North Carolina State University Athletics
No Looking Back for Pack
9/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 20, 2004
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. - For nearly 12 months, many NC State football players had the date September 18, 2004 circled on their calendars. That was the day the Wolfpack would get another shot at Ohio State, the team it fell to in a triple overtime thriller last September. But the second time around against the Buckeyes wasn't any more enjoyable as the Pack sealed its own fate with five turnovers and 14 penalties. But what's done is done. And in a season that features many more challenging battles, NC State can't afford to dwell on disappointments or successes for long periods of time.
If, in fact, the Wolfpack continues to have a hangover from Saturday's 22-14 defeat to the Buckeyes, it will be making a fatal mistake, especially since a trip to Virginia Tech will be here before you can say `Hokies.'
"You can't keep thinking about it and keep talking about it," said sophomore defensive end Mario Williams. "We're about to play Virginia Tech. It's not like we can go back and play the game again. It was bad as it was happening and as the weekend went along. But you've just to put it behind you and make up for it next week."
That's the attitude Wolfpack head coach Chuck Amato hopes all of his players will adopt as they get set for a trip up to raucous Lane Stadium for a noon match-up on Saturday. Not one to tune into sports talk shows and read comments on message boards, Amato is well aware that there was plenty of criticism to go around following Saturday's mistake-prone outing in front of 55,800 fans at Carter-Finley. But unlike those who rehash, dissect and replay games for several days after they're over, he can't afford to dwell on what turned out to be a bad day at the office.
"That game is history," Amato said when questioning persisted about the Ohio State game during his weekly press conference on Monday. "It's yesterday's story, but you know what? A lot of people really do like to talk about yesterday's story around this city."
As is their tradition, Amato and his coaches put the Ohio State game to bed on Sunday when they did a complete review of the game tape. Along with handing out individual grades, they also took a long look at the mistakes, particularly 14 penalties, many of which came at the most inopportune times. Lapses in judgment bothered Amato more than mistakes involving effort and aggression.
"I will not change the aggressiveness of my football team," Amato said emphatically. "The teams that lead this league in defense usually lead it in penalties, aggressive penalties. I talk about foolish penalties all the time. I don't like it. No coach does. But with the aggressive penalties, we've worked too hard to get our kids to be aggressive. Maybe we need to learn how to win football games with defense."
As it turns out, defense could prove to be NC State's trademark this season. Though it's only two games into the season, the Wolfpack leads the nation in total defense and scoring defense. In a losing cause, the Pack yielded only 137 yards to the Buckeyes on Saturday.
"I don't think I've ever been associated with a defensive team against a quality offensive team like an Ohio State and held them to that few yards," Amato said.
It will take that kind of defense and a more mistake-free style of football to compete with Virginia Tech, which is 2-1 after posting a lopsided victory over Duke over the weekend.
"I think a lot of penalties that we've had come from aggression and sometimes going full speed and not being able to stop on a dime," said Williams. "That also goes along with discipline and knowing when you should hold up and when you shouldn't. We've got to be more disciplined on defense and cut down on the penalties. That will help us out."
Amato says if there is one player who could benefit from looking back on the Ohio State game, it is quarterback Jay Davis. After playing well in his first career start against Richmond, the redshirt junior struggled against an entirely different level of competition on Saturday. Although Davis tossed three interceptions against the Buckeyes, Amato believes his signal caller will be a better player after having gone through the experience.
"There were some dropped passes that could have been huge that had nothing to do with the guy who throws the ball," Amato said. "Those things tend to be forgotten. That's the good and bad of playing quarterback. Everybody sees their mistakes. Nobody sees the missed blocks. I wonder what Philip [Rivers] would have done had his second game, after only playing 30 minutes in the first game, been against Ohio State as opposed to Indiana?"
Kick Off Announcement: The ACC announced on Monday that NC State's homecoming game against Wake Forest on October 2 will begin at 12 noon. The contest will be televised by the Jefferson Pilot/Raycom ACC Television Network.
