Another ho-hum recruiting class for the Pack that ranked 8th (Rivals), 9th (Scout), and 9th (ESPN) respectively in the ACC. Not too good if you plan on actually fulfilling the whole “Champions on the Football Field” part of the motto that we’ve been hearing from TOB since he arrived at State. I’ll go in-depth on my thoughts of the class later, but first here’s how TOB feels about it:

It’s a little different in that most of the recruits have already verbally committed, but there’s always some last minute surprises that make the day interesting. Even though most of the classes are already set, I’m sure that most coaching staffs in the country still sit anxiously around the fax machines waiting for the National Letter of Intents to come in making it official.

Recruiting has become it’s own sport within college football. John Brandon of Grantland.com put it best, “Only a good winemaker can make good wine, but nobody can make good wine out of bad grapes.” DFCF’s translation, you can’t win if you don’t have good players. TOB recently sat down and chatted with college football recruiting guru Tom Lemming about his recruiting philosophies. Here’s the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-_JGFiwPeY

TOB has never been a great recruiter, which listening to him talk is pretty understandable. He continues the “champions on the football field” mantra, but it’s hard to win championships when you’re finishing in the bottom half of your conference in the recruiting rankings year after year. I’ll discuss that in more detail and talk about the commits that I’m the most excited about tomorrow after TOB’s presser. In the meantime, here’s a good NC State Signing Day Snapshot by the guys over at ACC Sports Journal.

• 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:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AkmTtlRbgk

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.

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!”

• 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.

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!

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!

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)