NC State fan: Looking forward to it

[WolfpackFan]

First of all, congrats on the first bowl bid.  I don't know a lot about your team, but you guys are obviously pretty good to have beaten Louisville like you did.  Just from reading a little on USF, it looks like you had a similar season to my Wolfpack; up and down.  Hopefully, both teams will bring their 'A' games in Charlotte.

I was wondering if any of you could give me a summary of your team; strengths, weaknesses, etc.  I'll be more than happy to answer any questions about NC State.  

Look forward to discussing the game for the next few weeks.

[___ Eats It]

Hi Wolfpack... thanks for stopping by.  Always nice to have a civil visitor from enemy lines.  Enjoy your stay here...

The up and down part is pretty dead on.  Our strength is our running game, obviously, as we are lucky enough to have watched the Big East's leading rusher, Andre Hall, tear it up for us in the past two seasons. Strong, shifty, and tenacious, he's the kind of guy who can turn a two yard gain into a seven yard gain.  We're going to miss him next year.  The rest of our backfield is young but strong, and gaining experience rapidly.

Our QB situation is our big question mark.  The question being, when are we going to get a better one!  In all seriousness, our QB Pat Julmiste was a Wing-T QB coming out of HS, so throwing is not his strength.  Our 2nd stringer is Carlton Hill, a true frosh with blazing speed and a decent arm that we're starting to take for a test drive.  It doesn't help that our WR's have been a liability at times this year, either... it only amplifies the weakness in the passing game.  Carlton Hill is our QB of the future though, and I'm sure you'll see him quite a bit in Charlotte.

Overall, our game is predicated on speed.  Our defense is crazy fast, closes on the ball quickly, and is opportunistic when our opponents make mistakes.  Sometimes they get too excited and overpursue, but they're definitely the foundation on which this team is built.

FYI, as you know, we're a young program.  We'll be playing in our first bowl in only our 100th game of football ever.  Our first game was in 1-AA in September 1997.

Stick around.  It gets fun around here!

AEI

[D1DDY]

i like their website intro.. you computer geeks should make something like this for our team.. haha

http://gopack.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/ncst-m-footbl-body.html

[WolfpackFan]

" Our QB situation is our big question mark."

NC State is the same.  Jay Davis (5th-year senior) started the season for us but Marcus Stone finished the season and went 4-1 as a starter.  He's talented but very unpolished - had only one completion in the first half of games vs. BC, FSU, USM and Maryland.

State's defense is their strength, also - defensive line in particular.

I did realize USF had only been D-1A for a few years.  That's quite an accomplishment to be so competitive this soon.

For those looking, one of NC State's main boards is www.packpride.com .  

[Velcro]

We recruited Jay Davis...   yet another one that spurned us  

[cee]

i'll take jay davis in a heartbeat over what we've got and not even think twice about it.  as for the rest of our team, expect some horrid offensive play calling, which is probably where ncstate will get most of its points-- off good field positioning from turnovers, 3-n-outs, and whatnot.. USF's only chance is if the defense outscores ncstate's offense

[WolfpackFan]

A lot of NC State fans will tell Jay Davis had no business starting at a D-1 school but in reality he put up pretty good numbers throughout his year-and-a-half stint as a starter for us.  He just seemed to lack the intangibles and decision-making to be a successful qb.  Stone has a lot of confidence and plays better when the pressure mounts.

It sounds like it will be a defensive battle.  State's running back (Andre Brown) had 248 yards and 178 yards against Southern Miss and Florida State respectively in his first two starts this year.  I expect USF will stack the box and force the Wolfpack to beat them through the air like most teams did this season.  

Our offensive line is suspect and if you've watched any State games, you know we'll help you out with dumb and untimely penalties.

[SANJAY]

Pot meet kettle.

[Kizarvexis]

Pot meet kettle.

:D

[S p e n c e]

This is going to be the Battle of the Andre's.  Maybe we could have Andre 3000 play the halftime show?