• Read Terry Holland's letter to N.C. State, UNC (PDF)

You know a football rivalry is hot when the athletic directors can't even agree when two schools are supposed to play.

In an e-mail released to the media Wednesday, Terry Holland said East Carolina expects N.C. State to honor a contractual obligation to play five times between now and 2016 unless the schools reach a mutually agreeable alternative schedule.

N.C. State's Lee Fowler said he has a letter dated June 18, 2008, indicating Holland's agreement in principle that the schools will play just three times during that period.

Staff video: Travis Long, Caulton Tudor and Joe Giglio

Topic: Can UNC and N.C. State survive without their quarterbacks?

Low Rent Sports Talk Theatre

N.C. State coach Tom O’Brien apparently touched a nerve at South Florida with comments he made last week about the Bulls’ defense.

After practice on Sept. 18, O’Brien was asked if any N.C. State staffers had visited South Florida during their offseason quest to study ways to stop the spread offense.

N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson injured his right (throwing) shoulder during the first half of last week’s 30-24 overtime win over East Carolina, a source close to the program said Tuesday.

Coach Tom O’Brien announced Monday that Wilson will miss Saturday’s game against South Florida, but would not disclose the nature of the injury. Wilson previously suffered a Grade 3 concussion in the Aug. 28 opener at South Carolina and returned to the starting lineup 16 days later at Clemson.

N.C. State running back Jamelle Eugene said something after Saturday’s defeat of East Carolina that seems cruelly ironic now.

Eugene had just played for the first time after missing three games with an ankle injury. He said that as other players return from injuries, the Wolfpack would improve.

The injury situation in N.C. State’s football program officially passed the surreal point with today’s news that quarterback Russell Wilson and linebacker Nate Irving will be unavailable for Saturday’s game against South Florida.

There’s probably no way to accurately measure such things, but I’ve been covering college football for many years and I can never recall a program going through a more devastating two-year stretch of rotten luck.

Quarterback Russell Wilson and leading tackler Nate Irving will not play against South Florida because of injuries, N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien said Monday during his weekly news conference.

O'Brien said both players are out indefinitely but declined to elaborate on Wilson's specific injury. Wilson suffered a Grade 3 concussion in the Aug. 28 season opener against South Carolina and returned to play at quarterback 16 days later at Clemson.

Here's an example of how football coach Tom O'Brien understands his environment at N.C. State where former basketball coach Herb Sendek never did.

It's been said occasionally that O'Brien and Sendek have similar personalities, and that's true. Both are disciplined coaches with absolute belief in their systems who don't feel the urge to clown in front of the TV cameras.

Does anyone in the audience have Jeff Bowden’s cell phone number?

Wow, that’s exactly what a lot of Florida State fans have to be thinking today. Based on the Seminoles’ offensive performance, as designed by coordinator and head-coaching crown prince Jimbo Fisher in a 12-3 loss to Wake Forest in Doak-Campbell on Saturday, the program is
in a bad way.

And this part of it can’t be blamed on Bobby Bowden, who was virtually forced at the end of a flaming spear to fire son Jeff and hire Fisher away from LSU to engineer the offense after the 2006 season. Papa B can advise, but the entire offense is in Fisher’s hands.

• Late Hits archive

N.C. State: Old Milwaukee could have updated its "It doesn't get any better than this" commercials with a group of happy Wolfpackers on Saturday.

Not only did State beat a ranked ECU team, which was in the midst of a dream season, but UNC lost an important ACC game.

The only downer was, and stunning turn of events here, another injury. State needs a healthy linebacker Nate Irving to keep the momentum going against USF.