View Full Version : Gardner-Webb vs NC State
EagleDawg
September 14th, 2009, 11:17 AM
BCS/FCS match-up should be a 17-24 pt. win for the Pack. However, GW played GA. Tech in Atlanta last fall to a 10-7 score so going on the road to an ACC school is not new or scary for the Runnin Dawgs. Ga. Tech last season's 4th best rushing offense in the country couldn't crack 100 yds against the Dawgs nor could the ACC's leading rusher and player of the year Jonathan Dwyer break 50 yds. GW is an experienced team with a solid front 7 on defense and they spread the field on offense with quite a bit of speed and athleticism.
NC State likely won't be able to run any better against the GW defense than Ga. Tech did, so how well State's Russell Wilson throws the ball and how well GW defenses the pass will be key. For the upset to happen, GW will need to put 24 points on the board and if they do, this could lead to the school's biggest win in school history. Not predicting the upset here but I wouldn't be shocked either.
Keys to a GW upset
1) no or limit turnovers
2) defense the run as well as they did against Ga. Tech
3) don't give up big pass plays to State
4) play to win, don't play conservatively, turn them Dawgs loose
5) watch out for bad match-ups against bigger State WR's against smaller GW DB's
6) substitute early to keep guys fresh for the 2nd half
7) score 24 points
8) win the kicking game
Go Runnin Bulldogs!!!xnodxxnodx
britt
September 14th, 2009, 11:48 AM
I too think the Dogs can play with NC STATE, our D Backs are hurting a little, I think if we can get the starting D Backs back and ready to go by Saturday, I think they can play with State. The Defense has speed in every position, I think if the starting Safties are healthy and ready to go as well as our injured Corner, I think GW can give them a game to remember.
FUwolfpacker
September 14th, 2009, 12:11 PM
As far as the GT game last year goes, GT was playing their 3rd team QB that day. Nesbitt and Jaybo Shaw were both out. Don't know if it would have mattered, but it's something to consider when you look at the final score.
I admit I don't know how GW stacks up compared to Murray State, but NC State beat MSU 65-7 and took the foot off the gas the entire 4th quarter. Held MSU to -2 yards at halftime and about 34 total yards for the game (most of that coming in the 4th quarter when it was mainly a mix of 2nd/3rd stringers and freshmen. They could have named their number on Saturday. That's the same MSU that put up 66 (?) on a D2 team the week before.
EagleDawg's keys are pretty spot on although I think GW will need to score a few more than 24 points.
GW has recruited well and I knew they were going to be an improved team this year, but I don't know if they're that far along...at least not yet. Then again, if State has an offensive game like they did against SC, GW could definitely be in it all the way to the end.
NC State is not as bad as SC made them look, and they're probably not as good as they looked against Murray St. GW should definitely give them a better game, but I don't think it will be a repeat of GT last year. You never know though...that's why they play the games.
OLDLCOACH111
September 14th, 2009, 01:18 PM
Even though GT played a 3rd string QB, it was GT 6th game of the season and the rest of the 21 GT players on the field that night were 1st stringers. I can understand how the option attack could of been a little out of tune but GT couldn't even get any yards on dive plays, and the Gardner -Webb Defensive line controlled their O-line the whole game....
Game Article
http://www.ajc.com/hotjobs/content/printedition/2008/10/12/techfoot.html?cxntlid=inform_artr
http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/cnishared/tools/shared/mediahub/07/61/73/slideshow_773617_tech13.jpg
http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/cnishared/tools/shared/mediahub/08/69/73/slideshow_773698_tech15.jpg
elcid83
September 14th, 2009, 01:23 PM
Eagle,
We have watched an interesting leadup going into this game. 1st game against Mars Hill - we saw a team take it from the practice field to the stadium and play just like they game planned it. 2nd game - we got to see our Dogs go up against bigger and better talent and still play well. The final TD drive was very impressive given that WCU had tied the score on our boys. I know we will have to play well to beat the Wolfpack, but I don't feel like a L is a foregone conclusion.
