North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: One Momentum Swing Too Many
9/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 24, 2005
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH -- The momentum had clearly shifted, and NC State had taken control against North Carolina, in a game in which both teams stumbled around the field throughout the first half.
Too much emotion, the coaches said, on either sideline.
So to start the second half, sophomore Darrell Blackman had a 73-yard kickoff return to set up a Toney Baker touchdown run.
A strong defensive stand gave the NC State offense the ball on a short field, and on the next play, quarterback Jay Davis hit tight end T.J. Williams on a 39-yard touchdown pass that gave the Wolfpack a 24-14 advantage and practically erased the miscues and mistakes from earlier in the game.
On North Carolina's next possession, the Tar Heels were clearly stalled and going nowhere. But on third and six, Carolina quarterback Matt Baker hit receiver Mike Mason over the middle for a crucial first down and the Tar Heels were off and running.
It was final change in momentum, on a day that was filled with many - perhaps too many - emotions and shifts in momentum.
"We come out the second half and we can't do it any better than we did," said Wolfpack coach Chuck Amato. "We return a kickoff back and then we score a touchdown. One-two-three-and-out and we do it again.
"Then, we went to sleep. We had 24 points on the board. But what I thought was one of the biggest plays of the game was when we had them third-and-six, and let them out of it. They went 80 yards for a touchdown, and on the next possession they went 82. "I don't know why I think we went to sleep. Maybe we thought `Hey, we got them now.' But we didn't. That's why the game lasts 60 minutes."
There were mistakes again, but none that couldn't have been overcome. The Wolfpack (1-2 overall, 0-2 ACC) had a chance on its final possession to force overtime, but couldn't get the ball in the end zone with its hurry-up offense.
With the next game 12 days away - in Atlanta, against Georgia Tech, on Thursday, Oct. 6 - Amato has only one thing on his mind: getting his team back to work.
"We go back and we are going to practice," Amato said after the 31-24 loss at Carter-Finley Stadium. "The only way I know we are going to get better is we are going to work and we're going to work and we're going to work and we are going to work and we are going to work and we are going to work and when we get tired we are going to work some more.
"We are going to get ourselves better. There is an awful lot of football in front of us."
And while there were a lot of disconsolate voices in the post-game, there was also a thought that having lost another heart-breaker because of mental mistakes might finally drive home the need to make the necessary changes to have a successful season.
"There is a future, no doubt," said junior defensive end Mario Williams. "We just can't beat ourselves. We just can't be having fumbles and penalties on both sides of the ball."
The week off will also give Amato's team to get a little more healthy. Offensive linemen Dwayne Herndon and Derek Morris were limited in practice last week because of shoulder injuries.
"We have a bye week to try to get healthy, especially up front," Davis said. "It's tough to move on, but you have to do it. We'll be ready for Georgia Tech. We are beat up right now. It will be good to get healthy and have some extra time to prepare."
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
