The NC State Brickyard

Not Quite How We Planned

2008-02-18T23:47:00.006-05:00

Sorry for the long hiatas everyone. School work and other activities have taken up much of my time. Hopefully I can become more consistent but with the load I've taken this semester it might be hard.
With that out of the way lets get down to some business.
Well this season hasn't gone how we might have hoped. Our high expectations comming into this season have been ripped to shreads and our NCAA hopes continue to diminish with each squandered opportunity. Our beloved Wolfpack can't seem to put an entire game together. Costner seems frustrated and has become a footnote on the pages of the 2008 season which reads, "refer to last season." Our point guard play which held out team together last season is tearing our team apart this season.
On the other hand Hickson is comming off a 23 board night and looks like a real superstar. Hopefully he'll see that he needs at least one more year to increase his draft status.
Despite the fact that were not where we want to be lets not throw in the towel just yet. We still have time. We still have an opportunity.
UNC, Duke, Virginia, Wake and FSU all remain on the schedule. If we can manage to pull at least 4 victories in our remaining 5 games we might have a good shot. Especially if we can beat both UNC and Duke. A good showing at the ACC tournament and we could be a strong contender.
But can we do it? Everyone has known that to beat Duke you have to go low, get them into foul trouble and have a little luck with them having an off shoting night But no one was able to do that until Wake. Maybe we can show the same strength.
UNC has won without star point guard Ty Lawson but has looked shaky and ripe for the picking. With a packed house and vocal coards well lubricated, Wednesday could prove to be a repeat of last years stunning upset.
Other than UNC and Duke we have beaten FSU and Wake. Virginia is scary but definately beatable.
Hold on Wolfpack fans. This season is not over. Gavin Grant won't end his career quietly. We have a chance.

Concerning The Shout Heard Round The World

2008-01-21T21:50:00.001-05:00

If you have been paying any attention to other fan sites like SFN or Tar Heel Fan you have no doubt read and/or heard the comment one Carolina fan directed towards the Maryland men's basketball team. If this is your first time hearing about this incident you can go here, http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/TheSportingBlog/131379/, and listen for the remark your self.

While the Maryland team is celebrating their unexpected victory at center court of the Dean Dome, one Carolina fan can clearly be heard shouting' "Go back to the ghetto!!"

This poor use of words has created quite the buzz on the Internet. Articles criticizing the statement can be viewed at http://brahsome.com/2008/01/20/unc-are-whiny-and-racist/ and http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/TheSportingBlog/131379/. Meanwhile UNC fans like THF, http://tarheelfan.wordpress.com/, beg for others to understand that not every smurf fan is as stupid as the one heard screaming this comment.

My Take- The comment that can be heard following the game is disgusting. To berate anyone with comments that insult thier economic, and possibly their ethnic background is vile and shows that you have no class.

Lets be honest. Yes this does reflect poorly upon the entire UNC fan base. From now on people who have taken notice of this situation will probably associate UNC fans with privileged white kids who see themselves as better people than everyone else.

But I myself have observed "NC State fans" make similar comments. My friends at UNC say they hear Duke fans make comments like this as well. This is not just a UNC problem. Every fan base has stupid people who make stupid comments. It is our job as sane, well mannered fans to show class and set an example for future die hard NC State fans that these idiots and their comments should not be tolerated.

So next time you hear an idiot from either fan base make a comment similar to the one heard on the video, let them know that they need to get a clue and show some class.

What A Thriller!!

2008-01-20T16:06:00.000-05:00

NC State finally showed some heart and came out on top against a tough Miami game 79-77. State came out fast and went into half time with a 36-27 lead thanks in most part to Costner hitting all of four of this three point attempts. The second half began and State maintained their lead until there was 12 minutes remaining it the game. Miami guard Jack McClinton scored 24 points after half time and hit 8 of his 10 shots in the second half to give Miami the edge heading into the final moments of regulation.

