2010 NCAA Football Preview: North Carolina State
It has been sometime since the Wolfpack at North Carolina State has done any joyous howling on the gridiron.
The last time they finished a season ranked in the top 25 was the 2002 campaign when they were #12 in the AP Poll and #11 in the Coach’s Poll. Their last bowl game was in 2008, the PapaJohns.com Bowl, a game they lost against Rutgers, 23-29.
When the team was able to hire Tom O’ Brien away from Boston College they thought that the losing ways were over for sure. O’ Brien built the Boston College Eagles into one of the more competitive teams in the nation and especially their conference. In ten seasons with the team he had eight consecutive winning seasons and a piece of the conference title twice (2004 and 2005). His final three seasons saw the team finish 9-3 and in the final top 25 poll of the year.
Why he would leave a program like Boston College for North Carolina State is a mystery. With the lack of success the team has had over the last three years one has to wonder how long the university is going to wait for the winning to begin (his best regular season finish was 6-6 in 2008, but then the team lost the PapaJohns.com Bowl).
With the talent that the team has returning he could finally lead the Wolfpack to a winning season, but it will not be easy.
Offense
When your quarterback throws 31 touchdown passes you would expect to see them with a better record than 5-7; sadly for the Wolfpack that is not the case. What is does say is that the problem is definitely not at quarterback. Russell Wilson built off his first year by throwing for more than 3000 yards to go with 31 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. The team would love it if he could continue to throw for the yards but lower his touchdown to interception ration back to what it was in 2008, when he threw 27 scores and was picked off just once.
He will have a couple of talented targets to throw to in seniors Jarvis Williams and Owen Spencer. Last season, Spencer led the nation in yards for catch with an average of 25.5 yard a reception. Williams was the go-to guy in the end zone making 11 catches there. Tight end George Bryan has proven to be a pretty effective target as well.
However, the team will have trouble if it can’t replace the losses on the offensive line. Only two starters return for a line that was suspect to begin with (98th in sacks allowed and 92nd in rushing offense). It will be harder to replace the two running backs that were lost if the blocking does not improve.
Defense
The defense will feature a lot of inexperienced players, but as bad as they were in 2009 that could be just what the doctor ordered. Over the last nine games the unit looked especially confused and almost clueless as it allowed at least 27 points a game. There was little that the team did well so starting over may be the best thing they can do.
What will make the unit work will be whether linebacker Nate Irving can return and play up to the level that made him one of the better defenders in the conference in 2008; he had 80 tackles, one sack and four interceptions. Irving will find some help in fellow linebacker Audie Cole. In his first season as a starter in 2009 he had 72 tackles and three sacks. Together, the two could cause serious problems for offenses.
Where the group will have issues is on the front line; not a single starter returns to the unit. That could end up being a good thing since last year’s unit was not that good anyway. However, no team really wants to gamble on an entire new group of starters being effective from the start.
O’Brien has a chance to lead this group to a real break out year in 2010. There is more than enough talent coming back on the offensive side of the ball to air it out every game if they so choose. Hopefully, the inexperience on defense can gel quickly enough so that the offense does not have to rely on that though.
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