North Carolina State University Athletics
HAYNES: View from the Booth
9/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
NC State's four-game home stand to open the 2009 football season will end with a 'worth-the-price-of-a-ticket' match-up against the team picked to win the Big East title this season. So far, Pitt (3-0) has done nothing to disappoint the preseason prognosticators that saw the Panthers as the class of their conference.
Coaches like to say most football games are won and lost at the line of scrimmage. Another old adage suggests teams that consistently stop the run on defense and run the football well on offense will usually win more often than not.
Pitt embraces both of those longtime football philosophies.
In the age of spread offenses and the 'Wildcat,' the Panthers are out to prove that execution and power up front can be as successful as trickery.
"This is old-school football," said NC State head coach Tom O'Brien. "It's not this spread the field, touch football stuff."
In their first three games, the Panthers outscored Youngstown State, Buffalo and Navy by a combined total of 119-44. Following its opening-night 7-3 loss to South Carolina, the Wolfpack came back with dominating wins over lower-division opponents Murray State and Gardner-Webb.
Both coaches now enter Saturday's game wondering exactly how good their respective teams really are.
"If you look at our schedule, we've taken a step-up from a competition level every week," said Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt, whose team has won 13 of its last 17 games dating back to 2007. "Now we're heading down to play an ACC team that's a very good football team. They have a lot of talent. Playing on the road with a full house, this will be another challenge in a different way that our football team will have to meet. We'll find out what kind of team we have."
Now my view from the booth, as I discuss some of things we'll try to hone in on during Saturday's broadcast on the Wolfpack Sports Network.
How Good is the NC State Defense? A week after scoring just seven points against the Wolfpack, South Carolina put 37 on the board at Georgia. As expected, the Pack 'D' dominated up front in the wins over Murray State and Gardner-Webb. The numbers look great thus far: Yielding averages of just 168.3 yards and 9.3 points per game, NC State leads the ACC in total defense and ranks second nationally.
The Wolfpack deserves credit for improving its tackling since week one, and a drill designed to put an emphasis on getting more people to the football has also paid dividends the last few weeks.
But, let's face it; Murray State and Gardner-Webb were often overwhelmed by the Pack's size and speed.
"We know how good we are, the world doesn't know how good we are," said defensive tackle Leroy Burgess. "It doesn't matter that we're playing a Division 1-AA team; we still have to go out there and play the game. We never sleep on any opponent, no matter what. What matters to us is to keep them from scoring, stop the run, getting teams into passing situations and just having fun."
And without a doubt, stopping the run will be the Pack's No.1 priority on Saturday. Getting off blocks and controlling the line of scrimmage against Pitt's huge and experienced offensive line will be a tall task. Running in behind the big boys up front is freshman tailback Dion Lewis, a 5-8 jitterbug, who hides in behind his linemen before darting through creases in the defense.
Averaging 132 yards per game, Lewis is the nation's top freshman rusher.
To have success on Saturday, NC State will somehow have to make the Panthers a little more one-dimensional. Aided by a running attack that has averaged 174 yards per game thus far, quarterback Bill Stull is executing Pitt's play-action attack with precision. Connecting on 70 percent of his throws, Stull has found plenty of throwing lanes against defenses that are stacking the line of scrimmage to stop the run.
How effective will he be if forced into more obvious passing situations? Good question says Wannstedt.
"We'll find out if he can take another step this week," Wannstedt said. "These guys are like us from a pressure standpoint. Our offensive line has done a great job giving up just one sack in three games. He's making quicker decisions, and he's not holding on to the ball. We have plenty of playmakers. Once he started getting comfortable with that, it helped him also."
If NC State allows the Panthers to get anywhere close to that average of 174 rushing yards per game, the defense will stay on the field longer than O'Brien and coordinator Mike Archer would like. Through three games, the Pack is giving up just 70 yards on the ground.
"It's no disrespect to who we have played, but you have to take that into consideration," O'Brien said. "Going forward, we'll have a better idea. After three games [the stats] are good, but it's going to be much better if it's that way after 12 games."
Playmakers Making Plays on Offense: The last time it faced off against a formidable defense, the Wolfpack couldn't get out of its own way against South Carolina. Unable to generate much on first down, NC State constantly faced difficult down and distance situations, which allowed Carolina pass rushers to tee off and collect six sacks on quarterback Russell Wilson.
Here's a sobering statistic: Pitt has 15 sacks through three games.
Whether it's running or throwing, the Pack will have to do a better job staying on schedule on first down to keep the pressure off of Wilson. More than likely, NC State will try to mix it up on first down because just lining up and trying to play smash-mouth football against Pitt's talented and experienced defensive line might not cut it.
After missing last week's game with the flu, senior Julian Williams returns to left guard this week, while freshman Andrew Wallace gets his second straight start at left tackle. Wallace did well against Gardner-Webb last Saturday, but he'll be tested like never before in his young career in this game.
This far, Pitt has managed to get pressure by rushing just four down linemen, which allows seven to stay back in coverage. It's the ultimate formula for success against good passing teams.
But if Wilson is given adequate protection, his track record suggests that he'll be able to make some plays in the passing game, and do so without making a mistake. His now NCAA record of consecutive passes without an interception is up to 329.
"He understands what wins and loses football games," Wannstedt said. "Their tight end right now is their leading receiver and their running back is their fourth leading receiver. That tells you he'll take what the defense gives him. He makes good decisions."
In fact, 11 different receivers have caught passes in each of NC State's last two games.
While big-play pass catcher Owen Spencer is out with a concussion this week, veteran Donald Bowens returns to the rotation after missing all of last year with injuries. Jay Smith is also back after sitting out last week's game with the flu.
The Pack would be unbeaten right now if just one or two balls that caromed off receiver's hands in the South Carolina game would have been caught. Making those same plays, no matter how difficult, could be the difference between winning and losing in this match-up as well.
Punt Protection: After having a punt blocked in the opener against South Carolina, NC State must be leery of Pitt's proclivity to block kicks. The Panthers led the nation in blocked kicks last year with 10. Four of those blocks were on punts.
Given the ease with which they won their first three games, the Panthers may not have yet pulled out their best punt rush strategies so far in 2009. But you can bet Pack special teams coach Jerry Petercuskie spent a lot of time watching Pittsburgh tape from last season.
Saturday's Schedule:
12:30: FanZone Opens on front lawn of RBC Center.
1:00 p.m.: Walk of Champions, front of Murphy Center.
2:30: Wolfpack Sports Network Pre-Game Show.
3:35: Kick off!
