North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Setting Short Term Goals
10/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 17, 2005
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. - The numbers are pretty easy to figure out. With a 2-3 record, NC State must win at least four of its last six games to qualify for a bowl game and avoid missing the post season for the second consecutive year. But with another testy ACC road game on the way at Wake Forest this week, Pack head coach Chuck Amato doesn't want his team to fall into the trap of looking too far down the road. And as far as he's concerned, that road goes no further than the next practice.
"You know what our short term goal is? Today's practice," Amato said during his weekly press conference on Monday. "We can't worry about the big picture. We've got to worry about the little picture. We can't worry about resetting a goal after every game. Our goal is the next practice so that we can get better for the next game. Then we'll go on."
It's been rare during Amato's six-year tenure as head coach that NC State has been taken out of a game as early as it was in last Thursday night's 31-10 loss to Clemson at Carter-Finley Stadium. In fact, you probably have to go back to a 58-14 whipping at the hands of Florida State in Amato's first year back in 2000 to find a more lopsided loss.
In previous defeats to Virginia Tech and North Carolina earlier this season, NC State still had a shot in the final seconds, so playing in a half-empty stadium in the fourth quarter of a game in which the outcome had already been sealed was a new experience on Thursday. Still, the Wolfpack is keeping the faith, believing that a strong finish is within reach.
"We need to focus on one day at a time, one practice at a time and focus in on the next game," said defensive tackle John McCargo. "If we just go out there and do what we're coached to do, practice hard and go out there with some enthusiasm and excitement, I have no doubt that we can win four of our six games and even all six of them if we go out there and play the way we're capable of playing, which we haven't done all season."
After being shredded by Clemson to the tune of 243 yards rushing on Thursday, the NC State defense now faces the ominous prospect of going up against the ACC's top rushing team in Wake Forest. The Deacons, who fell to 2-5 with a down-to-the-wire 35-30 loss at Boston College on Saturday, are again using their dizzying array of misdirection schemes to rush for an average of 205 yards per game.
"We've got to play much more aggressive and much more disciplined," Amato said when asked about correcting the defensive breakdowns that showed up against Clemson. "Everybody that plays defense plays gap controls, and when you get out of your gap you end up hurting the defense. It's that way everywhere. We go into every game knowing we have to stop the run first."
Offensively, the Pack will be trying to bounce back from its most sporadic effort of the year as well. Held to just 278 total yards and one touchdown by the Clemson defense, NC State couldn't get anything going either through the air or on the ground. Quarterback Jay Davis, who led the ACC in passing prior to Thursday, ended up going to the bench in favor of Marcus Stone in the fourth quarter after hitting 15-of-31 passes for just 133 yards and one interception against the Tigers.
"At that point, I just wanted to see if Jay watched a series or two on the sidelines, maybe it would loosen him up a little bit," said Amato. "We felt it was the right thing to do. Jay Davis is our starting quarterback. We do not have a quarterback controversy."
Although he was in the game for only a few series, Stone came away with a knee sprain. He's listed as probable for the Wake Forest game. Linebacker Oliver Hoyte (ankle sprain), defensive end James Martin (knee sprain) and safety Miguel Scott (ankle sprain) are listed as questionable.
More Pack Points: NC State tailback Darrell Blackman leads the nation in kickoff returns, averaging 41.6 yards per attempt. Blackman is also No. 1 in the ACC in all-purpose yards (141.4 yards per game). As a team, the Wolfpack is also leading the nation in kickoff returns with an average of 35 yards per return....NC State's defense has been on the field an average of 10 minutes longer than the offense over the last three games, due in part to the Wolfpack's anemic third down conversion rate (28.8 percent).