Trailing 76-72, State brought the ball up court and set up the play that would give them a chance to get back in the game with less than a minute remaining. Courtney Fells, tightly guarded, got the ball four feet beyond the 3-point line and threw up a prayer. Some how this prayer was answered and the ball found its way into the basket and put the game at 76-75 with 20 seconds left. Miami increased their lead when Anthony King hit one of his two free throws with 15 seconds left in the game giving Miami a 77-75 lead. Lowe then drew up a play that would hopefully push the game into double overtime. The play was a drive by Johnson who would pass to Grant coming off a pick. Grant's shot hit the rim and bounced off but J.J. Hickson muscled his way past the opposition and tipped the missed shot back into the game. State had done it. Unless a miracle shot went in we would be able to push the game into double overtime. During the celebration, King threw an inbound pass intended for Jack McClinton. Gavin Grant, tired of seeing McClinton hit shot after shot, jumped in front of the pass and hit the lay up giving State a surprise lead with two seconds left in the game. Miami's next inbound pass hit its intended target but it was too late. The half court shot missed the rim and State finally got an ACC win.

What a turn around from the last two performances when State showed no heart or chemistry. Players worked for each other and created good shooting opportunities. State shot 61% from the beyond the arc, which aided their dismal shooting effort inside the three point line only hitting a little more than 30% from that range.

State attacked the zone defense Miami threw at them and found open lanes. Costner made his shots and Grant has proven once again that he is the heart and soul of this team leading the Wolfpack in scoring (22 points) and having the vision to pick off the inbounds pass and give State the lead late in overtime.

What could possibly make this day any better? How about a UNC loss? 7 loss Maryland went into Smurf Hill and pulled off the upset. I don't know if any of you saw the end of the broadcast, but which was funnier, Hansborough attempting a last second three pointer to win the game or the girl who was balling her eyes out at the end of the game? A video of these events can be seen here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fil6wXFaWnE.

Anyways, lets hope our guys can build on this win and keep up the intensity as we await for Georgia Tech on Wednesday. State's heart came through in this game. After giving up a lead halfway through the second half and coming back twice to win the game was impressive. Hopefully this team is finally understanding how to play with each other and the preseason predictions can hold true.

Turnovers the Story as State Loses Again

2008-01-16T11:50:00.000-05:00

J.J. Hickson slammed the ball home with 17 minutes remaining in the first half to give NC State a 2-0 lead. This was the only time State would take the lead in the game. During the next hour and a half NCSU would commit 23 turnovers as we gave the game away. In all seriousness, I think I might have been able to take better care of the ball than our guys did.

Here were the low points of the game:
-In 20 minutes of play Costner had 0 points. He has yet to rekindle the magic of last year on a consistent basis and at times gets lost on the floor. He needs to become more aggressive, take his shots and start to become a leader on this team

-Marques Johnson got the start at point guard and failed to contribute on the score board. He also played for 20 minutes and had 0 points. How can State hope to be competitive without an effective scorer running the point. Hopefully with some experience his play will get better and he can develop into a smart efficient scorer.

-Lowe needs to tweak our offense. I'm not saying he should change it or that it's a bad idea. In fact I'm sure it's a great scheme and will prove to be very effective in the future. Right now however is a different story. Our offense is stagnant. When ever one of our players get the ball it appears his only goal is to drive to the basket. Some of our players have that ability but when it occurs so frequently we start getting shots thrown right back in our faces. No one moves for each other or sets picks. We have the athletes run around opposing teams and create shots. Hopefully this can all get sorted out soon.

-Please don't let McCauley's injury be serious. The last thing we need is for one of our experienced players to go out.

Now its time to remember the good things about last night. Lets hope I can find some.

-We shot decently from the field, 44.2%, and made 5 of 12 from 3 point range. If we could have kept possession of the ball we might have been able to win this one.

-I don't know how many of you have taken notice, but I really like Tracy Smith. He did make a few mental errors but he put up 13 points in the most action he has seen this season. I really think he will be a great player for this team in the future and any experience he gets this season will really help us out in the future.

-Finally, lets not overreact to recent events. Sure we got embarrassed by UNC and smacked by Clemson, but its still early in conference play. There is still time to put a competitive team out on the court. Let's not jump on Coach Lowe's back and start questioning his coaching abilities. We all saw what he was able to do last year during the ACC tournament. He a great coach and we're lucky to have him. This is a tough time for NC State basketball but this is when we need to get behind our players and let them know that we know how good they can be.

