North Carolina State University Athletics
PEELER: Pack Looking For 3rd Straight Post-Bye Surge
10/26/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
RALEIGH, N.C. – In each of the last two seasons, NC State's football team has used its open date to jumpstart successful ends to seasons that did not start out well.
In Tom O'Brien's first year, the Wolfpack rolled off four straight wins after its open date. Last year, the Pack suffered a pair of close losses just after the bye week, then reeled off four straight victories to qualify for post-season play. Both years, O'Brien's teams were 4-2 after an off week.
Could this be the third year in a row for such a turnaround, following three consecutive ACC losses?
"We are ready for a new day," said senior center Ted Larsen Monday afternoon.
But head coach Tom O'Brien said there will not be any dramatic changes in personnel or formation for his football team. He and his staff spent the last week working on fundamentals, in hopes of making the players he already has in the lineup better.
"This [year] is different," O'Brien said. "The first year we were here, we were doing different things with different people. What we were coaching them wasn't what they were capable of doing. We changed some guys' positions to fit what we had to do to win.
"That is not the case this year. We know what we want to do, we just haven't gotten the execution out of some guys that we [need], specifically on third-down situations, to get the defense off the field."
So the coach had only a few minor changes to the Wolfpack starting lineup for Saturday's game at Florida State. Freshman C.J. Wilson returns as a starter in the secondary, at the boundary corner position. Wilson started the season opener against South Carolina on the opposite side, at field corner, but has been a reserve since then, seeing action on a total of 155 plays.
"He gives us the best chance we have in the secondary," O'Brien said. "Part of last week was to realign the seventh different starting group. It's been a struggle, but hopefully he will be the answer."
O'Brien did announced another season-ending injury, this one to true freshman running back James Washington, who suffered a knee injury last week at Boston College. He is the 10th Wolfpack player to suffer a season-ending injury since August, including starters Nate Irving and Rashard Smith.
Despite the three consecutive losses, O'Brien said his team
"We have had good practices during the off week," said the coach. "I don't think they have shown any sense that they are down or anything like that. Talking with a couple kids, they understand what they have to get done. It's a question of making it work and making it happen."
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
