North Carolina State University Athletics
Pack at a Loss to Explain Turnovers, Penalties
11/1/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 1, 2004
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. - It's gotten to the point where NC State head football coach Chuck Amato has talked about turnovers and penalties so much that he's almost turning blue in the face. Now, he's thinking about repeating a method used by Bo Rein's Wolfpack staff in the late 1970s. After the Pack had turned the ball over 10 times in the first two games one year, the staff chose not to discuss turnovers with the team prior to the next game. At this point, Amato is willing to try anything.
Through eight games, NC State is ranked 116th in the nation in turnover margin (minus-15) and 113th out of 117 Division 1 teams in penalties with 9.6 per game. In Saturday's 26-20 loss at Clemson, the Wolfpack had six more turnovers and 10 penalties, two of which nullified touchdown passes at the end of the first half. In four losses this season, NC State has a staggering total of 18 turnovers.
After talking about it ad nauseam and putting his team through drills designed to limit such mistakes every day in practice, Amato decided last week that it might be time to use a little reverse psychology.
"Friday, I would not tell my team offensively not to have turnovers," Amato said of the tact he used prior to the Clemson game. "I said we must win the turnover margin. That doesn't put it on one side or the other. That puts it on offense, puts it on defense and puts it on kicking. I said, `win the turnover margin.' That means we have no turnovers offensively and we have to get one on defense."
As it turns out, the Wolfpack did get that one turnover on defense, but the offense gave it up six times, five of which were interceptions thrown by quarterback Jay Davis. Amato was quick to point out that Davis wasn't at fault for all of the picks because there were missed assignments and busted routes run by receivers on a few of the plays.
"There are a lot of factors that go unnoticed by the naked, untrained eyes, whether it be [the media] or the people who get in the chat rooms," Amato said. "They only see the obvious. Maybe some of those interceptions, the guy didn't run the right route. Maybe if this guy would have not had two missed assignments, we would have scored or we wouldn't have given up a score. They go unnoticed. That's the way it is."
As for the penalty numbers, Amato is just as miffed considering that he encourages officials who work the Pack's preseason scrimmages to throw flags on every little violation they see.
"We tell the officials that come to those scrimmages to go overboard," said Amato. `"If you even thought he was offside, call it.' `If you even thought he put his hand on the facemask as opposed to his shoulder pad, call it.'"
During his weekly press conference on Monday, Amato continued to blame himself for the mistakes that have contributed to NC State's 4-4 record, a mark that now includes a two-game losing streak.
"I appreciate him doing that, that he would take the blame," said tight end John Ritcher, "but it's our job to execute. It's our job not to make mistakes. Our motto is discipline and he tries to enforce it the best he can. If you have a penalty during practice or if you turn the ball over, you have to run an extra gasser after practice. After games, we have to run for our mistakes, whether it be for mental errors, if it's a penalty or for a lack of effort. You have to run an extra gasser for all the stuff you messed up on during the game on Monday night. It's got to be important to guys."
When it entertains Georgia Tech (4-3, 3-3) this Saturday at noon, the Wolfpack will be looking to get back on the winning track against a team it has lost to three straight times. And like NC State, the Yellow Jackets need a win to keep their bowl hopes alive. There's a sense of urgency in both camps, a feeling that will certainly be felt right up until game time.
"We do have a good core leadership," Ritcher said. "Pat Thomas and Andre Maddox have been quick to pull the team together after some close losses, and we've had some close losses this year. We have a thing on Monday's where it's just players, no coaches. There's nobody there except for the guys who are playing. They say what needs to be done and they've done a good job of rallying the team and keeping us together. I expect them to do that after practice."
Picking the Upset: Ritcher, it seems, had a moment of clairvoyance last week when he made a bold prediction.
"I actually was telling our trainer (Jamey Coll) on Monday `I will guarantee UNC will win this game [against Miami],'" Ritcher said. "We played UNC and they've got unbelievable athletes and they've got good coaching. I could just see them pulling it all together. I had a feeling, I guess."
North Carolina, of course, did pull off the biggest upset of the college football weekend when it downed then 3rd ranked Miami 31-28. That surprise came on a day when Maryland also tripped up 5th ranked Florida State. With less than a month now remaining in the regular season, no less than seven teams in the ACC are currently stuck on three conference victories. Only one, Florida State, has as many as 4 (4-2).
"I told our team on Friday night that a team with two losses in our league could go to the Gator Bowl," Amato said. "But now guess what? A team with two losses might even go to a BCS Bowl. It's not over yet. It's a league that's really good. It's so good that people are beating the heck out of each other. There are no undefeated teams now in league play, and some have three or four games left. It may come down to a team winning the championship with two losses."
As it stands right now, six teams, with Georgia Tech and NC State among them, have four wins overall heading into this weekend.
Reminder:Amato's weekly radio show will be moved from Wednesday to Thursday of this week because the Wolfpack Radio Network will be on the air with NC State's exhibition basketball game against Fayetteville State on Wednesday. Airtime for the basketball broadcast will be 7:00 p.m. The Amato Show will air from 8-9 p.m. on Thursday.
