NC State Wolfpack

O-K, so the obligatory bye week has arrived in NC State's football schedule. For me personally, there's no game to prepare for and nowhere to go on Saturday. Sounds like no-life doesn't it? I'm particularly worried about my broadcast partner Gary Hahn, who'll no doubt have some withdrawal problems this weekend. He has even less of a life. Hopefully, we'll all pull through this together. Now-let's take time out for some general observations.

--I'm hearing some complaints about some of NC State's new defensive schemes, particularly a new 3-4 look (sometimes 3-5) that was borrowed from Mississippi State. For the most part, the new alignments have done what they were designed to do. First-they accentuate the skills of the Pack's linebackers. While not big, State's backers are quick enough to avoid oncoming blocks by slower offensive linemen. Secondly, this year's defense has been much more disruptive than Wolfpack defenses of the recent past. It's important to note that the Pack leads the ACC in sacks with 14. Thirdly, NC State has done of good job of creating some confusion by lining up in different fronts. Hand it to Wake Forest. The Deacons found a chink in the armor by running inside the tackles.

--Sometimes our emotions get in the way of rational thought. Example-I've read where some fans think NC State quarterback Jamie Barnette should be benched. Certainly Barnette has struggled this season, but many of his problems can be traced directly to poor pass protection and the lack of a major big-play threat at wide receiver. How could anyone believe that a true freshman with virtually zero college experience could do better?

--Here are some ugly statistics. NC State has a total of 15 turnovers through five games. The Wolfpack has punted the ball 36 times. At the current rate, the Pack would have 79 punts this season. That's compared to 51 punts ALL of last year.

--Speaking of running, Wake running back Morgan Kane is a load. Hit him at two yards and he gets four. Kane has what coaches like to call 'body lean.' He runs behind his pads and has good balance.

--On the trip back from Winston-Salem on Saturday, I ran into a caravan of Carolina fans leaving UNC's game against Florida State. At that point, I turned the radio on and heard my buddy Mick Mixon say that it was halftime. Sure the game was over, but a lot of true football fans would have stayed just to enjoy Florida State's brilliance. Heck-I could watch Peter Warwick play football all day.

--No matter how you cut it, East Carolina's victory over Miami on Saturday night was a great story. Pirates coach Steve Logan deserves a lot of credit for getting that team ready to play considering everything that was going on in Greenville. NC State did the right thing by letting ECU use Carter-Finley stadium, but those fans who tore the goalposts down should have known better. While probably unfair, the post-game display by a relatively small minority of East Carolina supporters only served to reinforce certain stereotypes.

--I wonder if former Duke coach Fred Goldsmith is feeling vindicated. After being fired last winter, Goldsmith never had a chance to coach what he thought was going to be his best team. The experienced Blue Devils (0-3) have really struggled under Carl Franks.

--On a basketball note, NC State freshman Cliff Crawford has a chance to be a special player. He's fast, jumps out of the building and is a decent shooter. The opportunity to learn the ropes while playing behind Justin Gainey for one year won't hurt either.

Now I have to figure out what I'm going to do on Saturday. Perhaps I'll watch the Carolina-Clemson game. Maybe I'll even watch past halftime.