North Carolina State University Athletics
Tony Haynes: Brown Bowl II
9/15/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. By the time Andre Brown entered the game, NC State was behind and Carter-Finley Stadium was quiet. It had already occurred to many in the crowd of 52,500 that they were witnessing a Wolfpack season that was truly about to go up in flames. With less than 13 minutes remaining in the second quarter, the 3-4 Pack was listless and looking like a team on a death spiral.
Southern Mississippi, a team out of Conference USA, was soaking up the silence of an ACC stadium. Owning a 7-0 lead and in complete control, the Golden Eagles sensed panic and dismay amongst everyone wearing red. For Southern Miss., a win like this would indeed look good in the 2006 media guide.
There was very little reaction when Brown trotted into the huddle with NC State facing a 2nd and 10 play from its own 32. Certainly, the Southern Mississippi defenders had not prepared to see the running back wearing No. 24, since he had played very little in the Wolfpack’s first seven games.
They were about to get an education, however, they would not soon forget.
Taking a toss right from quarterback Marcus Stone, the burly Brown swept through a hole and zipped past several defenders on his way to a 41-yard run. Thirty-one carries and 207 yards later, Andre Brown had recorded the second best rushing day in NC State history, a performance surpassed only by the great Ted Brown’s legendary 251-yard joyride through and around Penn State in 1977.
More importantly, Andre Brown’s heroics gave NC State the impetus it needed to turn a 14-0 deficit into a 21-17 win, a victory that would set the stage for a winning finish and a bowl bid.
“He’s big, fast, hard to tackle, a great player....an NFL player no doubt,” Southern Mississippi coach Jeff Bower said this week. “He’s a big time player. We were in a position to win, but we didn’t do it.”
This Saturday at 7:00 p.m., Bower and his Golden Eagles will get a second chance to slow down Brown and the Wolfpack when the two teams meet in a rematch in Hattiesburg.
“If we don’t tackle any better than we did last week and last year, their back will get as many as he did last year.”
Actually, Wolfpack coach Chuck Amato is getting greedy.
“I hope Andre Brown rushes for 600 yards this week,” cracked the 7th year NC State head coach. “We were concerned last year whether we could run on them. It just happened.”
But Amato also says Southern Mississippi’s defensive unit, which returns eight starters, is much improved over last year. A week ago, the Golden Eagles pitched their first shutout in five years, whipping Southeastern Louisiana, 45-0.
Many of the players are the same and so is the scheme. The defense is referred to as Prowler’ because so many players in the Golden Eagles’ front seven are actually prowling around before the snap of the ball. Quite often only two players, usually the ends, are actually down in two-point stances while the others are upright and moving to different spots as the opposing quarterback calls his cadence. While it may appear to be disorganized, there is a method to the madness. When it works, offensive linemen can end up pointing at each other when a play blows up after someone has missed an assignment.
“You’ve got to play with your eyes and your hands, and make sure you can execute your protections,” Amato said.
Pass protection thus far has actually been one of NC State’s strengths through two games. Quarterback Marcus Stone has been sacked only twice, one of those coming when he ran out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage on a third down play against Appalachian State.
Following a sluggish first half against Akron last week, Stone took advantage of the nice pocket forming around him after intermission, completing 11-of-15 throws for 160 yards and two touchdowns in the Pack’s last-season 20-17 defeat.
“The offensive line, the tight ends and the running backs, including the quarterback anticipating the blitzes, have really been on the ball,” said Amato. “If we can continue to do that and complete our throwing motion and step into our throws and get it to those open receivers, we’ll be able to move the ball.”
And the Pack may need for Stone to build on his second half performance of last week since it only figures that Southern Mississippi will be putting a target squarely on Andre Brown’s chest.
Limited to only three carries after suffering a slight leg injury early in the Akron game, Brown should be ready to go in Hattiesburg. In the opener against Appalachian State, the 232-pound sophomore was in midseason form, rushing for 125 yards on only 15 carries.
He, of course, will be looking to turn this Saturday’s contest into Brown Bowl Two,’ while Southern Mississippi may have other ideas.
Road Warriors: For NC State, this will truly be a road test.’ Following a two-plus hour flight on the team charter on Friday afternoon, the Wolfpack will have a Saturday bus ride to the stadium that could last just as long. The Pack’s team hotel is in Jackson, approximately two hours from M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg. Many of the hotels in and around Hattiesburg, especially those large enough to accommodate football teams, are still being used for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.
“It’s a tough place to get to and we have a lot of young guys who have never been on a trip,” said Amato. “Is it a concern? Why worry about the elements? I can’t get three Learjets in there to fly them in the day of the game, so we’ll have to take a two-hour bus trip to bring them in. All the other teams have to do the same thing when they go there.”
Travel inconveniences aside, there may be another reason many teams from bigger conferences try to avoid scheduling games in Hattiesburg: Since 1976, the Golden Eagles are 108-35 in their home stadium. In 16 years under Bower, the home record is 56-15 (.789).
Lowry Has It Down Pat: Wolfpack middle linebacker Pat Lowery’s stopwatch numbers may not knock anyone’s socks off, but his actual football statistics suggest that the senior gets to opposing ball carriers in plenty of time. Through two games this season, Lowery leads the ACC in tackles with an average of 10.5 per game.
“He’s got what I call mental speed,” Amato said. “Some people run a 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds on a track, but when you put them on a football field against 11 other people that they don’t know, they run 5.4. Pat’s just the other way around. Pat’s 40-yard time isn’t as slow as what some might think, but because of his mental grasp of the game and his anticipation of certain things out of certain formations and downs and distances, he becomes a lot quicker.”
Injury Update: For the third straight week, the Wolfpack will be without center Luke Lathan who continues to recover from a concussion. Starting corner A.J. Davis has also been ruled out once again. Davis hasn't played since pulling a hamstring early in the opener against Appalachian State.
