Dave from Carter-Finley

I hope everybody enjoyed the holidays. The holidays are always better for me when the Pack is in a bowl game and a bowl game win is the best so it was happy times in DFCF land. Best wishes to everybody in 2012. Before I move on here are my Belk Bowl thoughts and the final Pack the Caption of the 2011 season (photos by Ethan Hyman/N&O).

• State improved to 14-11-1 all-time in bowl games (has won 5 of past 6) and won bowl games in consecutive seasons for only the 4th time in school history.

• TOB now has a career 8-2 bowl record (2-1 at State).

• David Amerson added 2 more INTs to his already impressive season to set the ACC single-season INT record (13) surpassing UNC’s Dre Bly’s record set back in 1996. Amerson’s INT return for TD was the play of the game and the deciding score.

• Mike Glennon finished a pretty good season with 264 yards passing and 3 TDs earning himself Belk Bowl MVP honors.

• It was a Special Teams nightmare for the Pack … a botched punt (led to Louisville TD), allowed Louisville to convert a fake punt (led to Louisville TD), and allowed Louisville to recover an onside kick (State defense nullified). And we continue to have one assistant coach that’s dedicated solely to handling Special Teams … unbelievable! Hard to win a game after getting dominated like this on Special Teams, but we found a way to get it done.

• The key to the Pack’s season this year was the defense’s ability to force turnovers … 3 more in this game raised the season total to 39, good for 2nd best in the nation.

Hey Teddy ... it's the Boogeyman!!!

You complete me!

Interceptions: Easy as 1, 2, 3

Shake, Shake, Shake, Shake your booty

Guys, who pissed in the Gatorade cooler?

Also, ncsu01 does a great job of putting together highlight videos of NC State football games. Here’s his Belk Bowl highlight video:

Belk Bowl History:  First played in 2002, was previously known as the Continental Tire Bowl (2002–2004) and the Meineke Car Care Bowl (2005–2010) before Belk acquired the title sponsorship this year. Features a match-up between the #5 team in the ACC and #3 team in the Big East. The ACC leads the all time record 5-4 with the Big East team winning the last 3 in a row. NC State’s only previous appearance was a 14-0 win over South Florida in 2005. This is Louisville’s first appearance in this bowl.

Stadium:  Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC (capacity: 73,778 … surface: grass). Home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and the ACC Championship Game.

Pack’s Opponent:  Louisville Cardinals (7-5) … 2011 Big East c0-champs. The Cardinals have made 15 prior bowl appearances in their history amassing a record of 7-7-1. They had a 9 consecutive season bowl streak from 1998 to 2006. Biggest bowl victory was in the 2007 Orange Bowl over the ACC’s Wake Forest. Last year they won the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl over Southern Miss.

Louisville Retired Numbers: #16 Johnny Unitas

Notable Louisville football alums:  David Akers, Bruce Armstrong, Deion Branch, Ray Buchanan, Michael Bush, Mark Clayton, Elvis Dumervil, Tom Jackson, Joe Jacoby, Sam Madison, Roman Oben, Ted Washington, Lee Corso (coach 1969-1972), and Howard Schnellenberger (coach 1985-1994).

Other notable Louisville alums:  Bob Edwards, Sue Grafton, Static Major, Mitch McConnell, Pervis Ellison, and Wes Unseld.

Head-to-Head Results: Louisville leads the all-time series with a 3-0 record. The most recent matchup was a 29-10 Louisville win in Raleigh back in 2007.

Head Coach: Charlie Strong (2nd season, 14-11 at Louisville … 14-11 career). A long time, very successful defensive coordinator that finally got his first shot at being a head coach at Louisville, named 2010 Big East Coach of the Year.

Players to Watch:

QB Teddy Bridgewater (#5, Fr.) the Rivals.com #2 rated QB last year that has lived up to expectations so far in his first year at Louisville. Was named the Big East Rookie of the Year and has been named to several Freshman All-American teams. Took over as the starter on Oct. 1, compiling a 5-4 record as starter and was one of the keys to the vast improvement of the Cardinals offense in the second half of the season.

WR Eli Rodgers (#82, Fr.) a high school teammates of QB Teddy Bridgewater so has made a smooth transition into the Cardinals offense. Is the second leading receiver and will have to step up in the Belk Bowl because leading receiver Michaelee Harris will miss the game due to injury.

LB Dexter Heyman (#46, Sr.) is a stat-sheet stuffer for the Cardinals defense. He leads the team with 83 total tackles (52 solo), 15.5 TFL, and 3 INTs. He also has 4 sacks and a forced fumble.

DB Hakeem Smith (#29, So.) is a playmaker in the Cardinals secondary. Is 2nd on the team with 81 total tackles (57 solo) and leads the team with 3 forced fumbles. He also has 4 TFL, 1 INT, and 1 fumble recovery.