Go Runnin' Bulldogs!
EagleDawg
September 14th, 2009, 03:46 PM
ElCid83 - I'm with you my man, a L is not a foregone conclusion. GW will need to play 4 quarters the way they played the first 2 1/2 qtrs at WCU and State will need to give us a bit of help but only a bit and an upset could be in the cards. USC's athletic front 7 manhandled State's O-line so GW maybe can make some hay there. It will be interesting to see how State plays against the spread O. Will they play single coverage or keep a safety deep. The GW O-line will need to have a solid game and Doolittle will need to make quick but good decisions. I don't just see State laying back, I think they'll come after Doolittle. With a break or two, I can see the Dawgs breaking a couple of long plays on the Pack. If we can get on the board and hang in there, we got a shot.
EagleDawg
September 14th, 2009, 08:40 PM
Just finished listening to the Tom O'Brien Show on the NC State Football Network. He gave GW all the expected platitudes talking about Stan Doolittle, his size, toughness running over a WCU defender last Saturday and his overall game last week. O'Brien also talked about GW's inside LB's Mario Brown and Jeff Williams and their status as potential All-Americans. He brought up GW's game against Ga. Tech last year and the Dawgs ability to hold Tech and J. Dwyer down and said the Pack will have to play well to get a run game going and win. He talked a bit about Coachh Patton and his tenure at GW and the winning record, the spread O that GW runs and how he expected GW to be really looking forward to playing State.
I'm not a O'Brien expert but although he said things that seemed like he was concerned about GW it just sounded all a bit rehearsed. So I hope our Runnin Bulldogs go in to Carter-Finley and pull the upset and maybe keep that wolf howl to a minimum Saturday night.
We have a divided household as my oldest son is a NC State Jr while my youngest son is a GW Football player. One will be in the stands hopefully cheering for his brother and the other down on the field. As a Dad, I'll take that.
ASU_Fanatic
September 14th, 2009, 09:22 PM
Remember last year 10-7 to a great GT team.
EagleDawg
September 15th, 2009, 12:27 PM
Following up last week's GW vs WCU prediction is a tough order but here goes. The Dawgs will play State extremely tough, stay in the game and may even grab the lead at some point but State's depth and size along with a solid defensive performance will be too much in the end as the Pack pulls away late to win 34-20. I'll be pulling for the Dawgs to spring the upset and be in the stands with the Bulldog faithful. I want to be as wrong this week as I was lucky last week on the prediction, all to the Dawgs, advantage of course. On second thought, what the heck, the Dawgs pull off the upset and win 20-17.
g-webb1994
September 16th, 2009, 12:10 PM
Drink that kool aid Eagle!xthumbsupx
An awesome win at WCU, G-W has some momentum for sure. However, any element of surprise is gone after the GT game last season. O'Brien no doubt has drilled that into the collective heads of his team.
NC State isn't going to embarrass us like they did Murray State, but we won't win, no matter how satisfying it would be to see NC State fans kringe and hide in disgust. G-W plays well and respectable, but comes home with an L, but hopefully plenty to build on during the off week before the big conference opener at VMI.
NCSU 34
G-W 17
TTUEagles
September 16th, 2009, 01:42 PM
I'm definitely pulling for GW, but I'd be concerned about what NC St. was able to do against Murray St ( a predicted middle-of-the-pack OVC team this year ). Is G-W supposed to be improved over last year? Good Luck!
GridFan
September 16th, 2009, 01:44 PM
Much improved from 2008 TTU. Particularly from that awful night in Cookeville.
