North Carolina State University Athletics
HAYNES: Undefeated Pack Opens ACC Play
9/24/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 24, 2010
Game Day Central
Ask the Analyst
Wolfpack Sports Network affiliates
BY TONY HAYNES
RALEIGH, N.C. - Regardless of what strategies they choose to employ in an effort to slow down Georgia Tech's triple option offense on Saturday, it's very doubtful NC State's defensive coaches will come up with something Paul Johnson hasn't seen before. The Yellow Jackets head coach and mastermind behind an offense that produced an ACC championship last year seems to have an adjustment to every alignment, every stunt, and every blitz opposing teams try to use against his so-called "flexbone."
It might as well be called the "vexbone" because Johnson has been confusing teams with his unique run-oriented attack dating all the way back to his days at Georgia Southern from 1997-2001.
NC State (3-0) will see the quirky, yet efficient offense for the very first time when it travels to Atlanta to meet Tech (2-1) Saturday at noon. Airtime on the Wolfpack Sports Network is 11 a.m. Johnson became Georgia Tech's head coach in 2008, two years after the last meeting between the two ACC members.
"We've played this type of offense before as coaches, but this football team hasn't," NC State head coach Tom O'Brien said. "We have to do a good job on defense of recognizing our assignments. It's assignment football and it's tough, physical football. They make you tough and they test your mental toughness because once you get tired and stop concentrating, that's when they pop all those big plays on you. They're tough enough to keep running the fullback, running the quarterback or pitching the football because they understand what they're doing. That's all a part of those seven-, eight- and nine-minute drives they have.
"They wear you out."
Just ask North Carolina.
A week ago in Chapel Hill, the Yellow Jackets went on a 20-play, 10-minute second quarter that seemed to take the heart out of North Carolina's defense. And although the drive produced just a field goal, it set the tone for the rest of the game as Tech went on to post it's seventh straight conference win, 30-24.
The key to Johnson's offense is always the quarterback. And in Joshua Nesbitt, Georgia Tech possesses a senior signal caller who completely understands all of the nuances the offense demands. Along with leading the ACC in touchdowns with six, Nesbitt also ranks third in rushing yards per game (89.0). The reigning first-team All-ACC quarterback has also thrown touchdown passes in each of his last two games.
"He's not only a good runner, but a powerful runner and he runs through tackles," O'Brien said. "He's been in the offense now for a couple of years so he feels comfortable with what his job is and what his assignment is. They certainly have designated runs for him but when he's got the ball he can either give it or pitch it. A lot of times he wants to keep it and run with it."
With 57 carries to his credit through three games, Nesbitt has carried the ball 20 more times than running back Anthony Allen. He averages 19 carries per game. And when the secondary becomes overly fixated with the running game, Nesbitt is a good enough thrower to pull the ball and look for a receiver downfield.
At North Carolina, Nesbitt put the ball in the air only four times, but completed three including a 23-yard scoring pass to Roddy Jones.
"When you're averaging 20 yards per completion, that's a big-play pass offense," said O'Brien. "They run the ball, run the ball and run the ball and lull the secondary to sleep. Once [the secondary] misses a key, they run by you and complete a pass. It's devastating."
Conventional wisdom suggests that the blitzes out of multiple fronts that have served the NC State defense well the last two weeks may not be as prudent or productive against the Georgia Tech offense. The type of assignment oriented football used to effectively defend the option usually requires a more measured approach.
"I think we'll see some multiple fronts," said Johnson, a two-time ACC Coach of the Year. "They've been very aggressive. It would be hard to change totally, but you have to pick your spots when you're playing against a running team with all that aggression."
With an average of 345 yards per game, the Yellow Jackets are third in the nation in rushing offense. If Georgia Tech equals or exceed its average of 6.1 yards per rush, the Wolfpack defense will likely spend more time on the field than O'Brien would like. Such a scenario would also limit the number of times quarterback Russell Wilson and his productive NC State offense can touch the football.
So far, the Wolfpack defense has done a good job of getting off the field, but will that be the case on Saturday?
"They have a good offense that's tough to stop," said linebacker Audie Cole, NC State's leading tackler through three games. "You have to be very disciplined on defense to stop them. If one person makes a mistake or doesn't take the guy he has, it could be 60 yards. That's what we're trying to stop this week."
In its 2010 ACC opener on Saturday, NC State will be trying to end Georgia Tech's six-game home winning streak in conference games. The Yellow Jackets haven't dropped a league game at home since Al Groh's Virginia Cavaliers won at Bobby Dodd Stadium on October 25, 2008. Groh is now in his first year as Georgia Tech's defensive coordinator.
The Pack's last ACC road win came at North Carolina in November 2008.
"You can't be worried about what your record is after the third game of the year, you have to focus in on the team you're about to play," O'Brien said. "It will all shake out one way or another. It doesn't matter if we're 0-3 or 3-0, we still have to play Georgia Tech this week."
NC State fans planning to attend Saturday's game in Atlanta are reminded that traffic will be closed on historic Peachtree Street from 10th Street to 5th Street to accommodate pedestrians attending a midtown arts festival.