The Massacre at the Hill

2008-01-14T12:20:00.000-05:00

Sunday was a dark day for Wolfpack fans. Personally I don't know where to begin. A total of 13 points in the first half, 18 missed shots, 10 minute scoring drought, 17% from the field in the first half. From what I can see, and what most other NCSU fans are noticing, is a total lack of chemistry. It appears Grant, Costner, McCauley, Hickson, Fells, Horner and all other players just don't like playing with each other or for each other.

On the other hand UNC's chemistry was in full view. Ty Lawson hustled up and down the court setting up other players who were working for him and for others wearing that hideous shade of blue.

The second half went as well as I could have hoped for considering the circumstances. The Wolfpack knocked down 49 points as Roy kept his starters on the court for most of the half. In all seriousness it looked as if Hansborough and Green were out there scrimmaging during the last 20 minutes.

NC State got embarrassed and now this team has to face a harsh reality. They're not that good. Coach Lowe has his work cut out as he has the difficult, but defiantly possible, task of turning this incohesive glob of pure talent into an ACC contender. NC State wont have much time to turn it around though as they travel to Clemson to take on a Tiger team that should have beat the smurfs.

Keep Your Enemies Closer

2008-01-11T23:37:00.000-05:00

Check out http://tarheelfan.wordpress.com/. In his most recent article this UNC fan smashes NC State and predicts a huge win for the North Carolina Dirty Feet. Let's hope our boys can shut up all smurfs in the area.

Previewing UNC

2008-01-11T23:29:00.000-05:00

Section Six does a great job previewing and reviewing each NC State game. Their most recent post is no different. One thing that jumps out at me, UNC's offensive rebound rate. NC State has had a difficult time lately gaining possesion of the ball off a missed shot. UNC has proved they are agressive on the glass and this could prove to be a problem for NC State. Let's hope the Wolfpack can put smurf hill in their place and wash those dirty feet clean. http://www.sectionsix.blogspot.com

Article From the N&O

2008-01-11T08:59:00.001-05:00

Chip Alexader from the News & Observer recently wrote this article highlighting the NC State v. UNC match up. http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/ncsu/story/874572.html

A Lot To Catch Up On

2008-01-10T23:49:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I last discussed recent wolfpack events so I have a lot to catch up on. Lets get started.

- The wolfpack basketball team is now 11-3 coming off wins against Presbyterian and most recently NCCU. State has looked solid against these teams but in all seriousness it hasn't been pretty. The wolfpack was able to hold Presbyterian to 43 points and NCCU to 29 but there has been a lack of offensive fire power. We continue to struggle with our outside shooting and injuries have continued to plague the team. Wednesday night Courtney Fells went down with an apparent ankle injury and is questionable for Saturdays game against UNC. I also noted that Dennis Horner was in his Sunday best for the NCCU game. Bottom line- Defense is looking pretty good. We haven't played the best competition but anytime you can hold a team to under 30 points in a game something is going right. On the other hand we need to find a rhythm and get more points on the board if we wanna compete for an ACC title.

-Dajuan Morgan, in my mind our most outstanding defensive back, is foregoing his senior year to enter the NFL draft. He is currently in the southwest training for the combine. He has been told by some that he could go as high as the second round if he has a good work out. How does this effect the pack- not good. Whenever I am in the student section I always look for Dajuan Morgan on the field. He is an excellent defensive back and appears to be one of the emotional leaders of the team. It's gonna be tough to replace him but I hope he stays healthy and has a good result at the combine.

-The NC State men's basketball team has recently been raked as the 13th most valuable program in the nation by Forbes magazine. The triangle region did well in this poll with UNC being ranked #1 and Duke being ranked #13. This is surely a testament to the fact that NC State is consistently ranked in the top 20 in average attendance every year.

-I don't know how many of you have noticed, but Saturday is a pretty big day. Not only is it the wolfpack's opening ACC basketball game but it comes against UNC at the Dean Dome. UNC comes into this game ranked number one in the country after squeaking out a game against Clemson. If only Clemson could shoot free throws they might have won. Here are my keys to having a chance at winning this game.