EagleDawg
September 16th, 2009, 06:17 PM
GWebb1994 - If it'll get us a upset W on Saturday, I'll drink Kool-Aid, Powerade, Gatorade, Lemonade, you name it. Weather is becoming a bit of concern for me as we're looking at a 60% chance of rain. I can't see either team throwing the ball that well if it becomes steady or heavy and if it boils down to a defensive battle with the Offenses limited to basically running it, then State holds the edge unless of course they put the ball on the ground more than the Dawgs. It might then come down to the kicking game. The Dawgs will need Gates to bring his A game should that scenario come about. Weird things happen in bad weather games so we'll see. Will you be in Raleigh on Saturday night? We're there no matter the weather.
g-webb1994
September 16th, 2009, 11:42 PM
Gotta work until 3 in the afternoon, so no, won't be in Raleigh.:( I would vote for rain in a heartbeat, our defense can handle the sloppy conditions and keep the game closer.
EagleDawg
September 17th, 2009, 09:54 AM
GW-Webb1994 - Sorry to hear that you can't make it. Word I'm hearing is that practices have been very good so far this week. I think the Dawgs relish the opportunity to go to NCSU and show what they can do. I don't see a bit of fear or signs of intimidiation. I believe the Ga. Tech game last fall really helps them that way. Tough 4 game road trip but winning the WCU game was very important as will be the VMI road game on 10/3. The Dawgs get a win at VMI then the worst they can be coming off two games against BCS schools and 4 in a row on the road is 3-2 and they could be better with some great play and good fortune.xnodxxnodx
Mikeyosef
September 17th, 2009, 10:04 AM
Coming on the heels of a blowout win against Murray State I'd say GW couldn't got to Carter Finley at a better time. I have heard others say Tom O is drilling the GT v GW game into the heads of his players but if the attitude of the State fans is any gauge at all State could be in for an upset or at least a good scare. That's what I'm hoping for anyway.
GridFan
September 17th, 2009, 10:10 AM
Nice story in the Charlotte paper on G-W linebackers. Just had this emailed to me.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/story/952766.html
EagleDawg
September 17th, 2009, 10:49 AM
GridFan - Thanks for the link. It is a good article and GW's hopes in large part do lie with those LB's getting the job done Saturday. We'll be there rain and all cheering on those Dawgs. I'm sensing things lining up for an upset (confident underdogs, overconfident favorites coming off a blow-out win, bad weather, maybe a smaller/more sub-dued home crowd resultin from the weather, etc.). It's a script that can be written. Go Runnin Bulldogs!xnodxxnodx
elcid83
September 17th, 2009, 10:54 AM
Nice story in the Charlotte paper on G-W linebackers. Just had this emailed to me.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/story/952766.html
Nice article. Hopefully the Observer will actually start covering the Runnin' Bulldogs since they are less than 1 hour away from downtown Charlotte.
Go Runnin' Bulldogs!
GridFan
September 17th, 2009, 11:41 AM
Agreed. Unfortunately the Panthers and ACC rule in Charlotte, always have. Some Appalachian State sprinkled in, but most of the area schools otherwise are fighting for a small bit of available ink.
Winning games is a major factor in Charlotte paper's attention, from what I can recall in the past.
EagleDawg
September 17th, 2009, 11:48 AM
GridFan - I hear you. That means that there should be quite a bit less coverage of the Panthers and more coverage of the GW Runnin Bulldogs (0-1 vs 2-0). Maybe that's why we got a bit of ink. You're on to something here I believe. This could very well be a season where GW has a better winning percentage than the Panthers.
clinchBoy
September 17th, 2009, 07:03 PM
Will be lucky to get 3 points.
EagleDawg
September 17th, 2009, 09:37 PM
Clinchboy - I see that the Runninn Bulldogs 2-0 start has got you frustrated and irritated. Why do you want to keep hatin on GW. Are you an agitated WCU fan or just a negative personality in general. You had GW losing to both Mars Hill and WCU. State should win and win big if you believe all the BCS/FCS, talent, size, depth, etc. commentary. I like the Dawgs chances to hang in there. Everything to gain, nothing to lose, all the pressure will be on State, especially if the Dawgs are in it into the 2nd half. You might just be wrong again this week about GW. In fact, I know you will be as they'll score more than 3 points.
g-webb1994
September 17th, 2009, 11:26 PM
Apparently NC State has lost two players for Saturday's game to the H1N1 flu, including their starting LT.....
