It’s back to the drawing board for Tom O’Brien and a NC State football team that has fallen to 0-3 in the ACC after being manhandled by a stronger, faster, and more physical Boston College team, 52-20. The past two games against Wake Forest and Duke, it was the NC State secondary that was exposed. This week it was the secondary, the front line and everything in between as Boston College unleashed Montrel Harris, who diced deep into into the Wolfpack D all night long. The past three weeks, the Wolfpack defense has been on the wrong end of ‘record setting.’ Against Wake, Riley Skinner broke his career mark of passing yards in a game when he threw for 379 yards. He also threw for 3 Tds, which helped him set another record of most career touchdowns in Wake history. The next week, it was Thad Lewis who threw for a career best 459 yards and a Duke record 5 touchdowns. This week Montrel Harris took the ACC’s top run defense (62.8 yards per game) and carved up two BC records, 264 yards (most yards in a game) and 5 touchdowns (most Tds in a game), something that didn’t sit well with NC State head coach Tom O’Brien.
“We talked about it coming in. They have a good offensive line and he’s a big, shifty back, but its on us. There wasn’t anything they did that we didn’t practice. We got out executed and we got beat up.” Said O’Brien
Missed tackles, blown coverages and the inability to stop the run haunted the Pack all night. The questions about this defense are beginning to pile up as they have now allowed 131 points over their first three ACC games. After starting five different line-ups in the secondary, Tom O’Brien is running out of options and may be forced take off a few redshirts if things do not improve. The Wolfpack offense also have, for the second straight week, been shut down late in the game. Last week against Duke, the NC State offense was not allowed in the endzone after the first half. This week they snuck in only once in the second half, creating some alarm. One bright spot for the Pack was the continued success of Toney Baker. Baker had 82 total yards, however his opportunities have been few and far between thanks to the Pack constantly needing to play catch up, but not even Baker has the answers for the Pack.
“We just didn’t get it done. Its very tough at this point. Its another acc road game, and we just need to come back strong after this by week.”
The best medicine for the Pack’s ills will be the opportunity to regroup this off week before they head south to face another quality opponent in the Florida State Seminoles.
There is no mistaking, that this bye week will not be a week of rest, but a week of work for the Wolfpack.
“There is a lot that we need to take care of. The laundry list is very long right now. We need to go back to square one. The last 3 weeks we’ve regressed. We need to get back to how we played before that point.” O'Brien said.
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12 Responses to "Boston College Dismantles Wolfpack 52-20"Bye Bye bowl....
Poor effort = Poor outcome...
Coaching staff will really be tested to stop the season from being one of the worst in recent memory based on talent level....
I can take going 0-12 w/ Daniel Evans running the show but theres TOO MUCH TALENT to accept this...
Like I said earlier... IS IT BASKETBALL 2010 yet????
This just cant be happening! A little over a month ago we were all talking about our defense being ranked #1 in the country (im laughing as I type this) and a possible birth into the acc championship game. Man does the world change in a short period of time. Its obvious that our defense never deserved the title that it was given and it is clear that they are holding back the rest of our team, something has to be done. What has to be done I dont know but something has to be DONE!
I have been a fan of NCSTATE football for over 10 years,I have to say this,"Please lets not push the PANIC button yet". We need to change our offense and put in the Power I,change our defense to the 3-4 and we will be ok. I have seen things that we can fix. No we will not be ACC champions this year,but if you see this coach O`Brien change the offense to the POWER I,and change the defense to the 3-4. If you do not change ASAP we will not have a winning record this year or next year.
Johnny I wasnt talking about the firing TOB or anything like that. Im just saying that systematically something has to be done. In no way can we switch from a 43 to a 34 in a week and a half. It is also impossible to completely change our offensive strategy in that time period. I feel like if we play our corners since we have our best corner back in smith in a bump man and blitz a lot more we will have more success. I think that our offense has simply been a product of bad d. They cant get on the field and get into the game. I also am getting the feeling that they are having to play catch up way to much and cannot run our real offense. Fix the D and you fix the O. No panic but our backs are against the wall and we need to make a run like we have every year under TOB after the bye week. Hey if you cannot dream then your already dead.
I agree fellas, on both accounts. The crew has lived on mid-season adjustments. Ther will be a war room session, and changes are best made when you have time to implement them. I don't know about switching to a 34. I was thinking that TOB and Archer may have been working, over the summer, to unleash a 34 at the beginning of the year.
I get the feeling, now, that Archer and TOB may go back to the drawing board, devise changes and re-evaluate his players. He does this every Bye week, every year. But nothing as drastic as switching to a four LB set.
Having said that, I wish he could pull that off! The havok that it would cause with the remaining oppositions' offenses would be substantial! It can't be worse than what's happening now. What? Are they gonna let people score 60 per game in a 34? ROI.
As for the offense, much the same mid-season scenarios apply to the coaches evaluations. I highly doubt, though, that they think that they can't keep the scoring up, even with minimal changes in their philosophy. Subtle changes in schemes and personel will probably be in order, but going totally Power I is drastic. And I don't think that the staff will see a big enough potential return on their investment to try to mess up the O-line's learning curve by making a wholesale change. The offense could be much worse.
More opportunities for the Offense, while not playing catch up for four quarters, may just fix that problem. The D gets some stops and the Offense becomes two/three deminsional again. The Defense impacts the Offense, and visa versa, no matter what.