+Please let Courtney Fells and Dennis Horner be healthy. It's not enough we lost our starting point guard for the year, but to lose these two would put NC State in a real bind. We beat them last year with only 6 men but the more the merrier.

+Put some bodies in Hansborough. Clemson did a nice job of limiting Hansborough to only 7 shots by denying him the ball and playing him very physical under the basket. Costner and McCauley did a nice job on him in the win last year and we need to continue this trend by adding in Hickson to the mix to give ourselves a chance.

+LET IT RAIN!!! If we ever needed a time for our outside shooting to make an appearance this would be it. UNC averages 92 points a game and if we can't get them to slowdown and play half court basketball were gonna need some amazing performances from our shooters.

+Use our big men. I would really like to see McCauley and Hickson down low together. Whenever they are in the game together Coach Lowe usually puts Hickson down low and pushes McCauley up high to the key. I know McCauley is great at the back door passes and finding open shooters but if I would like to see how effective we are with both our big boys down low under the basket.

Saturday's game is setting up to be a pretty good match up. Our performance hasn't been quite up to the expectations we had in the preseason but maybe State is on a 7 game winning streak and is playing pretty decent defense. This is the game I've been waiting for all year. A chance to beat Carolina at their own place and give them their first loss. This game means so much to so many, and I'm sure Coach Lowe won't let them forget that. Hopefully Saturday night will be a celebration. GO WOLFPACK!!

Happy Holidays

2007-12-24T20:06:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays everyone. Hope everybody's holiday season goes well.

State Wins But Loses Degand For Year

2007-12-24T17:03:00.001-05:00

Brandon Costner finally had a break out game and led the NC State Wolfpack to an 85-77 victory over Cincinnati. Costner finished the game with 20 points and 6 rebounds while going 4-6 from beyond the arc. State was in control for most of the game, only trailing for 28 seconds in the early minutes of the opening half. As usual this season the Wolfpack did not dominate the whole game and allowed the Bearcats to 3 with a little under 5 minutes remaining in the game. However, State was able to fend of the Cincinnati comeback by going down low to Hickson and Grant down the stretch. Grant added 15 points while Hickson and Fells each totaled 14 points in State's win. State shot 51.2% for the game and out rebounded the Bearcats 27-26.

This victory did not come without a cost. Farnold Degand, NC State's starting point guard this season tore his ACL and will require surgery. Farnold started every game for the Wolfpack this year and started to put in some strong performances as of late. This injury probably means we might finally get to see Tennessee transfer Marques Johnson.

My Take- As if we didn't have enough problems at the point guard position already! I hope Farnold is able to come back 100% next year. Having already red shirted last season it must be unbearable having to sit out the majority of this season as well. Hopefully all will go well with his surgery and he won't have any problems in the future and will be able to finish out his career at NC State on a high note. Overall I was glad Costner finally broke out of his shell and dominated a game. It will be nice to have him back to his regular form. Now comes the big question, is Javier ready to lead this team, will Johnson have a significant impact, or will State's point guard problems be their downfall this season?

State Squeaks By As Grant Proves To Be Clutch Again

2007-12-21T23:47:00.000-05:00

There's no other way of putting it. We got lucky. State trailed by one point with 14:30 left in the game after Stephan Curry hit a three point shot with 43 seconds left. Once again NC State was on the losing end of tight game. There was no hope. Grant put up a shot, McCauley put up a shot, both missed. Then Gavin Grant reached up, got another rebound, put up another shot, and missed. My heat sank for the third time in as many seconds. Then for the second time this season I heard a whistle with less that five seconds remaining in a game. Gavin Grant would have two chances. One would tie the game. Two would win the game.

Gavin Grant, cool as the other side of the pillow, hit both, and with 3.9 second remaining. A last second attempt from Stephan Curry fell short. State won.

I can't emphasize this enough this enough to other state fans. This was a good win. Davidson is a good team. This is a team that should have beaten UNC. This is a team that pushed Duke to the brinks.