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/accnow/pack-loses-2-to-h1n1-flu
FUwolfpacker
September 18th, 2009, 01:25 AM
Apparently NC State has lost two players for Saturday's game to the H1N1 flu, including their starting LT.....
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/accnow/pack-loses-2-to-h1n1-flu
Smith was at best the #3 WR (probably more like the 4th though). TJ Graham and Darrell Davis have gotten at least as much if not more time than Smith. Smith was the guy who missed the TD catch that might have won NC State the game against USC.
The real losses will be the LT, Julian Williams and S - Clem Johnson. Williams was originally the starting LG, but moved to LT when Jake Vermiglio got hurt. Andrew Wallace will be State's 3rd LT this year. In a secondary that's already thin and shaky, not having Johnson will definitely hurt.
To me, the key for GW will be keeping State's D-line off of Doolittle...something that Murray St certainly did not do. If Doolittle has time to throw, some deep passes will probably be there. If he's constantly rushed, it'll really help out the stuggling secondary. And it certainly goes the other way too. With State constantly having to shuffle the offensive line, GW will probably have shots to get to Wilson. If they can harrass Wilson all day, that'll proably keep him out of rhythm like in the SC game.
As with any football game, winning special teams and the turnover battle will be keys. State has solid special teams with one of the better return men in the country, TJ Graham. Wilson hasn't thrown and INT in 293 attempts, so you wouldn't expect him to starting throwing picks left and right. GW will have to play turnover free and force a couple of TO's (obvious...I know)
elcid83
September 18th, 2009, 09:36 AM
Will be lucky to get 3 points.
Clinch,
I disagree. I do believe that NC State will score more than 3 points. Of course, I believe the Runnin' Bulldogs will win.
Go Runnin' Bulldogs!
elcid83
September 19th, 2009, 07:12 AM
In looking at this morning's Raleigh newspaper, I see that the Wolfpack beat writer predicts a 45-16 victory for the Pack. I think everyone knows I'm pulling for a Runnin' Bulldog victory, but, if they don't win I don't see any way the Pack lays 45 points on our defense. I hope they see this newspaper before the game. Might give them a little extra motivation.
Go Runnin' Bulldogs!
EagleDawg
September 19th, 2009, 09:14 AM
ElCid83 - My man, you are up early today. Is that a normal thing or just on game days. The Mrs. and I will be heading to Raleigh a bit later and I feel pretty good about the notion that there will be close to 50,000+ surprised spectators at the end of this one. The Dawgs are in Raleigh town and I can hear the growls building all the way hear in K-Vegas almost 90 miles to the west. Come 6 pm today, Coach Patton gonna let the Dawgs out.
ASU
September 19th, 2009, 09:16 AM
Apparently NC State has lost two players for Saturday's game to the H1N1 flu, including their starting LT.....
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/accnow/pack-loses-2-to-h1n1-flu
Give em hell GW. Your basketball team did it against Kentucky. You have a good defense. Let's hope the ball falls your way.....time for a Gardner Webb runnin dawgs victory over the ACC.
g-webb1994
September 19th, 2009, 09:10 PM
[QUOTE=elcid83;1411265 I don't see any way the Pack lays 45 points on our defense. [/QUOTE]
Oops.xsmhx
EagleDawg
September 20th, 2009, 01:24 AM
GWebb1994 - Not trying to spin the game here but the Dawgs didn't play poorly. 2nd half was even with both teams scoring 14 pts each. The game got out of hand early though as State utilized a short passing game to move up and down the field scoring on their first 4 possessions. State had the strength of the GW Defense, their linebacking corps on their heels. When the Dawgs pressured upfield too much state hit with passes to the flat and across the middle mostly in the 5-10 yd range. When the linebackers dropped to deep they hit the pass underneath. There were very few lengthy passes completed and State really didn't run the ball that well.
