North Carolina State University Athletics
HAYNES: Pack Eager to Learn from Early Miscues
9/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
BY TONY HAYNES
RALEIGH, N.C. – Needless to say, Thursday night's season-opening 7-3 loss to South Carolina was not what NC State's players had in mind when they toiled through off-season conditioning and the sweltering days of preseason practice. Among other things, the Gamecocks sacked Wolfpack quarterback Russell Wilson six times, blocked a punt and kept the Pack out of the end zone for the second straight year.
And while Tom O'Brien and his staff have plenty of things to fix with 11 more games remaining, the Wolfpack's third-year head coach isn't second-guessing his team's preparation for Thursday night's season-opener.
"We prepared for that game as well as we've prepared in my three years here," O'Brien said. "These kids came into this game with the attitude a football team has to have. It was very business-like and not a lot of horsing around like we saw our first two years here. They showed up to play football. If they didn't, it might have ended up the way it did last year. It hurt this team a lot because they put a lot into it. Not to come away with a win was tough for this football team. It's a journey and as long as we get better from here, we'll be fine."
O'Brien noted that the whole demeanor during the week, in the team hotel and even on the bus ride to the stadium was exactly as it should be. Senior defensive tackle Alan-Michael Cash agreed with his coach's assessment.
"You could tell around the hotel that everyone was focused and there wasn't a lot of horse playing," Cash said. "You could see guys walking around with their playbooks and they were really into it. They knew how important this first game was. Unfortunately, we didn't get the win, but I know everyone was on the same page and we'll do better next game."
That next game will be Saturday night at 6 p.m. when Murray State visits Carter-Finley Stadium. The Racers scored in just about every way possible in their 66-10 thrashing of Kentucky Wesleyan on Thursday.
As for NC State, the Wolfpack will look to regroup this week and try to repair the leaks that bogged down its offense for almost the entire 60 minutes against the speedy Gamecocks.
Some of the Pack's woes can be explained by poor field position and an inability to create enough positive yardage on first down plays. State's average starting position in the first half was its own 18-yard line. And on first down plays, the Wolfpack averaged under two yards per attempt, an anemic figure that left Wilson and his offensive line facing a lot of obvious passing situations on second and third downs.
Staying on schedule and getting into more favorable down and distance situations on second and third down will be a priority this week.
"That's something [offensive coordinator] coach Bible talks about all the time on the practice field," senior offensive tackle Jeraill McCuller said. "You have to be on schedule to be a productive offense. If you shoot yourself in the foot by getting a penalty or making a mistake, you set yourself back. Then the defense can pin their ears back and just unload on you. Staying on schedule is a major part of being a successful offense."
The Pack's offensive line did take a hit in the first quarter when starting left tackle Jake Vermiglio went down with a calf injury, a loss that caused left guard Julian Williams to move back to his old spot at tackle. In Vermiglio's absence, redshirt senior Andy Barbee spent most of the evening at guard with redshirt freshman Andrew Wallace also getting some snaps.
In the end, NC State could muster only 133 yards of total offense and a measly average of 2.4 yards per play.
"Three points against anybody is just unacceptable," McCuller said. "We're a better line than that and a better offense than that. Coach Bible hit it on the head the other day when he said the opportunity was there and we failed to execute."
One of the bright spots on offense was true freshman tailback James Washington, who showed some burst in averaging 5.3 yards in the fourth quarter after veteran tailback Jamelle Eugene went down with an injury.
"All through preseason camp he had performed well," O'Brien said. "We made the decision during the week that he would be the third tailback and he came in and gave us a spark. He's a true freshman that came in the game and made the most of his opportunity. If J.E. (Eugene) can't make it through the week of practice, he'll get more playing time."
Eugene and Vermiglio were the two players that left the game with injuries on Thursday night. O'Brien said their status for the Murray State contest won't be finalized until the injury report is released on Thursday.
O'Brien will take calls from fans tonight on his weekly radio show, which will originate from the Backyard Bistro on Trinity Road just across from Carter-Finley Stadium.
