North Carolina State University Athletics
South Carolina Topples Pack in FB Opener, 34-0
8/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
BY TIM PEELER
COLUMBIA, S.C. For most of the first three quarters of Thursday night’s season-opening 34-0 loss to South Carolina, NC State head coach Tom O’Brien liked what he saw from his young defense.
But there was little to praise about the Wolfpack offense, especially after redshirt freshman Russell Wilson was knocked out of the game following a scary hit late in the second quarter and had to be carted off the field on a stretcher.
Wilson, making his first career start, suffered a Grade III concussion and was taken for observation to Richlands Memorial Hospital, where he stayed overnight.
South Carolina also lost its starting quarterback, Tommy Beecher, to a head injury, but the difference in the game was that Gamecock reserve Chris Smelley came off the bench and led his team to three fourth-quarter touchdowns to open up what had been a close game.
The loss ended State’s five-game winning streak over the Gamecocks that dated back to 1989 and evened the all-time series record at 26-26-4. Combined with a 37-0 loss to Maryland at the end of last season, it was the second consecutive shutout loss for the Wolfpack, something that hasn’t happened since 1956. It was also the first shutout to open a season since 1955.
Both teams struggled offensively early in the game, committing four turnovers each. But South Carolina took better advantage of the Wolfpack miscues, scoring 10 points at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half following Wolfpack turnovers deep in its own territory.
The first came on an errant shotgun snap from Wolfpack converted defensive lineman Teddy Larsen to redshirt senior quarterback Daniel Evans, who took over the offense in Wilson’s absence.
The Wolfpack (0-1) got the ball to start the second half, but on the second play, Gamecock defensive back Carlos Thomas intercepted an Evans pass at the 19 and returned the ball inside the 10-yard line. On fourth down, Mike Davis went one yard for the game’s first touchdown.
“The game was fine until the last series when we fumbled the ball before the half and then the first series of the second half,” O’Brien said. “We kind of let the game get away from us. We just ran out of gas on defense at the end. A lot of the rest of our problems had to do with the ineptness of our offense.”
The Wolfpack had just 138 yards in total offense, much of which came from senior tailback Andre Brown, who notched his sixth career game of 100 or more rushing yards. Brown, starting in place of injured junior Jamelle Eugene, had 101 yards on 21 carries to move into 11th place on the NC State career rushing list with 1,873 yards.
“Certainly we missed Jamelle Eugene, but everybody was talking about Andre Brown like he was chopped liver,” O’Brien said. “I thought we rushed the ball well all night. Andre had over 100 yards and Curtis Underwood got some yards at the end of the game.”
The Wolfpack defense made Beecher’s debut unmemorable, picking off three of his passes before halftime and four overall. Redshirt safety Jimmaul Simmons, on his first career snap, intercepted a Beecher pass to end South Carolina’s first possession.
“We held them for a while, but we didn’t hold them long enough,” Simmons said. “We still have some work to do. This was a game to show what we had on defense. We just need to get more effort from the whole team.”
Linebacker Nate Irving made a one-handed interception deep in NC State territory to end a potential scoring drive after Brown fumbled the ball away on State’s third possession.
And redshirt freshman Justin Byers intercepted Beecher in the second quarter, setting up the Wolfpack’s best offensive drive of the first half until Wilson tried to run the ball on a quarterback keeper. South Carolina’s Jordin Lindsey hit Wilson initially, but then the quarterback hit his head on defensive end Cliff Matthews’ right knee, knocking him unconscious.
Wilson stayed on the turf for 10 minutes and was immobilized on a stretcher. He was taken of the field on a cart with 4:09 remaining in the first half. Wilson gave a thumbs-up sign from the stretcher as he left the field and was diagnosed by team doctors with a concussion.
“You see a teammate that you practice with and lift weights with and do everything with down on the field like that and it is really hard to watch,” Evans said. “But the hangover from that was not why we lost. Other than losing a great player, I don’t think there was an emotional hangover.”
Evans took over the offense, advancing to the South Carolina 32-yard line. On fourth down, sophomore placekicker Josh Czajkowski missed a 49-yard field goal attempt on the Wolfpack’s first scoring opportunity of the season.
After South Carolina’s touchdown, the Wolfpack defense again created problems for Beecher. Midway through the third quarter, sophomore cornerback DeAndre Morgan became the fourth Wolfpack player to get his first career interception, picking off a Beecher pass in the end zone.
Succop added to the Gamecock lead with 1:15 remaining in the third quarter, making a 46-yard field goal.
O’Brien said he did not expect the lopsided loss to affect his team’s confidence going into next Saturday’s home opener against William & Mary at Carter-Finley Stadium, a contest that kicks off at 6 p.m.
“I am not going to let them lose confidence,” O’Brien said. “We will go back home, get them going and go out and win a football game next week against William & Mary.”
