North Carolina State University Athletics
Amato: Wolfpack Won't Flinch
9/30/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 30, 2005
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. - The record itself can't be changed or altered. Through three games, NC State is a disappointing 1-2 following close defeats to top-10 ranked Virginia Tech and North Carolina. But when he's addressed his players this week, Wolfpack coach Chuck Amato has made it clear that he doesn't want them to act like members of a team that has a losing record. He's also reminded them that the Pack is perhaps only a couple of plays away from being 3-0. With that in mind, NC State will be looking to walk into next Thursday night's game at Georgia Tech with the mindset that one big win could trigger a dramatic turnaround.
"These guys, they know we're so close, but we're not playing horseshoes," Amato said. "They also know we've got to win a football game. They know they're a good football team. They know they played the No. 3 team (Virginia Tech) in America shoe to shoe and the only thing they won were statistics. That's why I don't like those things. They also know that had they had less in one statistic or another they would have won the football game."
The Wolfpack committed 12 penalties and was minus three in the turnover margin when it dropped a 20-16 decision to the Hokies back on opening night. NC State then let a 24-14 lead slip away last week in a seven point loss to North Carolina.
Borrowing a phrase that he took from former Pack coach Lou Holtz, Amato said "we're not going to flinch."
Senior linebacker Oliver Hoyte has bought into Amato's message, saying that regardless of the current record, he believes this team can be as good or better than the 2002 squad that won a school record 11 games, including the Gator Bowl.
"Not to take anything away from that team, I just think this team is better," said Hoyte, who was a freshman in 2002. "It's just that the level of competition in the ACC is rising every year, and teams are getting better."
And that means there is a much smaller margin for error. The little slipups - things like false start penalties and missed assignments - are now more magnified than ever before in a league that is becoming very, very unforgiving. That small margin for error will again exist at Georgia Tech, a place where NC State hasn't won since 1988.
"Without the coaches speaking to us as a team, I know in my segments with the linebackers we watch film together and we show that we're good," Hoyte said. "We show the good and the bad. We point out when we're turning guys loose when we have them man-to-man and us being undisciplined."
The Yellow Jackets have certainly been a thorn in the Pack's side in recent years, winning four consecutive games in the series. NC State's last win against Tech came in Amato's first year (2000), a game that was decided in double overtime.
"The previous four years, those were close, tough games," said Pack wide receiver Sterling Hicks. "I don't think too much about the past. All I'm thinking about right now is what we can do next Thursday night. Those were tough games; we could have won the last four years. We didn't, so we've just got to move on."
More Pack Points: Junior linebacker Stephen Tulloch ranks second in the ACC and fifth nationally with 10.5 tackles per game. Tulloch had 19 tackles in last Saturday's loss to North Carolina....The Wolfpack ranks second in the league in total offense and total defense....Freshman running back Toney Baker has five touchdowns in the last two games and is tied for the ACC lead in that category....The Wolfpack ranks 110th nationally in penalties with an average of 10 per game. The most common foul through three games? False starts with a total of six.