Offensive Summary: The Cardinals offense is full of young guys that have gotten better and better as the season has progressed. They were held to 17 or fewer points in 4 of their first 6 games, but conversely have scored 27 or more points in 4 of their last 6 games. Louisville is 50/50 run pass so I expect us to throw a variety of coverages and blitzes at them to put pressure on the young guys and force them to do what we want.

Defensive Summary: The key to the Cardinals success this season has been their suffocating defense. The unit ranks no lower than 25th nationally in run defense, scoring defense, sacks and total D. They are somewhat susceptible to the pass so combine that with TOB’s recent comments that, “bullets are cheap, keep firing,” and I fully expect us to throw the ball a lot in this game.

Keys to the Game:

1. Motivation … With most bowl games it simply comes down to which team wants to be there more. We spent a lot of energy and emotion just qualifying for this bowl game so hopefully there’s still some of both in the tank to help us win this bowl game.

2. Shake off the rust … When we take the field at Bank of America Stadium it will have been 31 days since our last game. There’s going to be some rust, but hopefully we can shake it off quickly.

3. Turnovers … The key to our season has been our ball hawking defense. The 36 turnovers we forced this year was 2nd best in the country and our +14 turnover margin was 5th best. We’re 7-0 when forcing 3 or more turnovers and 0-5 when forcing 2 or less.

Prediction: All indications are that this will be a very physical, low-scoring contest that will come down to which team can limit their mistakes and best take advantage of their opportunities. Louisville is a young up-and-comer with something to prove in this game so I’m more than a little worried about this one.

It’s time for my DFCF Christmas tradition.  Merry Christmas! See you in Charlotte on Tuesday.

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the Murph,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a smurf.
The stockings were hung by the lockers with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

The players were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of ACC Championships danced in their heads.
And Mrs. DFCF in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter’s nap.

When out in Carter-Finley there arose such a clatter,
I sprang to the balcony to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the banners and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new flat sod field,
Gave the lustre of hope for the future to yield.
When, what to my wondering eyes should await,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight former Wolfpack greats.

“Now Philip! now, Roman! now, Torry and Ted!
On, Bill! On, Dick! On, Dennis and Jim!
To the top of the stadium! To the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof,
The prancing and pawing of each big hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the stairs St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed in NC State red, from his head to his toes,
And his clothes were all cluttered with ads and logos.
A bundle of footballs he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a winner, just opening his pack.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old dear,
Especially since the Pack beat the Heels 5th straight time this year.
A wink of his eye and a flash of the wolf sign,
Soon gave me to know that everything would be fine.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And striking the most famous Heisman pose,
And giving a nod, up the elevator he rose!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, as he drove out of sight,
“Merry Christmas to all Wolfpackers, and to all a good night!”

If you follow me on Twitter you’ve already seen my thoughts from last Saturday’s open practice, but I wanted to post them here and add a few pictures from the News & Observer’s Ethan Hyman that go along with them.  Here ya go:

• Attendance at Saturday’s open practice: 200 by NCSU standards … 7,500+ by UNC standards.

• Tyler Brosius was in a red cross jersey. Still haven’t heard exactly what his injury is, but word is he should be ready for the Belk Bowl.

• Brian Taylor had a very awkward looking throwing motion.

• Best play of the day was a very nice catch & run by Tobais Palmer. The guy is a playmaker.

• Asa Watson showed better hands than I remember with a nice grab over a defender on a deep pass down the sideline.

• Niklas Sade’s range with no rush was barely 45 yds. Looking back at Sade’s misses on the season brings up questions as to why TOB even attempted field goals from 48 yds. (Georgia Tech), 48 yds. (UNC), and 51 yds. (FSU).

• Rashard Smith had a very nice INT on a slight under throw by Glennon down the middle of the field.

• Rodman Noel is a BIG safety. Looks like a LB back there. Position switch coming?

• Was hoping to see Mustafa Greene out there to see how he’s progressing but he did not participate in practice at all. Haven’t heard any injury updates on him either.

• It’s always fun watching Terrell Manning’s enthusiasm playing football … even in a practice setting.

• A shout out to a few walk-ons that stood out: #24 Josh Stanley (Fr. from Leesville Road) had a very nice diving INT in the end zone & #66 Isaac Swindell (Jr. from SW Guilford) was impressive in the OL/DL drills.

Somebody tweeted this yesterday so I just wanted to post it on here because it’s a great visual to see where all the 2011 bowl games are being played. There’s somewhat of a theme, huh? The Pack will be in the Belk Bowl, which by my eyes looks to be the 8th farthest north. If you’re planning on attending the game make sure to ask for long johns and a new NC State winter coat from Santa Claus.