In all honesty, I thought State would lose this game. Davidson is a tough team that plays all 40 minutes. Stephen Curry is only a sophomore but has proven to be an excellent player who is deadly from beyond the arc. In this game alone he hit 7 three point attempts. He finished with 29 points overall and a steal.

Remember though, State did lead for the majority of the game. Our ability to finish out a game was the only factor that kept Davidson in it. Grant finished with 15 points and McCauley finished with 11 points in 21 minutes. State out rebounded Davidson 34-22 and hit 44% their shots.

Bottom line- State is a better team than Davidson. We hit only 28% of out outside shots (i expect this to get better throughout the season) and still managed to prevail over a team that hit 40% from beyond the arc. Costner looked better shooting wise in this game but his 4 turnovers means he still has a lot of room for improvement. Grant is the heart beat of this team. As he goes, the rest of the team goes. He is a senior who is taking advantage of every opportunity he is given. His hard work has lead him to become the leader of this team. Hickson had a good game but still needs fine tuning. McCauley where have you been all this season! McCauley seems to be filling into his roll of coming off the bench. I know he isn't happy with his roll but I appreciate with how he has gradually accepted his roll and made the most of his opportunities. I would have no problem with him starting instead of Hickson if he continues to work hard and prove how good he can be.

This game can be interpreted two ways. One- Duke and UNC didn't have as difficult a time with Davidson as we did. Sure they were close and needed closing minute heroics to pull out wins but we needed a last second foul to give us the win. Two- We're close to UNC and Duke. They beat them, we beat them. This is the only team all three triangle teams have played up to this point and all three have beaten them. We have the talent, we just need to start playing together and buy into the team concept Coach Lowe is trying to convey.

PS- please leave comments, your ideas help spark ideas in other wolfpack fans mind's.

While I Was Away

2007-12-19T21:50:00.000-05:00

Its been a while since I've posted an article. Exams, traveling and relaxing have taken up all my time the past couple weeks. Not to much has happened in the NC State sporting world since my last post but I will try to give my take on the few things that have occurred.

First of all a big thanks goes out to my roommate, Jason Lee, for designing the hew header at the top of the page. Jason is an experienced web designer who has designed web sites for multiple clients. His work can be found at http://jasonldesigns.com/services.cfm.

The NC State basketball team is preparing to play the Davidson Wildcats on Friday. Davidson comes into this game with a record of 4-5 (2-0). Two of the Wildcats' losses have come to the Tar Heels and the Blue Devils. Davidson played Carolina tight losing 72-68 while shooting 38.8% from the field. Duke beat the Wildcats by 6 in a 79-73 loss relying on Gerarld Henderson's 21 points. Davidson is known for their aggressive play and hard work. Their main play maker is sophomore Stephen Curry who averages 24.1 points and 3.2 assists per game. Curry is shooting an astonishing 41.9% from three point range. Despite playing UNC and Duke so well Davidson has lost to UNC Charlotte and Western Michigan this year. Despite these disappointing losses I still feel NC State is going to need to finally put together a 40 minute complete game and get better results from their outside shooters to put Davidson away. This is a scary game for the Wolfpack. With their up and down play early in this season I have a feeling were going to need our best performance of the season to win this game.

This Friday's game against Davidson will also mark the first game Sophomore Marques Johnson will be eligible to play. Johnson is a transfer from Tennessee who sat out last year due to NCAA regulations. Coach Lowe has not ruled out the possibility of playing Johnson against the Wildcats but I don't think we'll get to see much of NC States newest addition unless we start to pull away.

Finally, I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Dewey Corn this weekend. Most of you might not be aware of who Mr. Corn is but I'll fill you in on a little of what I found out about him. Mr. Corn is a friendly gentleman who graduated from NC State and is a member of the Wolfpack Club. What separates Mr. Corn from other Wolfpack fans I have met in the past is the fact that he has not missed a single NC State football game, home or away, in 32 years. This kind man drives to home and away games every Saturday during the fall in order to watch the Wolfpack. I hope to interview Mr. Corn in the future and post my conversation with him for all Wolfpack fans to read.

