North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Hopes to Slow Down Hot Jackets
9/30/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Game 5: NC State (2-2, 0-1 ACC) vs. #21 Georgia Tech (4-0, 1-0 ACC)
October 1, 2011 • 3:30 p.m.
Raleigh, N.C. • Carter-Finley Stadium (57,583)
TV: ABC | Radio: Wolfpack Sports Network | Gametracker
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When it hosts 21st ranked Georgia Tech (4-0, 1-0) Saturday afternoon at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday, NC State (2-2, 0-1) will be trying to slow down one of the nation’s most prolific offenses.
Game time is set for 3:36 p.m. The Wolfpack Sports Network will begin its pregame coverage at 2:30 p.m.
While coach Paul Johnson’s previous three Georgia Tech offenses were productive, none of them would have been described as ‘high-flying.’ This year, however, Johnson has done some tweaking to his wingbone attack, alterations that have added a big-play passing attack to Tech’s arsenal.
The results have been stunning. Not only do the Yellow Jackets lead the nation in total offense (630 ypg) and scoring offense (53.2), they’re also No. 1 in passing efficiency with redshirt junior Tevin Washington pulling the trigger. The big plays in Georgia Tech’s first four games have been plentiful, with seven scoring completions covering 52 yards or more. To top it off, the Yellow Jackets are only the fifth team in ACC history to score 35 or more points in each of their first four games.
“They’re a great team,” said NC State defensive tackle Darryl Cato-Bishop. “We’ve got a lot on our hands this week.”
Making the Pack’s assignment even more daunting is an injury bug that has decimated the front seven on defense. Cato-Bishop’s plight is symptomatic of what is ailing the NC State defense. After starting the season at defensive end, the redshirt sophomore has now moved back to tackle, the position he played last year.
Already without tackles J.R. Sweezy and Thomas Teal, State lost two more players at those same positions when Brian Slay (ankle) and A.J. Ferguson (knee) went down in the first half of last Thursday’s 44-14 loss at Cincinnati. Slay and Ferguson will not be available on Saturday. On the positive side, Sweezy, who’s been out the entire season with a broken bone in his foot, is listed as questionable for the game against Tech.
“We’re not where we thought we could be because we’re going to start the fifth different defensive line-up in the fifth game of the year,” said NC State coach Tom O’Brien. “We’ve moved Cato-Bishop inside and we’re going to play with a walk-on inside (Jacob Kahut). That’s where we are. We’re going to coach them up and go play a football game.”
Said Cato-Bishop of the crippling rash of injuries: “It’s football. It’s life. You deal with obstacles in life, so we have to deal with it. We just need to keep playing hard and try to give 110 percent out there each and every play.”
NC State certainly won’t get any sympathy from Georgia Tech, especially after handling the Yellow Jackets in convincing fashion one year ago in Atlanta. Paul Johnson found no silver linings in his team’s 45-28 loss to the Wolfpack 12 months ago at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
“I remember we played very poorly,” Johnson recalled. “We got a punt blocked for a touchdown. We turned the ball over on offense a couple of times. We couldn’t get a stop when we needed to on defense. They beat us in every phase. It sticks in your craw a little bit. Competitors look forward to having another chance.”
Perhaps the most striking statistic from last year’s game was time of possession as the Wolfpack beat the normally ball-hogging Jackets at their own game, owning a 33:14 to 26:46 edge in T-O-P. State middle linebacker Nate Irving was a one-man wrecking crew on defense with 16 tackles, while quarterback Russell Wilson passed for 385 yards and three scores.
Wilson’s successor under center, Mike Glennon, has thrown for an average of 307 yards over his last three games, completing 65 percent of his throws with nine touchdowns. As impressive as those numbers are, they haven’t translated to consistent offensive success because of leaky pass protection and an unproductive running game.
“Glennon probably has a stronger arm than Russell Wilson, so they’re not going to change a lot of what they do,” Johnson said. “Where they’ve struggled to this point a little bit is running the football. Last year against us they didn’t struggle, they ran it when they wanted to.”
At Cincinnati, Glennon was sacked five times while the running game went backwards, rushing for an unsightly minus-26 yards (sacks also count as rushing yards in college football).
“We have to keep on working,” Wolfpack center Camden Wentz said. “We have to create a new line of scrimmage better, come off the ball better than the defensive line, push them back and create running lanes.”
Another of NC State’s primary running backs will be missing this week. Curtis Underwood, who leads the Pack in rushing with 226 yards on 42 carries, injured a knee in the game at Cincinnati. It’s expected James Washington will be backed up by redshirt freshman Tony Creecy. The Wolfpack is still awaiting the return of last year’s leading rusher, Mustafa Greene, who continues to recover from offseason foot surgery.
In order to make it two in a row over the Yellow Jackets, it will be incumbent upon the NC State offense to keep the chains moving and stay on the field as much as possible, thus keeping Georgia Tech’s buzz-saw of an offense on the sidelines. So far, no one has been able to effectively deal with Johnson’s offense, especially now that it features a respectable passing attack.
“This offense is always difficult to play against because it’s unique,” O’Brien said. “It’s going to be a tremendous challenge for our football team. We’re going to find out who the guys are that are disciplined and mentally tough because the offense forces you to concentrate on your assignment each and every play. If you don’t play your assignment on every play, that’s all it takes to get you beat is on that one play.”
By Tony Haynes