The bright spots for GW was a 2nd straight game with no turnovers, Doolittle scrambled well and when flushed out of the pocket made some nice runs down the field. Patrick Hall had a decent game running the ball. The O-line only gave up one sack.
The bad was a few too many big penalties that stopped drives in the first half and an inability to defend consistently the short passing game.
Big crowd, really loud but the Dawgs never threw in the towel. A bye week this week and the conference opener at VMI. The Dawgs need to get ready for Maypray and the triple option. This will be a huge game for GW. A win means they'll have a winning record no matter the outcome at Buffalo, win a conference road game and maybe build something for an upset in NY.
EagleDawg
September 20th, 2009, 11:17 AM
The GW Runnin Bulldogs experienced the same fate as several other FCS teams playing BCS opponents yesterday.
GW 14 NC State 45
Elon 7 Wake Forest 35
Furman 14 Mizzou 52
Wofford 14 Wisconsin 44
Sorry to hear about Wofford's LB Niam after the Terriers lost FB Breitenstein the prior week. Two really good players for the Terrier's are apparently now out for the season. Those types of players just can't be replaced at the FCS level.
I know several don't like the idea of playing some of the big BCS schools but my take on it is it does help recruiting and gives these players a chance to play on a big stage. They may have just missed out on a BCS offer so playing FCS ball and getting a shot once or twice a year to play against the big schools is the best alternative. The payday isn't too shabby either with today's tight budgets.
elcid83
September 20th, 2009, 04:31 PM
Oops.xsmhx
I know. Give the reporter credit for knowing what he writes about. To my credit, I didn't foresee Russell Wilson and the starting O still playing football in the 4th quarter with a 38 - 7 lead over our Bulldogs. Later, when they announced that Wilson had set a NCAA record with number of passes without an interception it made sense why he was still in - Osborne wanted to get that record for Wilson before they started ACC play. Still, a pretty classless move on NC State's part. Of course, Steve Spurrier tells us it's not his job to stop his team's offense. [ I really hate to whine, but, even Urban Meyer takes Tebow out of the game against FCS opponents when the game is in hand.]
I fully expected our D to play better, but their offensive scheme prevented our stout LBs from being involved most of the game as ably reported by EagleDawg. The boys did do a good job against the run holding them to about 100 yds for the game. The good news is I'm not sure that any BS teams have the talent to exploit us the way the Wolfpack did.
Good time to have a week off and get ready for BS play. Looking forward to the trip to VMI. Even though I am a Citadel grad, I have never visited their campus.
Go Runnin' Bulldogs!
GridFan
September 20th, 2009, 05:03 PM
FWIW,
I was told this afternoon that G-W did play this game Saturday with several starters sidelined in the secondary. Rhodes and Leslie were two starters who didn't play in the backfield. Chris James didn't play much either, and he's a starter.
Hard to stop a 1st team All-ACC quarterback without your starters in the secondary suited up.
Regardless, my hats off to the Pack. They are pretty good up front and Russell Wilson is a talented quarterback.
FUwolfpacker
September 20th, 2009, 06:02 PM
Still, a pretty classless move on NC State's part.
You had me until this...
I watched the game online. It's not like Wilson was throwing bombs. He was throwing 3 yard curls and dump offs to the RB. O'Brien and Bible were doing the bare minimum while still trying to get the record out of the way. GW should be able to defend that (and they did for the most part, it was 14-14 in the 2nd half).
I did have a little bit of a problem with Glennon taking a few deeper shots, but they're trying to get Glennon some decent looks since you never know when Wilson is going to be hurt again. With that said, I don't think you have to worry about O'Brien running up the score (on purpose) unless your wearing baby blue.
