North Carolina State University Athletics
Tony Haynes: Pack Enjoying ACC Top Spot
10/9/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Tony Haynes
Not only had NC State dropped back-to-back non-conference games to
But a funny thing happened on the way to the abyss.
No. 1, Amato made a quarterback change that has added a substantial spark to the offense. No. 2, a defense that was flattened in
The results speak for themselves.
Following consecutive come from behind victories over the Eagles and Seminoles, the Wolfpack (3-2, 2-0) is now the only remaining unbeaten team in the Atlantic Division heading into this Saturday’s 12-noon match-up with Wake Forest (5-1, 1-1) at Carter-Finley Stadium.
How quickly things can change. The Pack’s trip from the outhouse to the penthouse was as sudden as it was unexpected. Almost overnight, NC State’s players and coaches have gone from getting stabs in the back to pats on the back.
But the sudden acclaim and adulation is not something Amato wants to hear. For that matter, he doesn’t buy the notion that his Wolfpack is suddenly the toast of the town after being more like the roast of the town just a few short weeks ago.
“I’d like to know who everybody is that’s telling us that we’re good and that we’re going to win the division,” Amato said during his weekly press conference on Monday. “Who has told us that? I’ve not had one person tell me that we’re good.”
Perhaps that’s Amato’s way of reminding his players that they better not start climbing on a high horse, especially with a visit from the dangerous Deacons on the horizon. After all,
NC State can certainly empathize with that particular moment of misfortune. Mistakes, more specifically turnovers, contributed to the Wolfpack’s sluggish 1-2 start. Through its first three games, the Pack had piled up a total of 10 turnovers. But in the win over B.C., NC State had just one giveaway before trumping that effort with a turnover-free game in Thursday night’s pulsating 24-20 triumph over FSU.
In fact, the Wolfpack has now played back-to-back games against the Seminoles without turning the ball over.
“We taught ourselves some lessons,” defensive tackle Tank Tyler responded when asked about the potentially disastrous defeats to
About the only good thing that happened at
Two games since, NC State appears to be a totally different team.
As a starter, Evans has completed 28-of-53 throws for 369 yards, four touchdowns and just one interception. More importantly, however, he’s 2-0 as a starter. The redshirt sophomore’s stunning success has even caught his coach by surprise.
“I don’t want to make it sound like we didn’t think he could do it,” Amato. “He’s made plays. We’ve won these two games because we’ve had some people make some plays, which we weren’t doing before. We haven’t arrived now. We still haven’t hit the 350-yard mark in a game, and we’ve only been over 300 yards twice. But the plays have been made at the right time. It’s encouraging. We’re so proud of Daniel and for Daniel.”
Evans’ heroics the last few weeks have certainly been noticed, not only in the ACC, but around the nation. Both games were televised nationally by ESPN. For his efforts against
“As I said, when we made that move three weeks ago, [Daniel] earned it at
He earned it and his team is now reaping the benefits.
Home Sweet Home: The new look’ Carter-Finley stadium is certainly paying dividends. The raucous atmosphere on Thursday night provided the Pack with a huge home field edge. At one point in the fourth quarter, crowd noise had a direct impact on FSU’s decision to use its final timeout. It’s a timeout the Seminoles desperately needed during their final drive, a march that ended with DaJuan Morgan’s game-clinching interception.
“It was loud,” Amato observed on Monday. “I had some people that I talked with on Friday that were at a couple of big Southeastern Conference games the last two weeks, and they thought the stadiums were off the charts. They were here and they said they didn’t compare to this on that particular night. The crowd has been good [in other games], but it was electric the other night. It was awesome.”