Per the official NC State press release … “NC State has accepted a bid to play Big East Co-Champion Louisville in the 2011 Belk Bowl at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on December 27. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. and the game will be televised by ESPN.”

For somebody that lives in Charlotte (so even home games are a road trip), I’m excited that I get a game in my city. I’ll have more on all the bowl stuff later. For now I’m trying to plan sleeping arrangements and parties for my Raleigh friends that are staying with me. This matchup isn’t going to be one of the marque bowl games, but that’s not going to stop my crew from having a big ol’ time. Go Pack!

So it’s almost a week later and I haven’t commented on the Maryland game yet. Sounds about right. I’m still in shock and disbelief that we actually pulled off the win. I was so pissed that I left the game at halftime to go back out and tailgate. We were watching it on the TV and once we started playing good I couldn’t go back in to watch it in fear that I would jinx us. Yep, that’s how my twisted mind works. A co-worker of mine couldn’t believe that so I told him, “I’d stay out in the parking lot every game if it meant we would win.” And that statement is 100% true.

There’s not much else I can say so I’ll let the photos (by Ethan Hyman/N&O) for this week’s Pack the Caption do the talking:

It's about to get ugly so you better hide in your turtle shell now...

Fear this German ... punks!

AHHHHHH!!! This roller coaster ride is amazing!!!

This next one … Wow! … could go so many ways. This is the definition of the sports cliche “giving you a softball.” Swing away.

Russell's got nothing on my white guy dancing skills!

Bonus Photo: This photo was actually from the Clemson game, but I just wanted to use this caption. (And, yes I’m being a little sarcastic.)

'Cause all I do is win, win, win, and if you goin’ in, put your hands in the air, make 'em stay there...

What a comeback for TOB & Co. Congrats fellas and I’ll see you at the bowl game!

How bad/evil are Maryland Terrapin fans? Here’s a previously unreleased photo that definitively answers that question:

While that may or may not be photoshopped, it doesn’t dispel the notion that 99% of Maryland fans suck! In my humble, yet correct, opinion they are the worst fan base in the ACC. Not just in the way they act towards opposing fans, but also in how they support their team. Maryland fans love to brag about their Terps and how much they love them, but they don’t actually back any of that up by going to the games as they’re always in the bottom of the ACC in attendance figures. Yep, that’s 72.5% capacity last year for a team that went 9-4 and finished the season ranked #23.

All that led the Terp brass to run Ralph Friedgen out of town and bring in Randy Edsall. One season into the Edsall tenure and the reviews are less than glowing and a lot of his team has turned against him. To add insult to injury, the attendance figures have only slightly improved (thanks largely to early season games against Miami and West Virginia) with an average attendance of 42,355 or 78.4% capacity. Way to go Maryland! Dream job for the win!

Head-to-Head Results: Maryland leads the all-time series with a 32-31-4 record. The Terps have been a huge thorn in the Pack’s side over the past decade winning 8 out of the last 11 including games in 2007 and last year that kept us from going to a bowl game and the ACC Championship game respectively. Even though Maryland has dominated the series recently, the games have been very competitive with only 2 of the last 11 matchups being decided by double digits (specifically 7, 4, 3, 2, 10, 6, 6, 37, 3, 7, and 7).

Head Coach: Randy Edsall (1st season, 2-9 at Maryland … 76-79 career) … led UConn to a Big East championship last year before taking his “dream job” at Maryland.

Players to Watch:

QB C.J. Brown (#16, So.) after splitting time with Danny O’Brien at QB earlier in the season, Brown is now the QB after O’Brien’s injury ended his season. Brown isn’t much of a passer, but he is very dangerous with his legs as he is second on the team with 497 yards rushing (and first with a staggering 7.8 ypc). His three 100-yard rushing games are the most ever by a Terp QB.

RB Davin Meggett (#8, Sr.) is a powerful, durable running back that has never missed a game in his Maryland career. He leads the Terps with 805 yards rushing on 156 carries (5.2 ypc) and has added 3 TDs. He’s eighth in Maryland school history with 2,320 career rushing yards.

DT Joe Vellano (#72, Jr.) is a team captain and the leader of the Terp defense. He is third on the team in total tackles (86) and, most impressively, leads the FBS in tackles by a defensive lineman (7.8 per game). He’s also forced a fumble and recovered 2 fumbles, including one he returned for a TD in the season opener against Miami. He’s posted double-digit tackles in 4 of their last 7 games.

Offensive Summary: Wolfpack Nation can rejoice that WR Torrey Smith (and his 14 catches, 224 yards, and 4 TDs last year) left early for the NFL Draft so we won’t have to sit through that nightmare again. Also, last year’s ACC Rookie of the Year QB Danny O’Brien will miss this game due to an injury. That means expect the Terps to run the ball a lot with Brown and Meggett. They’ve averaged 166.6 yards rushing per game and a 4.8 yards per carry average.

