From N.C. State's 7-3 loss to South Carolina:
• South Carolina's defense is fast, particularly on the edge. Defensive ends Cliff Matthews and Devin Taylor wouldn't let N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson get outside and if he did, they — or linebacker Eric Norwood — ran him down.
Twice in the second half, when State appeared to build some
semblance of momentum on offense — and tried to use the crowd for energy — South Carolina was just one step faster than Wilson.
In particular, a third-quarter scramble saw Wilson, who was sacked six times, break the pocket and start downfield. Against an ACC team last season, Wilson turned the same type of run into a first down, if not a 20-plus gain. Against South Carolina, linebacker Shaq Wilson form tackled Wilson and snuffed the play. The drive stalled and ended with a
43-yard field goal by Josh Czajkowski.
• Russell Wilson was off. Sure, the protection was lax and the receivers dropped passes, but Wilson didn't look, or play, anything like the best quarterback in the ACC.
He looked uncharacteristically jittery early in the game and threw way too many short, third-down passes that had no chance of moving the chains.
South Carolina's aforementioned speed certainly deserves the majority of the credit for Wilson's performance but it's noteworthy that Thursday was Wilson's first game with a bulky brace on his right knee.
That's the same knee he injured against Rutgers in the bowl game and required offseason surgery. Now the brace could purely be a preventative measure, but to put his relative health in context — and I realize he spent all summer playing baseball — but Toney Baker just missed two seasons with multiple knee injuries (albeit of a different variety) and wasn't wearing a brace.
With all of that being said, if Jay Smith catches the ball in the
end zone in the fourth quarter, we're talking about what a great job Wilson did leading his team back and winning a game without his fastball. (And that's not to put the loss on Smith, making a point).
• State's offensive line was overmatched and the receivers dropped passes but the coaching staff has to do a better job reacting to South Carolina's scheme.
Wilson was sacked six times and it wasn't because South Carolina was sending the sink. The defensive front was generating pressure without blitzing help.
That means you have to keep more bodies in to block. With the
exception of one or two second-half plays, State stayed in the shotgun formation and stubbornly ran the same set of stretch running plays and short routes.
As Steve Spurrier himself has painfully learned the hard way, you can draw up every formation in the book but if you can't block one-on-one you've got keep an extra back in, use two tight ends or fewer receivers in a route because you can't throw from your back.
Tom O'Brien's an exceptional coach in the second half of the season but at some point, November Tom (6-2 at State) needs to meet September Tom (3-7). State's 0-3 in openers under O'Brien, and he's 6-7 in openers going back to his 10-year stint at Boston College.
• State's defense acquitted itself nicely. There's little doubt it
could, and probably should, have been 21-0 by the middle of the second quarter but State's defense made stops when it needed. South Carolina's offense certainly helped — as did Spurrier with some conservative, ghost-of-Woody Hayes playcalling — but there were so many questions about State's defense coming into the season and seven points and 256 yards is a good answer.
To put that in context, State gave up 34 points to the same team last season and hasn't held an opponent under 10 points since shutting out South Florida in the Meineke Bowl in 2005, a span of 37 games.
Staff photos by Ethan Hyman
Comments
Nice take JP. I think State
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 19:02 — mad_maxNice take JP. I think State will get better and have a nice year. I'd also like to give credit to SC's defense, and the fact that Spurrier is 19-1 all time in season openers.
we learned
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 12:50 — heelyeathe cow college is not as good as people made them out to be. i dont think RW is the best QB in the ACC. he had a good year, so do many players and then they crash and burn the next.
Let's evaluate this at the end of the year.
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 15:24 — JPDOhioState may or may not be as good as hyped. We'll see after more than one game is played.
If you really think that RW will crash and burn this year, you are a fool. This kid responds to adversity better than most and will build on yesterday to get better. I would not bet against him.
How about not believing the pre-season hype?