My parents were at the game and had very good things to say about all the GW fans they ran into. Hopefully none the GW fans that were there ran into any trouble.
I've always like GW (my former neighbors Jim and Elizabeth Maxwell had nice little careers there) and I'm glad they gave State a better game than Murray St. But...I think "classless" would be one of the last adjectives anybody would use to describe Tom O'Brien. There's a reason he's so well respected.
Of course, I am biased and it's all a matter of opinion. Good luck to GW the rest of way!xnodx
unk96
September 20th, 2009, 06:33 PM
All I know is I am proud of the bulldogs. Things are looking great. I know I have had an absolute ball going to the games. Didnt get to go Saturday, had to sing in a wedding in Georgia, but at least they had bulldog stuff on. I told them they needed to add WU after thier G. It has been great, met some great people and finally a team to pull for in South Carolina. No, im not a huge clemson or carolina fan. Just couldnt get into it. But man I love them Running Bulldogs!!!
elcid83
September 20th, 2009, 08:18 PM
You had me until this...
I watched the game online. It's not like Wilson was throwing bombs. He was throwing 3 yard curls and dump offs to the RB. O'Brien and Bible were doing the bare minimum while still trying to get the record out of the way. GW should be able to defend that (and they did for the most part, it was 14-14 in the 2nd half).
I did have a little bit of a problem with Glennon taking a few deeper shots, but they're trying to get Glennon some decent looks since you never know when Wilson is going to be hurt again. With that said, I don't think you have to worry about O'Brien running up the score (on purpose) unless your wearing baby blue.
My parents were at the game and had very good things to say about all the GW fans they ran into. Hopefully none the GW fans that were there ran into any trouble.
I've always like GW (my former neighbors Jim and Elizabeth Maxwell had nice little careers there) and I'm glad they gave State a better game than Murray St. But...I think "classless" would be one of the last adjectives anybody would use to describe Tom O'Brien. There's a reason he's so well respected.
Of course, I am biased and it's all a matter of opinion. Good luck to GW the rest of way!xnodx
FU,
He did the same thing against Murray St. I'm convinced it was done to get Wilson the record before he played any ACC games and tougher defenses. It was classless.
Go Runnin' Bulldogs!
EagleDawg
September 21st, 2009, 10:50 AM
After a couple of days reflection on Saturday's game, I'll add this. The Pack twice went for 1st downs instead of field goals on longer than 4th and 3 during the game and were successful both times. Each of those conversions ultimately led to TD's. Twice GW linebacker Marty Patterson 6'-3" 220 lbs had great coverage on State's TE George Bryan, 6'-5" 265 lbs and each time State's Russell Wilson threw perfect passes just out of the reach of Patterson to get the scores. Each of those occurred right in front of me at the north endzone. Patterson couldn't have been better positioned and it just came down to perfect passes going to a bigger receiver. You could see Patteson's frustration each time but the kid did all that he could IMO.
I thought GW's onside kick after their first score was as well executed as I've seen at any level of football with GW recovering the ball out of the air before it ever touched the ground. Great effort by the Dawgs on that play.
With a banged up GW secondary and using GW's linebacker's aggressive play against them, State's short passing game was extremely effective. The GW run defense was really pretty doggone good holding a bigger team to less than 100 yds. before a meaningless 19 yd run at the end of the game as time was winding down.
Looking ahead, GW's run defense will need to be as stout at they've been over the last dozen games or so against the likes of VMI, Stony Brook and Liberty. The GW secondary needs to get healty before games against CCU, PC, LU and CSU as those teams can throw the ball effectively.
The VMI game is huge for the Dawgs. Get a win and a 9-2 or 8-3 season is possible. Drop the game and 7-4 or 6-5 might be more likely. It will be interesting to see how the Dawgs respond to their first real adversity of the season. They have the talent on both sides of the ball. A reduction in penalties is necessary, especially those that snuff out offensive momentum or extend driives for the opponent.
