What Critics?

Camcorders, HDTVs, PS3s, Wiis, and countless other high and low-end electronics and swag are about to be shoved into the eager hands of bowl participants everywhere. For a full list, see the Sports Business Journal.

Elsewhere, the Wilmington Star-News tries to goad J.J. Hickson into taking a cheap shot at NCSU while the Shelby Star, in their ACC once-over, gives State a fighting chance now that Hickson is gone.

For your perusal, here is a comparison of totals for NC State and Rutgers. Also included are statistics for offensive leaders. Coming soon when I get around to it, the same numbers over the last four weeks of the season.

Team Stats
Rushing Offense — NCSU: 125.5 (85), RU: 128.8 (81)
Passing Offense — NCSU: 200.8 (71), RU: 266.3 (22)
Passing Eff. — NCSU: 119.2 (76), RU: 145.3 (21)
Total Offense — NCSU: 326.3 (89), RU: 395.2 (40)
Scoring Offense — NCSU: 23.5 (80), RU: 29.0 (41)

Rushing Defense — NCSU: 144.3 (64), RU: 139.0 (53)
Passing Defense — NCSU: 242.8 (94), RU: 184.9 (31)
Passing Defense Eff. — NCSU: 128.7 (71), RU: 132.5 (80)
Total Defense — NCSU: 387.1 (81), RU: 323.9 (34)
Scoring Defense — NCSU: 26.1 (67), RU: 18.5 (18)

Net Punting — NCSU: 36.5 (33), RU: 34.6 (70)
Punt Returns — NCSU: 8.3 (69), RU: 9.5 (51)
Kickoff Returnss — NCSU: 23.2 (29), RU: 21.6 (53)

Turnover Margin — NCSU: +0.9 (16), RU: -0.2 (71)
Sacks — NCSU: 1.9 (56), RU: 2.3 (37)
Sacks Allowed — NCSU: 2.3 (92), RU: 1.6 (43)
Tackles For Loss — NCSU: 5.7 (59), RU: 6.4 (31)

Player Stats
QB — NCSU: Russell Wilson, FR, 55%, 1769 Yds, 16 TD, 1 Int.
QB — RU: Mike Teel, SR, 61%, 3009 Yds, 23 TD, 12 Int.

HB — NCSU: Andre Brown, SR, 164 Att., 728 Yds, 6 TD, 28 Rec., 305 Yds, 4 TD
HB — RU: Kordell Young, SO, 136 Att., 550 Yds, 5 TD
HB — RU: Jourdan Brooks, FR, 88 Att., 492 Yds, 6 TD

WR — NCSU: Owen Spencer, SO, 29 Rec., 66 Yds, 4 TD
WR — RU: Kenny Britt, JR, 81 Rec., 1252 Yards, 6 TD

Source: NCAA.org

Here’s a tidbit to elicit further confidence in our chances at the Pizza Bowl: Coach O’Brien’s career bowl history:

12/31/99 — Lost 62-28 vs. Colorado, Insight.com Bowl
12/25/00 — Won 31-17 vs. Arizona St., Aloha Classic
12/28/01 — Won 20-16 vs. Georgia, Music City Bowl
12/26/02 — Won 51-25 vs. Toledo, Motor City Bowl
12/31/03 — Won 35-21 vs. Colorado St., San Francisco Bowl
12/31/04 — Won 37-24 vs. North Carolina, Continental Tire Bowl
12/28/05 — Won 27-21 vs. Boise St., MPC Computers Bowl

So, TOB hasn’t quite seen a million bowls and he hasn’t quite rocked them all, but with a near-sterling 6-1 record when bowling, the dude knows how to win in December.

He’s won thousands of miles from home in Honolulu and San Francisco; he’s won in virtual road games (Carolina in Charlotte) and actual road games (Boise St. in Boise); and he’s won with what couldn’t have been more than a smattering of Golden Eagle die-hards in the stands.

Luckily, none of those factors will be at play in Birmingham.

Adam Gold and friends have laid out their picks for the four most important historical figures in each of the triangle schools’ football programs; their ‘Mount Rushmores’, if you will.

I’ll spoil the surprise by telling you that on our mountain Gold has etched the busts of Earle Edwards, Roman Gabriel, Ted Brown, and Philip Rivers.

Fine picks they are; Gabriel, Brown, and Rivers are all undoubtedly among the most elite ACC alumni at their respective positions. I’m a little torn on Edwards, though. He was by far the longest tenured coach at State (17 seasons) but, as Gold points out, he ultimately had a losing record (77-88-8). Five ACC titles and a Liberty Bowl trophy are nice, though, and I guess if any coach deserves the recognition it’s Edwards. Torry Holt, Gold’s first runner-up, wouldn’t have been a terrible choice, either.

Dick Christy and Chuck Amato (or his chest, at least) also earned an honorable mention.

It’s hard to argue much with his picks for Carolina or Duke, although I would probably slide Julius Peppers in over Dre Bly. Bly was a phenomenal corner — one of the best ever in college — and has the more impressive trophy case. Peppers was no slouch, though, winning the Lombardi and Bednarik awards and first-team All-America honors his senior year. To me, it comes down to the players’ impact on the game. I think Peppers changed offensive gameplans from the defensive line a lot more than Bly did from the backfield.

Elsewhere, J.P. Giglio catches us up on the new clock rules for 2008. These seem to make much more sense than the changes implemented before last season, putting the college rules closer to those in the NFL. Who knows, maybe they’ll actually stick around.

And Every Day Should Be Saturday takes a moment to eavesdrop on reinstated Gamecocks QB Stephen Garcia and his good friend, Floating Matthew McConoughey.

Lew Hege, pictured here with favorite mustache, Lew Jr.

Lew Hege of the Roanoke Daily Herald has written a column aptly titled “The ‘Curse of Philip Rivers’ still haunts Pack”. High marks for the premise, Lew, but you really botched the delivery.

Before you read my take on it, I invite you to first peruse the debauchery for yourself so that we’re on equal footing here. A warning though: the piece is riddled by poor editing and formatting errors and the website itself has to make you think that the good folks at the Herald haven’t hired a web designer since the Barnette regime.
Read the rest of this entry »

There’s a Caulton Tudor piece up on the N&O website detailing the unique five quarterback preseason free-for-all that’s being sorted out by offensive coordinator Dana Bible. While Tudor (and seemingly Bible as well) pretty much gives all five an equal shot at the job at this point, it has to be believed that mum’s the word on any true early favorites; see O’Brien’s coachspeak blurb after Sunday’s practice:

They are all competing, they are all working hard. They seem to be on top of what we are trying to do, which is good. It’s now the fourth go around, they’ve made it through a spring, a season, a spring and back the fourth time so we’re much more advanced at that position than we were from a knowledge standpoint. Getting everybody out of the huddle, getting everybody headed the right direction and knowing where the ball is supposed to go. Now its a matter of decision making and execution.

Read the rest of this entry »

Nothing signals the start of football season like watching Colt Brennan lead the Redskins down field against the Colts seventh-string defense in Akron. Speaking of the NFL, twenty four former Wolfpack players will don pads and helmet (or perhaps just clipboards) for their respective pro teams this year, including that guy who was surpassed by Brennan (and Brennan’s predecessor Timmy Chang) on the all-time NCAA passing yardage list.

Read the rest of this entry »