North Carolina State University Athletics
Tony Haynes: Wolfpack Tries To ?Stop The Bleeding?
11/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Tony Haynes
For six weeks, Amato and his staff have been unsuccessful in their attempts to find a tourniquet that could put an end to a losing streak that has now reached six games. The Wolfpack (3-8) now has only one last chance to stop the bleeding when it hosts
Who would have thought it possible a month and a half ago that NC State would go from the euphoria of back-to-back ACC wins over
Not linebacker Pat Lowery and the other 15 Wolfpack seniors who will be appearing in Carter-Finley for the final time on Saturday night.
“I think you’re constantly evaluating yourself as a player and a team throughout the season,” said Lowery, a fifth-year senior. “What you have to look at is your record and ours isn’t very good right now. I think it says something that we’ve been in every game and been competitive in every game. Things just haven’t gone our way like they did in the
It’s been a repeating theme throughout the losing skid, NC State’s longest since the 1984 season. Slow starts, inconsistent offensive production, misfires in the red zone, untimely penalties and turnovers have spelled doom for the Pack week after week.
To their credit, Amato and his players haven’t stopped putting forth the effort necessary to give themselves a chance to win, but when it has come down to making critical plays at crunch time in the fourth quarter, as it did in the wins over B.C. and FSU, the Wolfpack has repeatedly come up empty.
There’s very little doubt that NC State will go into Saturday’s game against ECU beat up both physically and psychologically, a condition that will leave the Wolfpack vulnerable against an opponent that always seems to relish the opportunity to meet up with one of its in-state brethren from the ACC.
“There’s no doubt that this is a big game,” said ECU coach Skip Holtz. “It’s got a lot of implications from a bragging rights standpoint with NC State being only an hour away. It’s got implications from a recruiting standpoint with a lot of in-state athletes, and it’s an opportunity for us to play against an ACC team. There are a lot of things that make this an exciting game and one that is very emotional. You could ask a lot of people around the
The Wolfpack will be tested to view the game in that same light, especially after already expending a lot of emotion and energy in it’s disappointing defeat at
“I think you saw the affect of senior night last week,” Lowery said. “
Without that intensity, the Wolfpack could be staring a seventh straight loss right in the face since
In Holtz’ second year as head coach,
Holtz, who was eight years old when his father, Lou, gave Amato his first fulltime coaching position at NC State in 1973, is well aware of NC State’s problems this season. But he also knows the Wolfpack’s record is somewhat of a mirage.
“I think NC State is a very talented team,” Holtz said. “People want to look at them and say they’re 3-8 right now, but they’re losing football games right now by two points, four points, six points....anytime you’re in coaching long enough you have one of those years where everything works against you.”
It’s the type of year that Amato can’t identify with, not after spending all those seasons at
“This game is about a group of seniors that will be playing their last home game against another team from the state of
Wolfpack Flashback: All-America quarterback Roman Gabriel returns to NC State on Saturday night to help the school recognize the 40 anniversary of the 1961 season. Gabriel was a two-time ACC Player of the Year, one of only five players in the history of the league to win the award twice.
Banged Up: Injuries have certainly started to take their toll on the Wolfpack in recent weeks. Defensive end Ray Brooks (elbow) and tackle DeMario Pressley (wrist) will not play on Saturday, nor will senior guard Leroy Harris (ankle). NC State does hope that right guard Curtis Crouch will return after being knocked out of the Clemson game two weeks ago with a concussion.
