:59 — SurferThe Good:
RW threw some excellent balls, just dropped by the receivers. State showed life in the second half.
The Bad:
Yes, the S.C. defense seemed faster, but this "SEC speed", as superior, compared to ACC speed, may not necessarily hold up.
The Ugly:
Not much here, unless you are a State fan, with expectations of an undefeated season. Cheer up though, State always seems to faulter a bit early then play better in the second half of the season. Plus this is just a non conference game, so ACC aspirations are still alive.
So much for predictions...
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 06:53 — UNC1998Both teams played poorly on offense. I watched this game, and it was entertaining on the defensive side. The TV guys kept pumping up S. Carolina's players as bigger and faster, but I saw both defenses get after the ball and fluster the qb's. I was suprised S. Carolina didn't get more pass happy against NCSU's supposed weak link. Oh, well football season has started and I'm glad. JPG's intro was a pretty obvious poke at ECU and UNC, but it didn't work. Too bad NCSU fans, best of luck the rest of the way (except one game).
Totally agree. I think
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 07:07 — mad_maxTotally agree. I think people are just calling this a bad, ugly game because it didn't go how everyone expected. More people need to be giving credit to the defenses in this game.
SC did get more aggressive in their playcalling in the second half, but State was able to get enough pressure on Garcia to shut em down. The secondary stepped up in a big way too, considering they were supposed to be the biggest question mark.
RW
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 00:21 — Heels20I don't question Russell Wilson one bit. He was not the reason NC State lost this game. However, as a 1st team All-ACC QB and a guy who made a run for conference POY last year, I honestly expected a little more from him. He managed the game well, and the most questionable pass of the game was thrown by Mike Glennon. Most of that rests on that sorry offensive line. I'm sure Wilson will bounce back. He's mortal, games like this happen.
Yeah, RW could have done
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 07:01 — mad_maxYeah, RW could have done more, but I still feel he did enough. The o-line was questionable at times, but at others, they gave our qb plenty of time to throw and even make a couple pump fakes. Just gotta be consistent. This game leads me to believe the Pack are gonna be alright this year. The defense totally exceeded expectations and answered a lot of questions, especially with the absence of Nate Irving. I would imagine TOB is gonna be working on catching the ball the next two weeks, and we should be 2-1 and confident going in against Pitt and then the conference schedule. I'm still thinking about an 8 win year with a ceiling of 9 or 10. Anyways, hope you enjoyed Carter-Finley. I'm off today. What to do until noon Saturday...
drink beer!
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 08:13 — gvillegatrmixed in with a little yard work!
Calm down everyone
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 00:14 — mad_maxState will be just fine this year. If we can start holding on to passes, we'll win games like these. Not too worried about RW...thought he managed the game well. While a lot of people are questioning his running ability now, I remind you that the most impressive part of his game last year was not his legs, but rather his TD to INT ratio. I wonder though, had that TD been pulled down at the end, would everyone be doubting RW or commending his resilience?
Without doubt
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 16:12 — JPDOhiocommending his resilience.
I thought overall Wilson
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 00:47 — chrismg1I thought overall Wilson played well. Made some nice throws. Unfortunately he didn't get help from anyone else on offense. If his receivers don't work on catching the ball he might throw a few more than 1 int this season just from tipped balls (he almost had one of those tonight if the safety wasn't so deep). This game reminds me of the UNC-Wisconsin game at the beginning of the 05-06 season. Defense played their heart out. QB played well. No one could catch. We ended up 5-6 that year.
I definitely agree with that
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 07:10 — mad_maxI definitely agree with that assessment. Though, I'm not looking for a 5 win season lol.
tough call
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 00:23 — gvillegatrI dont know that he managed the game well like you said.
His TD to INT ratio rests on his feet, keeping the defense (LB's and secondary) guessing (frozen) every time he rolls out.
whatever "they" or myself says tonight or in the morning, tonight was a non conference game. you guys are still 0-0 in the mighty ACC!
He did have that one fumble
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 06:49 — mad_maxHe did have that one fumble that was luckily recovered out of bounds, but other than that he protected the ball and delivered enough passes for us to win...the receivers just didn't show up.
Biggest NC State embarrassment/disappointment?
Thu, 09/03/2009 - 23:59 — Heels20A. All 5 current offensive linemen
B. Harrison Beck
C. Brandon Costner
D. I don't want to answer this, it's all been an embarrassment since the 80s...
Let me know your thoughts...
I'll go with C.
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 16:15 — JPDOhioBy far the biggest gap between expectation and performance.
Regarding A, I knew that was coming. I'll count that as an "I told you so" moment.
I guess
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 00:05 — gvillegatryou are just getting back from the game ... glad I sold my tickets for a couple hundy!!!!
Just got back to Chapel Hill
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 00:08 — Heels20and unfortunately, it's a 3 hours of my life I will never get back.
Know you are just joking, but...
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 16:18 — JPDOhioit has to be said.
Three hours at any major college football game is better than just about anything else that takes 3 hours to do.
What?
Thu, 09/03/2009 - 23:51 — TheBigGuyHey JPG, I thought you said we'd be good this year. Louisville.
just one game ...
Thu, 09/03/2009 - 23:46 — gvillegatrand it was against a non conference opponent.
I still think ncsu can make a go of it in conference as well as beat Pitt.
all of us in the state of NC underated the USC defense coming into tonight.
I would still be a tad worried about RW's wheels, though ...
the headline is spot on
Thu, 09/03/2009 - 23:10 — gvillegatrit is exactly what my wife said tonight when she popped her head up from her book.