It'll be interesting to see how the entire team, including the Coaches, respond to this adversity. I do know that the players haven't quit on TOB and TOB hasn't given up on his players either.
NC State controlled the ball 2x as much as BC in the first half and were still losing...
our bad D has nothing to do with the offensive struggles. Thats where some state fans are confused. Our WR dont fight for the ball and we refuse to establish the run despite good games and runs for Toney Baker.
We cant switch to a 3-4 in 2 weeks and we dont have any better personnel to play in place of our starters. Audie Cole doesn't need to be at his position, there's too much field to cover for him he gets lost. Rashard is our best DB and thats sad considering hes a freshman w/ 4 games of experience. New talent is needed to compete.
Like TOB said, and im no where near jumping off his ship!, if we dont have the personnel to compete we will go out and recruit them... Sounds like we need more recruits..
PS we must win All of our games but 1 to become bowl eligible... Still have to play FSU, VT, UNC... could get worse before it gets better
The dbs have let us down all year as far as coverage and tackling! There are to many kids leaving or have disappeared from the program! Jay smith was pretty good never plays james washingtion was great vs usc never played again.Earl Wolff. Also there were promising dbs in domonique ellis and akeem cunningham! Who both left for some reason... still never said y!
Wolfpackfan - I get what you are saying, but Smith, Wolff and Washington have been playing. Maybe not starting, but Washington was returning kicks, Smith got in for a couple of meaningful plays behind a large stable of WR's, and I heard Wolff's name called several times.
I think that you can say that we need to run this style Offense/Defense, or that we need to play this player versus that player, or question why certain players don't play or leave the program. The fact is that most of us don't know what's going on during the six days a week that we aren't seeing this team in front of cameras. I can tell you, from who I know in the program, that the rules of conduct are ridged. There are a lot of things that a player can do, under TOB, that will send him to the back of the line. They must then work their way back up the depth chart the right way. TOB doesn't take any shit from anybody... period. 3 - 4 years from now we will all see the benefits of Tom's system of discipline and hard work. Say what you will, but making a ggod catch doesn't lock up your spot on the depth chart. There's a lot of things that go into these decisions.
PackLeader - I wholly disagree with you. As morale fades, the effects are felt throughout the team. Many argued during the years that we struggled to produce anything on Offense, that it had no bearing on what the Defense should be doing. All I can conclude is that these people have never played an organized team sport, especially football, and have never been around a football program enough to understand this concept.
For the Offense, momentum and rythum are very real aspects of the game. Timing is crucial in all aspects of the Offense. It makes it harder to get into a flow of the game if you are, as an Offense, sitting on the sidelines cold for long periods of time.
I'm not saying that there are no correctable issues on Offense or that the Defense is responsible for all of our Offensive problems. I am saying that it is irrational to argue that one has nothing to do with the other. That was bunk during the Evans years and it is bunk now. You're still my boy though, PL
Yep, our chances of going bowling this year look dim, but who knows, we may get straight. I know patience is a bad and overused word wrt Wolfpack sports lately, but evidently we're gonna have to find some more of it. We can't quit supporting these guys, they want to win as bad as we want them to win.
I love Cole and Floyd but it appears they don't have the speed needed,or they have too much ground to cover, or they aren't prepared,are out of position, or a combo of all the above. I don't know. Really frustrated yesterday with the Defense and our lack of desire on Offense to establish the run. Maybe we went into "catchup" mode too early. I also think our WR folks have got to get angry and start fighting for the ball...every ball...and learn how to improvise and come back to the ball when RW is on the scramble. This team is better than this...I know they are. Archer has to show me he can be a Defensive Coordinator...I haven't seen it yet here or at Kentucky. Bye week is a good thing...lets get it back on track. Go Pack
haha no hard feelings PPack!!!!
thats the point of a blog!!!! Theres a difference between disagreeing and starting a fight!!!
Only reason I stated that the Defensive woes shouldnt effect the offense is due to the simple fact the offense controlled the ball so rhythm and momentum shouldn't be an issue. The amt of reps wasnt the problem. Getting in the flow wasnt the problem. Redzone was our problem. At 14-7, We had the ball inside the 20 twice and walked away with field goals, that wont win ACC games. Play calling must change in the redzone as compared to open field. Im not saying power I is the answer but somehow we must get the Def to bite on play action, which isnt working right now.
But our WR's not fighting for jump balls has absolutely nothing to do with our young inexperienced DBs. I can understand freshman corners struggling, thats similar to a freshman PG in ACC play, But for Junior and Senior WRs just throwing a hand up at a high ball is inexcusable.
ALOT of work is needed but unfortunately it seems we've regressed since the Pitt game...
BUT IM NOT LEAVING YET!!!!!!!!
GO PACK!!!!!
I still think the 3-4 defense is our best chance to turn this thing around. We need to switch to the Power I ASAP. I have seen lots of running backs in my past,and to date I have never seen a running back like Tony Baker when I seen him play in high school. I lived in Oklahoma for 3 years and seen high school football at its highest level.I thought after being in Oklahoma for 3 years i would never see running backs like I seen in Oklahoma,but I seen Tony Baker play in high school,he by far the best I`ve seen,We need to play the Power I to see what he will do,If Wolfpack Nation can hear tell our coach(O`Brien) to install the Power I Asap
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