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 11:49 — xpukguyHere's a different take from an NC State fan: How about looking realistically at our team? Tons of questions going into the season and many answered last night. Not a lot of team speed against a team that is middle of the road SEC. A coaching staff that has put the clamps on the QB instead of letting him use his athletic ability to improvise when necessary. He was caught from behind because he kept looking downfield for receivers instead of tucking and running. Let Wilson be Wilson and NCSU will be better. But we will not learn anything from the next two games, that's for sure.
How about a golf analogy?
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 15:33 — JPDOhioWhen you have flaws in your golf swing and make the necessary adjustments to get better, oftentimes your scores rise before they fall. Same goes for RW becoming a better QB. You may be correct in saying that his patience in going through his progressions caused some sacks that may not have happened otherwise. But RW will get better as he gets reps against live competition.
As far as the next two games are concerned, I agree that we won't learn anything about whether State is good enough to contend for the ACC Championship. But we will get two more games for everyone to work on their deficiencies. When you play, you should improve, even against inferior competition. But we won't know until the Pitt game how much progress has been made.
Progressions
Sat, 09/05/2009 - 17:20 — wolf01Problem is that Wilson's style last year was benficial because we had no effective offensive line and his "scramble first throw later" style was one that could and did work.
This year's problem is that going through the progressions and the like is good -- but ONLY good if the offensive line holds and gives time for it to happen. But in the first game our offensive line was as ineffective as ever, so anything but Wilson's last year style won't work. Progression checking depends upon there being a bit of time provided by blocking. No blocking (as was shown) results in progression failure.
Agree
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 11:17 — SurferYou are right Heels20, eerily quiet here today.
State' D almost did enough. But really, how good is S.C.
RW probably did enough, but until he can throw it to himself he is not a one man team.
The team as a whole will certainly bounce back against M St. and G-W.
Sure, National Championship aspirations are lost, but there probably were not many of those realistically anyway.
Losing is a shock to many State fans, but doesn't State usually play better towards the end of the season? This is a non-conf. game, so state still has a chance for a good season.
No National Championship?
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 15:35 — JPDOhioI guess I'll have to cancel my flights and hotel reservations, unless, of course, Ohio State gets in again.
Gentlemen, start your howling!
Ohio State
Sat, 09/05/2009 - 17:22 — wolf01Ohio State barely beat Navy. So don't hold your breath on that one. :-)
I'm not.
Sat, 09/05/2009 - 21:11 — JPDOhioThe positive spin that the Ohio State broadcasters were trying to promote after the game was nauseating, even to an eternal optimist like me. USC is going to obliterate the Buckeyes next weekend, but the Big Ten is so weak again this year that OSU could end the season with one loss.
Darnit!
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 19:45 — tjfooseMine were non-refundable! Guess I'll have to go anyway and cheer for whomever survives to play the 'Heels.
Observation
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 10:42 — Heels20It's funny how the likes of tjfoose, badinboarder and izzykareem conveniently disappear. JPDOhio (who is always rational) and mad_max at least step up as true fans and defend their team in this situation. State's D (although they caught some breaks on South Carolina's missed opportunities) exceeded the expectations of pretty much everyone. Wilson proved to be mortal, despite not making any major mistakes.
Overall, here is my take on Wilson. Last year, his job was to look at his first receiver. If he wasn't open, then he needed to run it, or throw it away. Last night, it was obvious that he is now coached to check the second receiver. When you combine a learning QB with a defense as speedy as South Carolina's and an offensive line as crappy as State's, it's going to lead to some sacks. Obviously, it's going to take some time for Wilson to adjust, but in the long run, he'll become more versatile (scary to think about), and prove whether or not he can lead this NC State team to an ACC championship game. Personally, as I said before, with two straight 1AA opponents coming up, including a Gardner-Webb defense that is definitely not one to sleep on, I think Wilson will become a better player and this State offense will start rolling.
Heels20, you hurt my feelings.
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 19:43 — tjfooseWe are here, gives us time... and yes, I'll take the bait.
Last night was not what 'Pack fans expected. I'd venture to say no one expected a 7-3 game.
I certainly did not expect it. Had I known RW would be run down from behind by D-linemen all night, getting sacked 6 times in the process, I would not have given State much of a chance to win.
