North Carolina State University Athletics
No. 21 NC State Ready for Battle at Navy
9/6/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 6, 2002
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By Tony Haynes
When it travels to Annapolis, Maryland to face off against Navy this Saturday, NC State's 21st ranked football team will be exposed to more than just another game. As is the case at all of the military academies, a game day at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium usually leaves lasting memories. Players and fans will no doubt be captivated by the four F/A-18's that are scheduled to rumble across the Maryland sky just before kickoff. Then there's that song, the one that always seems to linger in the mind. Days after the game, it will be difficult to stop humming 'Anchors Aweigh,' which, to some, is as much an anthem as it is a fight song.
But if NC State is going to have any chance of putting together the championship season it desires, it can't fall into the trap of being hypnotized by the moving traditions and pageantry that will be on display this weekend. Feeling good about themselves following an impressive week one win, the Midshipmen will be revved up for their home opener. It will be up to the Pack to answer the challenge.
Emotions will be running high for a number of reasons in this game. To begin with, the Wolfpack's returning defensive players will see a very familiar face when they look across the field to the Navy bench. Calling defenses for the Midshipmen will be Buddy Green, a 1976 NC State graduate who served as the Pack's defensive coordinator in 2000 and 2001.
"Coach Green and I were real close," said Wolfpack free safety Terrence Holt. "He was my position coach as well as our defensive coordinator, so I spent many hours and many days with him. He was really a true friend and somebody that I respected. It's going to be weird seeing him on the other sideline, but I will be trying to show him the type of player that he made me."
While Holt will be looking to impress his former position coach, defensive end Drew Wimsatt will be showing off for family members who will be making the relatively short drive over from Damascus, Maryland. Don't expect Wimsatt's hamstring strain to be a factor, especially since his older brother, Brad, once played on the defensive line at Navy. Then there's Wolfpack defensive back Craig Moody, whose younger brother, Ryan, is a sophomore quarterback for the Mids.
Family ties aside, both clubs will have something to prove on Saturday. While a top-25 ranking is nice, NC State is a team that still thirsts for more national respect. Navy, meanwhile, wants to prove that a new day is dawning with the arrival of first-year coach Paul Johnson. After enduring an 0-10 campaign a year ago, the Midshipmen went out and demolished SMU last week, 38-7.
Said Johnson: "We're hoping to get some of the pride back in Navy football and restore some tradition."
Rain was falling at 4 a.m. last Sunday when the Navy football players arrived back on campus following their impressive road win in Dallas. But neither the rain nor the time of day deterred 1,500 Midshipmen from welcoming the team back home. It's obvious that a new coach and a new style of play have combined to manufacture a new level of confidence in Navy football.
"[Coach Johnson] has brought a great attitude-to not feel like we're second-best," said quarterback Craig Candeto, who ran for 153 yards and three touchdowns last week.
Navy's spread option offense-or flexbone as some call it-is unique, tricky and difficult to prepare for. Defending the Navy attack will require discipline, concentration and a willingness to play assignment football for the entire 60 minutes.
"Navy is probably the best team to run this type of offense," Holt said. "We've just got to be real sharp. They try catch you getting out of your assignments to hit something big. They're one of the best to run this type of offense and it's going to be a big challenge."
The Midshipmen caught SMU napping on a couple of occasions last week. Along with delivering a 56-yard touchdown run from scrimmage, Candeto also hit Eric Roberts on a 69-yard yard pass that led to another score. The NC State defense, however, may not be quite as generous. In wins over New Mexico and East Tennessee, the Wolfpack yielded very little. Between them, the Lobos and Buccaneers averaged just 2.6 yards per play.
The ever-elusive Tramain Hall, who is being redshirted this year, has played the role of Candeto on NC State's scout team this week. Still, the Pack defense will probably need to experience a series or two before it can acclimate itself to the precision, speed and efficiency of the Navy offense.
"Probably the best simulation we'll get of the actual execution, speed and blocking of that offense will be the first snap we take this Saturday," Said NC State head coach Chuck Amato. "You can put those young players in there to simulate it, but they just don't know how to do it. It's difficult just like it's difficult for people to prepare for NC State and Philip Rivers because you never know what Philip's going to do with the football. We happen to throw it forward about three yards, they happen to throw it backwards about three yards."
While pleased with his team's overall play to this point, Amato says NC State still has some kinks that need to be worked out before it can start touting itself as a great football team.
"The big thing that we've done in the first two games is that we've turned the ball over," Amato complained. "We've lost five turnovers. We've fumbled six times and we've lost three of them and we've had two interceptions. We're one up on the turnover margin, but last year we had just 13 turnovers for the entire season. We're almost halfway there at this point. If you average more than two turnovers per game, that's an awful lot of turnovers for a season. We've got to hold them to a minimum."
There are not a lot of folks around who remember the last football game that was played between NC State and Navy. Eighty-one years have passed since the Mids downed the Pack 40-0 in 1921. Navy holds a 6-2 advantage in the overall series. NC State's national ranking will provide an obstacle for Navy, which has dropped 31 consecutive games to top-25 opponents since beating Virginia in 1985.
Saturday's contest will not be televised. Coverage on the Wolfpack Radio Network begins at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. NC State fans in attendance at the stadium may be able to hear the broadcast on 87.7 FM (the signal will work on that frequency if there is not interference from another local station in the area). An online Internet broadcast is also available on Gopack.com.