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
COLUMBIA, S.C. For most of the first three quarters of Thursday night’s season-opening 34-0 loss to South Carolina, NC State head coach Tom O’Brien liked what he saw from his young defense.
But there was little to praise about the Wolfpack offense, especially after redshirt freshman Russell Wilson was knocked out of the game following a scary hit late in the second quarter and had to be carted off the field on a stretcher.
Wilson, making his first career start, suffered a Grade III concussion and was taken for observation to Richlands Memorial Hospital, where he stayed overnight.
South Carolina also lost its starting quarterback, Tommy Beecher, to a head injury, but the difference in the game was that Gamecock reserve Chris Smelley came off the bench and led his team to three fourth-quarter touchdowns to open up what had been a close game.
The loss ended State’s five-game winning streak over the Gamecocks that dated back to 1989 and evened the all-time series record at 26-26-4. Combined with a 37-0 loss to Maryland at the end of last season, it was the second consecutive shutout loss for the Wolfpack, something that hasn’t happened since 1956. It was also the first shutout to open a season since 1955.
Both teams struggled offensively early in the game, committing four turnovers each. But South Carolina took better advantage of the Wolfpack miscues, scoring 10 points at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half following Wolfpack turnovers deep in its own territory.
The first came on an errant shotgun snap from Wolfpack converted defensive lineman Teddy Larsen to redshirt senior quarterback Daniel Evans, who took over the offense in Wilson’s absence.
The Wolfpack (0-1) got the ball to start the second half, but on the second play, Gamecock defensive back Carlos Thomas intercepted an Evans pass at the 19 and returned the ball inside the 10-yard line. On fourth down, Mike Davis went one yard for the game’s first touchdown.
“The game was fine until the last series when we fumbled the ball before the half and then the first series of the second half,” O’Brien said. “We kind of let the game get away from us. We just ran out of gas on defense at the end. A lot of the rest of our problems had to do with the ineptness of our offense.”
The Wolfpack had just 138 yards in total offense, much of which came from senior tailback Andre Brown, who notched his sixth career game of 100 or more rushing yards. Brown, starting in place of injured junior Jamelle Eugene, had 101 yards on 21 carries to move into 11th place on the NC State career rushing list with 1,873 yards.
“Certainly we missed Jamelle Eugene, but everybody was talking about Andre Brown like he was chopped liver,” O’Brien said. “I thought we rushed the ball well all night. Andre had over 100 yards and Curtis Underwood got some yards at the end of the game.”
The Wolfpack defense made Beecher’s debut unmemorable, picking off three of his passes before halftime and four overall. Redshirt safety Jimmaul Simmons, on his first career snap, intercepted a Beecher pass to end South Carolina’s first possession.
“We held them for a while, but we didn’t hold them long enough,” Simmons said. “We still have some work to do. This was a game to show what we had on defense. We just need to get more effort from the whole team.”
Linebacker Nate Irving made a one-handed interception deep in NC State territory to end a potential scoring drive after Brown fumbled the ball away on State’s third possession.
And redshirt freshman Justin Byers intercepted Beecher in the second quarter, setting up the Wolfpack’s best offensive drive of the first half until Wilson tried to run the ball on a quarterback keeper. South Carolina’s Jordin Lindsey hit Wilson initially, but then the quarterback hit his head on defensive end Cliff Matthews’ right knee, knocking him unconscious.
Wilson stayed on the turf for 10 minutes and was immobilized on a stretcher. He was taken of the field on a cart with 4:09 remaining in the first half. Wilson gave a thumbs-up sign from the stretcher as he left the field and was diagnosed by team doctors with a concussion.
“You see a teammate that you practice with and lift weights with and do everything with down on the field like that and it is really hard to watch,” Evans said. “But the hangover from that was not why we lost. Other than losing a great player, I don’t think there was an emotional hangover.”
Evans took over the offense, advancing to the South Carolina 32-yard line. On fourth down, sophomore placekicker Josh Czajkowski missed a 49-yard field goal attempt on the Wolfpack’s first scoring opportunity of the season.
After South Carolina’s touchdown, the Wolfpack defense again created problems for Beecher. Midway through the third quarter, sophomore cornerback DeAndre Morgan became the fourth Wolfpack player to get his first career interception, picking off a Beecher pass in the end zone.
Succop added to the Gamecock lead with 1:15 remaining in the third quarter, making a 46-yard field goal.
O’Brien said he did not expect the lopsided loss to affect his team’s confidence going into next Saturday’s home opener against William & Mary at Carter-Finley Stadium, a contest that kicks off at 6 p.m.
“I am not going to let them lose confidence,” O’Brien said. “We will go back home, get them going and go out and win a football game next week against William & Mary.”
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
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