A bye then on to VMI on Oct. 3rd.
g-webb1994
September 21st, 2009, 11:37 AM
Looking online at some video...did Doolittle even throw a ball more than 20 yards? Hope he isn't heading into a typical funk.
So G-W got a nice check and some exposure....now to learn and improve with the bye week and get ready for Sparky's boys.
EagleDawg
September 21st, 2009, 12:14 PM
GWebb1994 - Doolittle did get a couple of passes off of that length but they were incomplete. There were still a couple of dropped passes and Stan is more accurate in the pocket vs on the run although he made some decent plays with his legs. The O-line did a pretty decent job in pass protection I thought.
VMI is huge, Dawgs need to get that win.
britt
September 21st, 2009, 03:51 PM
FWIW,
I was told this afternoon that G-W did play this game Saturday with several starters sidelined in the secondary. Rhodes and Leslie were two starters who didn't play in the backfield. Chris James didn't play much either, and he's a starter.
Hard to stop a 1st team All-ACC quarterback without your starters in the secondary suited up.
Regardless, my hats off to the Pack. They are pretty good up front and Russell Wilson is a talented quarterback.
Gridfan - Yes we had a lot of injuries in the secondary, it was very evident that they scouted us well from the WCU game, we have to get the injuried guys back. The starting secondary play well together and they appear to be very quick on the ball. The safeties are heavy hitters and athletic. The Free Safety had a high ankle sprain and the Strong Safety has a nagging Groin injury. Hopefully the bye-week will allow them an opportunity to heal.
EagleDawg
September 22nd, 2009, 01:53 PM
FUWokfpacker - NC State's Tom O'Brien was quoted in the Winston-Salem Journal today as saying "It's gonna be a hard fought, slug-it-out, hit them in the mouth type of game. This is old school football. I love it. They're attacking the line of scrimmage. It's not this spread the field and play touch football stuff". when discussing the Pack's upcoming game against Pittsburgh.
I can only surmise that is a not too veiled reference to Gardner-Webb's Spread Offense. The only odd thing about his comments however is that State, supposedly the bigger, deeper, stronger and better team elected to throw the football 40 times versus running it only 31 times. GW threw the ball 22 times and ran it 36 times.
I'm curious, does O'Brien really love old school football or was he reluctant to try and slug-it-out on the ground against GW's front seven. If it's the former, it was odd to see the Pack throw it so much. If it's the latter, I guess he had quite a bit of respect for GW's front seven. El Cid83 may have been on to something regarding trying to get Wilson the record for consecutive passes without a int. Throwing the ball while leading 38-7 late in the 3rd qtr. on first and second downs with an All-ACC QB is a bit odd otherwise don't you think.
This Runnin Bulldog is not whining, as we got beat by a superior team, just trying to get a read on the game. State's game this week will be eye opening as to whether O'Brien loves slug-it-out football or not and may prove that while he loves it, he doesn't have the horses to play it, not even against a FCS school like GW. For the record, my oldest is a jr. at NC State and the youngest a player at GW so last week was interesting to say the least.
g-webb1994
September 22nd, 2009, 02:14 PM
So O'Brien runs his mouth....big deal....his team will end up 7-4 or so in a mediocre conference and end up in the Car Care Bowl at best.....I watched the Tom O'Brien show and he sat there and denied even knowing how many throws Wilson needed to break the record, which we know is a crock. Wilson could have thrown 10 straight incompletions out of bounds and broke the record as well for that matter.
One interesting note is that both NC State and Buffalo share two common opponenets...Gardner-Webb and Pitt. We know Pitt romped at Buffalo earlier in the year 54-27, don't know how much we can draw from that game when G-W heads up to Buffalo in three weeks.
EagleDawg
September 22nd, 2009, 02:52 PM
G-Webb1994 - Good background info. on Buffalo and Pitt/State common opponents. I will be following the game closely this Saturday.
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