RW looked sluggish. Whether it be from injury effects, the leg brace, or more emphasis put on the passing part of his game, I hope it is resolved ASAP. That said, RW still made the plays to win the game; it was his teammates that did not come through with the game on the line.
Still, I'll be playing the wait-n-see. Most, if not all, of my preseason projections for the quality of play this year rely upon an expected steep learing curve for the young players and included the caveat "by conference play".
From what I saw last night, I was correct about Rashard Smith being a future stud, RJ Mattes being a future OL star, Maddux not being the answer at LB, CJ Wilson being raw but talented, and Washington being the real deal at RB.
Jury still out on my thoughts about...
Audie Cole - some big plays, but also some whiffs on tackles. Maybe that's to be expected from a converted QB.
Offensive line as a whole - I had previously posted our OL would be fine by conference play. We'll have to wait and see. The interior of the OL looked good last night (Larsen was often dominant). 90% of the issues were on the edges after Vermiglio went down. Wallace, though talented, was certainly not ready... that caused us to play about 4 or 5 different OL lineups as we shuffled personnel looking for an answer.
I missed on RW, sort of... I never really addressed what I expected from him, as I assumed a continuation of last year's performance. Hopefully that was RW's one mulligan.
Missed on the receivers. As a unit, that was the worst game I have seen in... potentially decades. Here's to hoping it was a fluke, as most of those same receivers have made plays and logged in good game performances. Still, Bowens can't be back too soon.
Missed on DT's. Early on, our interior DL was getting destroyed, quite regulary. We made adjustments, got better, and eventually played to a stalement for the most part... but I'm not sure if that was simply SoCar going away from what was working for them.
Also missed on the coaching... I think TOB and crew were outcoached last night. Though some bonehead execution didn't help, the game plan, adjustments, and play calling did not seem to be in top form.
If RW is NOT being effective as a runner or scrambler, if we are not attacking the edges with run/pass options, why run delays and counters that depend upon a defense fearing a QB who is gashing them with his legs?
Where was the misdirection to slow down that rush? RB screens anyone? A reverse or fake reverse, maybe just one? SoCar was crashing the corners all night. Other than a few bootlegs, we did little to slow them down.
Ugh!
The shake up of Spurrier's staff is an early success. Beamer [Shane] Ball won it's first game at SoCar and Spurrier's new O-line coach got the job done.
But it is what it is, an ugly first game loss. I still think ECU is the best team in the state, right now, and that State will be better than UNC. Time will tell.
ECU
Sat, 09/05/2009 - 17:25 — wolf01Didn't ECU only just barely get by Appalachian by five points ?
Although a win, still not terribly impressive.
Glad you spoke up
Sat, 09/05/2009 - 01:12 — Heels20You're right about guys coming off the edge, those O-Tackles were horrible. Pass blocking is all balls (yes, JPG. Delete this if you have to). Summer Erb would have been better on the O-line.
I'm not buying ECU just yet. Only 9 wins last year, 2 losses in C-USA and very fortunate timing to play VT. They're good, but September 19 should settle some of the issues.
I give State 7 wins, and 8 wins of Wilson stays healthy. As I've said 100 times before, I see 6 potential losses for Carolina, but each one of those is also a potential win. The most rational way I see of solving that? Call it 50-50. I give the Heels a 9-3 record if we can keep from getting bit by the injury bug. Any one on this blog is nuts if they believe that NC State would have beaten UNC last night. However, they will be two different teams on November 28, and I still give the edge to NC State in that game. I have faith in Tar Heel football, but our guys have got to prove they can break that mental block and treat State like a serious opponent before I start predicting wins.
But as you said, time will tell.
We agree.
Sat, 09/05/2009 - 16:02 — tjfooseWe agree.
hi...
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 13:46 — izzykareemim here heels20. there's only a bazillion blog posts and post game analysis to pore over. It's probably sadder as a statement of UNCCH fans that you come here looking to talk smack when you haven't played a game yet. We'll take our lumps, no one's disappearing, we aren't clearing out Kenan when we're down like some do.
