For 2 and 3/4 quarters, UNC dominated NC State. They threw the ball at will underneath the State coverage, and then racked up oodles of YAC. They stymied the run. They hounded Russell Wilson’s every move and turned him into an erratic mess. Then it happened.
The play in question was one, in my opinion, should have never even happened. I could not believe it when the field goal team didn’t come out onto the field. I could believe it when Donte Page-Moss blew up the play and forced Russell to heave an interception/easy incompletion into the endzone. When Owen Spencer came down with it, well, elation followed from the Wolfpack partisans in the stadium.
And a curious thing took place from the fans in blue. This overwhelming feeling of “here we go again” washed over the stadium, and it wasn’t just the fans. The stadium went silent and the players in baby blue all seemed to slump.
The NC State pass rush that had been being picked up and used against them with screens all game finally started to break through and assault Yates. One punt return and the game was over right there. The UNC fans had quit and the players, with a few exceptions, had quit too.
Oh sure, there was a last minute push by UNC to come back, led by TJ Yates, who had a fine day overall, and the Tar Heels came within one 2 point conversion of a tie. But really, it ended with NC State’s miracle punt return, and the 5:00 drive that consisted of nothing but hand offs up the gut that resulted in the chip shot that made it a two score game with 7:00 to go.
What does all this mean? Well, for UNC, it means using Duke as a rebound from another season of disappointment. For all the talk of what the investigation has meant for Butch’s continued employment, I’d be willing to wager that his 0-4 record against State, his 1-3 record against UVA, and his lack of any ACC division championships, let alone conference titles, would do more to put him on the hot seat then some nebulous investigations that don’t seem to be going anywhere.
People will wear those SUPPORT BUTCH shirts when it is just the NCAA “picking on you,” but that support tends to ebb when you never win anything and have to use a 3-0 record against Duke as your best evidence of success. Winners survive investigations - just ask Bobby Bowden – but you don’t last long when your team is mediocre.
For NC State, they continue onward toward Charlotte, having vindicated what O’Brien has been saying for years: just wait ‘til we have everyone healthy. After three seasons characterized by 15-20 catastrophic summer injuries leaving a team of walking wounded to start the season, the Pack have finally avoided the injuries and the result has been a team sitting at 8-3, one win away from a division crown.
So now its Thanksgiving weekend game against a Maryland team that has absolutely nothing to play for following a close loss to FSU that stands between State and a rematch with Destiny. I have no clue what to make of this Maryland team. I’m fairly sure they are terrible, seeing as how they have one win against a team with a winning record. But they’ve been frisky against Florida State and Miami; there are signs of life there.
Maryland has been very good at giving quarterbacks a rough day, and they are good at getting and capitalizing on turnovers. They may be mostly smoke and mirrors, but in a conference as bad as the ACC, a team that can legitimately do a few things very well is one to be reckoned with. Maryland gets good yards from their return game (3rd in punt returns), they make life hard for quarterbacks (13th in allowed passing efficiency) and they force turnovers while not turning it over much (9th in turnover margin).
This is a team that could very easily hang around with State for half a game, bust a big punt return in the 3rd, and dash State’s hopes and dreams, leaving Wolfpack fans across the state a disheveled mess of tears and regurgitated Thanksgiving left overs.
What I’m saying is: NC State cannot look past Maryland. They are just good enough to beat State if they bring their Clemson game. And there are other reasons to be worried. The State offense has now posted two straight sorry offensive performances (sorry Wake, I don’t even consider that game to have happened. YOU MUST BE THIS *MOTIONS WITH HAND* GOOD TO BE CONSIDERED A REAL TEAM), and is lucky to have escaped UNC with a win.
I’m a solid 7.9 on the worried scale.
State 27 – Maryland 13
