Western Carolina
N/A0-0
NC State
5th ACC8-4
Western Carolina @ NC State preview
Carter-Finley Stadium
There's little North Carolina State can prove in its opener against Western Carolina, a Football Championship Series team that went 2-9 last year.
But the Wolfpack’s defense is probably feeling pressure to establish a new identity after a miserable performance in 2009. If N.C. State can’t stop the Catamounts cold, prospects of competing in the ACC will look dismal.
The Wolfpack is coming off its fourth straight losing season (5-7) and third under coach Tom O’Brien. Only a season-ending upset of North Carolina kept the season from being totally forgettable. Fans will be looking for any signs that the program is losing ground instead of progressing into the bowl team and conference contender they were looking for when O’Brien arrived from Boston College.
N.C. State’s offense hasn’t been the problem, thanks largely to quarterback Russell Wilson, who returns for his junior year after a summer of baseball in the Colorado Rockies organization. Last year he passed for 3,027 yards and 31 touchdowns with 11 interceptions, and ran for 260 yards and four scores. He'll be throwing against a defense that had just two interceptions in 2009. Wilson’s targets include senior Jarvis Williams, who caught 11 touchdowns, and All-ACC tight end George Bryan, a junior. On the down side, only two starters return on N.C. State's offensive line, and O'Brien has yet to establish the kind of power running game he built at BC.
One key to turning around a Wolfpack defense that allowed 31.2 points a game and produced an ACC-low 14 takeaways is the return of senior linebacker Nate Irving, who missed last season after a near-fatal car crash. He set a school record for interceptions by a linebacker with four in 2008 and was third on the team with 84 tackles, despite missing most or all of four games due to injuries. One area to watch closely is N.C. State's pass defense, which was leaky last season and could be kept busy against an opponent that will need big plays to hang around. Look for the young Wolfpack secondary to gain a lot of coverage experience in the opener.
It's not certain who'll be throwing the ball for Western Carolina, which is coached by Dennis Wagner. The incumbent quarterback, two-year starter Zack Jaynes, has been challenged by transfers Zac Brindise from South Carolina and Matt Wabby from Pierce College. Jaynes threw for 1,790 yards last year. The team's best player is senior defensive back Mitchell Bell, 6-2 and 200 pounds, a first-team all-Southern Conference preseason selection.
The last time these teams met, N.C. State won 59-20 in 2003. N.C. State's soft early schedule didn’t supply much of a springboard last year, when the Wolfpack routed Murray State and Gardner-Webb before getting into the meat of a season that didn't go well. Western Carolina is this year’s only real ice-breaker, with rising threat Central Florida waiting in Week 2. So any fine-tuning and 11th-hour evaluation better get done this week.
But the Wolfpack’s defense is probably feeling pressure to establish a new identity after a miserable performance in 2009. If N.C. State can’t stop the Catamounts cold, prospects of competing in the ACC will look dismal.
The Wolfpack is coming off its fourth straight losing season (5-7) and third under coach Tom O’Brien. Only a season-ending upset of North Carolina kept the season from being totally forgettable. Fans will be looking for any signs that the program is losing ground instead of progressing into the bowl team and conference contender they were looking for when O’Brien arrived from Boston College.
N.C. State’s offense hasn’t been the problem, thanks largely to quarterback Russell Wilson, who returns for his junior year after a summer of baseball in the Colorado Rockies organization. Last year he passed for 3,027 yards and 31 touchdowns with 11 interceptions, and ran for 260 yards and four scores. He'll be throwing against a defense that had just two interceptions in 2009. Wilson’s targets include senior Jarvis Williams, who caught 11 touchdowns, and All-ACC tight end George Bryan, a junior. On the down side, only two starters return on N.C. State's offensive line, and O'Brien has yet to establish the kind of power running game he built at BC.
One key to turning around a Wolfpack defense that allowed 31.2 points a game and produced an ACC-low 14 takeaways is the return of senior linebacker Nate Irving, who missed last season after a near-fatal car crash. He set a school record for interceptions by a linebacker with four in 2008 and was third on the team with 84 tackles, despite missing most or all of four games due to injuries. One area to watch closely is N.C. State's pass defense, which was leaky last season and could be kept busy against an opponent that will need big plays to hang around. Look for the young Wolfpack secondary to gain a lot of coverage experience in the opener.
It's not certain who'll be throwing the ball for Western Carolina, which is coached by Dennis Wagner. The incumbent quarterback, two-year starter Zack Jaynes, has been challenged by transfers Zac Brindise from South Carolina and Matt Wabby from Pierce College. Jaynes threw for 1,790 yards last year. The team's best player is senior defensive back Mitchell Bell, 6-2 and 200 pounds, a first-team all-Southern Conference preseason selection.
The last time these teams met, N.C. State won 59-20 in 2003. N.C. State's soft early schedule didn’t supply much of a springboard last year, when the Wolfpack routed Murray State and Gardner-Webb before getting into the meat of a season that didn't go well. Western Carolina is this year’s only real ice-breaker, with rising threat Central Florida waiting in Week 2. So any fine-tuning and 11th-hour evaluation better get done this week.