Defensive Summary: If TOB thinks he had injury problems on the defense he should check out what the Terp defense has been through this season. At one point in the season they had 8 starters on the sidelines, including one of their best players in LB Kenny Tate. They’ve had trouble stopping anybody as they’ve only held one opponent to under 161 yards rushing and only three opponents to under 400 total yards of offense. They are at the bottom in most national defensive categories including rush defense (105th out of 120; 227.6 yards per game), total defense (109th; 458.8 ypg), and scoring defense (97th; 32.27 points per game). Even though the Pack has one of the worst rushing offenses in the country (109th; 105.9 ypg) expect us to pound the ball down Maryland’s throat all day.

Keys to the Game:

1. Win the turnover margin … This is the case in most games (hello Captain Obvious), but while Maryland has been awful this year, the one thing they’ve done well is force turnovers (23 total, tied for 23rd in the FBS). Add in the equation that in the 4 games prior to last week Glennon had thrown 6 total INTs and that makes this an extra important element of this game. Reminder: State is 6-0 when forcing 3 or more turnovers and 0-5 when forcing 2 or less.

2. Get off the field … The Terps have lost the time of possession battle in every game they’ve played this season by an average of 34:42 to 25:17 (119th in the nation). One of the main reasons for that is because they’ve only converted 34.8% of their 3rd downs (105th in the nation). Over the past 3 games, in 2 wins our defense has held UNC and Clemson to 28.6% and 14.3% on 3rd down, but in our 1 loss we allowed BC to convert 45.5% on 3rd down.

3. Play with a purpose … With a bowl game on the line there is absolutely no reason for us to not come out fired up and ready to play this game. If we come out flat and just go through the motions, then TOB & Co. have yet again failed this team and this fan base.

Prediction: If we come out and jump on the Terps early, they’ll fold faster than Superman on laundry day. However, if we let them hang around they’ll gain confidence and revel in the opportunity to spoil our season. If we should lose, TOB needs to be let go before the post game presser.

Bonus: Here’s how I really feel about the Terps. (NSFW)

Here’s The Spreadsheet (courtesy of Graham) with all stats, injury report news, etc., etc. updated through the Clemson game. Once again here are a few highlights to note:

• David Amerson (aka The Pickoff Artist) just continues to rack up interceptions. He had yet another against Clemson to give him 11 on the season (still tops in the nation) tying Dre Bly’s ACC record. He has more interceptions than 66 entire FBS teams.

• T.J. Graham had 34 kickoff return yards against Clemson to break the ACC career kickoff return record.

• The Pack’s 27 point outburst in the 2nd quarter against Clemson was its most points in a quarter all season.

• In six games before the bye the Pack defense had given up 181 total points (30.2 ppg), but in the five games since the bye the Pack defense has really turned it on and only given up 75 total points (15 ppg). Florida State is the only team to score more than 14 points in this stretch.

• On the flip side, the Pack offense scored 192 total points (32 ppg) before the bye, but has struggled since with only 88 total points (17.6 ppg).

• NC State scoring by quarter this season: 1st= 34 points, 2nd= 91 points, 3rd= 90 points, 4th= 65 points.

• Terrell Manning has stuffed the stat sheet in almost every defensive category this year: 63 tackles, 11.5 TFL, 5 sacks, 1 QB hurry, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 2 INTs, and 5 pass breakups. Just imagine what his numbers would be if he hadn’t missed 2 entire games and the majority of a 3rd earlier in the season.

• Clemson was only 2 of 14 on 3rd down conversions last week and the Pack won the time of possession battle 36:29 to 23:31. Wow, absolute domination!

• The Pack has averaged 134 yards rushing per game in its six wins and just 72.2 yards rushing in its five losses.

• The Pack is 6-0 when forcing 3 or more turnovers and 0-5 when forcing 2 or less.

TOB put it best in his postgame presser, “I really have no explanation for what just happened.” Yeah, him and everybody else that was in attendance at Carter-Finley on Saturday. The Pack’s 27 point avalanche in the second quarter was the perfect example of how crazy college football is. Absolutely everything was going right for us (offensively, defensively, and special teams) and there wasn’t anything Clemson could do to stop it.

A great win for the Pack that keeps our bowl hopes alive. Plus it’s always good to win on Homecoming and it’s even better to finally get a win in the Textile Bowl rivalry. Most of the photos from this game were celebratory, so I had to mix it up a little to give you some variety in this week’s Pack the Caption (photos by Ethan Hyman/N&O). Gimme some good ones:

Hey R.J., quit doing the hokey pokey and block this damn guy!

Thanks to these sick red helmets ... I'm really jacked for this game!

Man, how stupid do I look in these sweatshirts?

Thumbs up to you, DFCF! Love the blog!