Your analysis however is actually good. However, what you and most state fans don't understand is that the whole point is to protect Russell. Getting sacked while dancing around in the backfiend is alot different than getting creamed by a free safety and missing 3-4 games. And we'd all be singing a different tune if there weren't some costly penalties and dropped touchdowns.
I do agree with you and think we will get better. Last night, there were a ton of simply blown assignments on the OL. I don't think it was so much our OL getting beat, but i saw guys turning left (on purpose) like they were expecting a pulling guard, and then the DT goes right by them and is in The Russell's grill. That will get corrected.
Ain't buying it til I see it
Sat, 09/05/2009 - 01:28 — Heels20This goes for every NC State offensive line since 2005:
To say that NC State's offensive line looks like that of a girls middle school football team would be an insult to girls middle school football. Blown assignments happen. However, that offensive line is soft, and will take more than another year to fix for Mike Glennon to win on a consistent basis.
What to do with Wilson? Do you let him play it by ear like last year, or do you breed him to be an even smarter QB? In all honesty, I'm happy that I'm not the one that has to answer that question. Obviously, you'd like to train him so he'll succeed in the long run, but let's get real. I know State fans love him, and even I, as a Tar Heel, feel privileged to watch the kid, but he's not going to be throwing the pigskin in 2010. State's offense will improve throughout the season. It has to improve if it's going to put points up on VT, Clemson and (yes, here it comes) UNC. Eric Norwood is an outstanding football player, as is Chris Culliver, and as were some of the less experienced guys on that South Carolina D. However, that will NOT be the best defense State faces this year.
So before I ramble on any more, I'll just say that this was a humbling experience for all of us (I predicted a blowout in State's favor). Maybe you Pack fans can keep your fingers crossed for a Pirate victory on September 19, although I wouldn't count on it. There are still 2 months and 23 days left before we reach the game that we're all waiting for.
Honest, though lacking one part...
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 12:28 — YAR8pack...hopefully State's receivers will learn to catch the ball.
State's defense looked good, but SC wasn't a stellar offensive squad.
You're way too kind, Giglio...
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 10:23 — jblues1969State's defense didn't hold SCar at all. SCar's inept offense held themselves back. I counted a TD and 2 FGs that were prevented by SCar's unforced errors. SCar ran the same running play over and over again with no variety and it was successful about half the time.
Let's face it. State thought it had a good offense and it doesn't. Everybody's been giving Wilson credit for being a better player than he actually is. State thought it had a good DL, and it doesn't. Everybody knew State's secondary was sub-par, and that was proven beyond a shadow of a doubt last night.
Don't try to find bright spots. There weren't any.
offense
Sat, 09/05/2009 - 17:28 — wolf01FWIW - NCSU's offense looked a lot better than that of the 16th ranked team in the nation. Oregon didn't get their first first down until midway through the 3rd quarter. Got something under 20 yards offense in the first half. And they're ranked #16.
Points
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 08:39 — Surfer1. Relatively speaking, yes SC did appear faster.
2. Didn't seem like RW was off, he threw some excellent, on target passes, two or three of which should have been caught were dropped. However, if you are saying he was off because he played the whole game (with the exception of one series) uninjured and they lost, which wasn't the case last year?, then yes I guess he was "off". Also, this "best QB in the ACC" mantra is still premature. I will admit, to date, he is the best ACC QB that has played so far.
3. Yep the score should have been 20-10. But State did not make all the stops when needed. Seems like the second to last possession for S.C., they converted on a 3rd and long. had State stopped that, they still would have had a shot.
Jay Smith
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 08:06 — JPDOhioThat drop wasn't the one that bothered me. The defender made a great play on that one and it could have gone either way.
There were at least two drops earlier in the game that could have been TD's. One on the sideline that was bobbled and dropped behind a defender and one in the end zone. And even though those passes were well covered, they were not touched by the defender. If State is going to have a great year, those players have to make those catches.
Period.
On further review...
Fri, 09/04/2009 - 15:20 — JPDOhioJay Smith should have made that catch. It was the last one to Jarvis Williams that I was ok with.