You learn a lot about people when things go wrong.

NC State is having a dismal football season, losing all four conference games thus far, including dropping a tough one Saturday in the last few minutes at Florida State, 45-42. After the game, reporter Ken Tysiac, who covers college sports for The Charlotte Observer and The N&O, was delayed in a logjam on the stairs at Doak Campbell Stadium. Tysiac was a few minutes late for NCSU Coach Tom O'Brien's meeting with reporters. 

Tysiac was the only reporter from a North Carolina newspaper to travel to the game. When O'Brien saw he wasn't there, he stepped away from the podium and said he wouldn't start until Tysiac arrived. O'Brien did his one-on-one post-game radio interview with the Wolfpack Sports Network, then returned to the podium. By then Tysiac had arrived. He thanked O'Brien for waiting for him.

Chuck Walsh, Florida State associate sports information director, said that in 22 years of working in sports information, he had never seen a coach delay a post-game conference to wait on a reporter. 

I give prominent people plenty of grief when they dodge us. So I thought I should recognize one guy who went out of his way to talk to a reporter from back home, even on a day when he must not have felt like talking at all. 

--John Drescher

The most unexpected college football news conference quotes Monday probably came from the Murphy Center conference room when N.C. State coach Tom O’Brien was asked about Duke’s success under David Cutcliffe.

After praising Cutcliffe, O’Brien had kind words for Ted Roof, who was 6-45 as Duke’s head coach. This wasn’t intended as a slight of Cutcliffe.

N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien was asked Wednesday to predict whether Saturday's game at Florida State will be high-scoring.

Coaches almost always politely decline to answer such a question.

N.C. State freshman running back James Washington is out for the season with a knee injury suffered Thursday in practice, coach Tom O'Brien announced Monday.

Washington was the third-team running back behind Toney Baker and Jamelle Eugene. He also was serving as the backup kickoff returner.

N.C. State freshman cornerback Rashard Smith's knee injury is similar to the one quarterback Russell Wilson suffered in the Papajohns.com Bowl last season, coach Tom O'Brien said today.

Smith, a starter who's out for the season, won't require surgery and has an estimated recovery period of 12 weeks that should have him ready for the start of spring practice, O'Brien said.

N.C. State's struggling defense suffered a significant blow Tuesday with the announcement that freshman cornerback Rashard Smith is out for the season with a knee injury.

Smith had just bounced back from an ankle injury to return to the starting lineup on Saturday at Boston College. Coach Tom O'Brien had considered Smith to be part of the solution to N.C. State's defensive problems.

In addition to addressing the Wolfpack's defensive woes, N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien talked about special teams, Toney Baker, Nate Irving and penalties during his news conference Monday.

Here are excerpts:

N.C. State coach Tom O’Brien said Monday that he has “complete faith” in the Wolfpack’s defensive plan and defensive coordinator Mike Archer.

"He’s got the experience,” O’Brien said. “He’s been through situations like this before. The worst thing you can do is panic and the old, ‘Woe is me,’ and make wholesale changes. We have a plan. We’re confident in our plan. We have to recruit to the plan and get people to do things we want them to do.”

Carter-Finley Stadium was re-sodded after last Saturday's U2 concert. N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien said the Wolfpack won't get on the new stadium turf until Friday's walk-through.

He didn't sound particularly concerned about any potential problems for Saturday's game against Duke.

During his weekly coach’s television show, N.C. State coach Tom O’Brien saw Russell Wilson step forward in the pocket, find a running lane and sprint forward for a 9-yard gain to Wake Forest’s 4-yard line.

On the show, O’Brien said Wilson needs to do that more often. He didn’t mean necessarily running the ball – N.C. State’s staff has been pleased with the way Wilson has looked to get the ball to his receivers this season.