NC State Wins 74-49

2007-12-15T18:28:00.000-05:00

Size was the determining factor in NC State's dominating win today. State had 7 blocked shots and out rebounded SC State 43-32 to get its first win since the final of the Old Spice Classic over Villanova. The Wolfpack's inside game had its way with SC State but the Wolfpack continued to struggle with their outside game only hitting 2 of their 14 three point attempts. After the game coach Lowe commented that NC State still needed to put a 40 minute game together and soon with Davidson coming to Raleigh next Friday.

Overall I felt the Wolfpack played well. Except for about a five minute stretch midway through the second half NC State controlled the tempo had an easy time getting the ball down low. The Pack is still making too many lazy passes and mental errors to be a serious contender for the ACC regular season title but they did play with much more intensity than they have shown in their past two games.

Star of the Game- Gavin Grant. 23 points, 7 rebounds and two assists. When Grant was on the floor State seemed to want the game more. He pushed the game's tempo and had a lot of success driving the ball in the lane. He missed some free throws down the stretch but his Kobe-esque 360 up and under lay up made up for any bad plays he might have had tonight.

NC State's defense was outstanding tonight. The Wolfpack's towering height allowed them to contest or block almost all of SC States shots. Farnold and Gavin played tight defense and Hickson grabbed 8 rebounds as NC State held the Bulldogs to 29.7% from the field.

NC State still needs to improve its outside shooting. Only going 2-14 from the field is pretty disappointing and if we wanna compete against the likes of Duke and Carolina we need to have options outside of Hickson and McCauley inside. Finally, Costner needs to improve. He did grab 7 rebounds but he's a shadow of that spectacular player we saw in the ACC tournament last year. We know what he's capable of and I'm sure Coach Lowe will have hem back to normal soon.

Bored?

2007-12-11T20:19:00.000-05:00

It's exam time and for me that means sitting around all day trying to find things to do other than study. Luckily for me I found a cool time waster on ESPN.com. In assistance with accuscore, ESPN has developed a program that lets you simulate your own NCAA football playoff. Accusccore has used a computer program using up to date statistics to simulate each possible game within this make up playoff bracket 10,000 times. You can choose to use the current BCS standings to seat your teams or customize your bracket to give you the matchups you would like to see. This cool program only reinforces how amazing a college football playoff would be.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/bowls07/bracket?lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1

Petrino to Arkansas

2007-12-11T19:07:00.001-05:00

Bobby Petrino has resigned his post as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons to take the head coaching job at Arkansas. Petrino signed a 5 year $24 million contract with the Falcons last year and ten games into that contract he has jumped ship to Fayetteville. This is not the first time Petrino has left a team one year into a multi year contract. In 2006 Petrino signed a 10 year contract with Louisville but left the following year to take the Falcons job.

In his final year at Louisville, Petrino's Cardinals had the second best offense in the nation averaging over 475 yards a game and 35 points. He lead the Cardinals to a Big East Championship and an Orange Bowl victory over Wake Forest.

My take. Arkansas is getting a very good coach. Petrino has shown himself to be a great recruiter who can get the most out of his prospects. Expect Arkansas to finish higher in the SEC West next year especially if McFadden and Felix Jones stick around. Watch out though. Petrino has proven to be a man who will skip town if he sees a better opportunity.

P.S. To bad, looks like Butch won't be leaving UNC afterall.

Just Disappointing

2007-12-09T17:46:00.000-05:00

The hype that surrounded this team during the preseason seems to be gone. If Gavin Grant's prediction that NC State will lose a max four games this year, he better get himself and his teammates to start playing better basketball. I'm not sure if the problem is the lack of an experienced point guard, finding a good starting line up and rotation, or they just got to comfortable with everyone saying they're a top 3 ACC team. Whatever the problem is I hope Sidney Lowe can turn things around soon. Before I start saying our season is over already lets remember we did win the Old Spice Classic so we know we have some talent. But until we start to play like we care all the time I'm gonna be a bit worried about how far this team can really go. Section Six has some good numbers on the game.

http://www.sectionsix.blogspot.com/

The Heisman Race

2007-12-08T17:32:00.000-05:00

The Downtown Athletic Club will be presenting its Heisman Trophy to the "best" player in college football tonight. Four finalists have been selected and flown into NYC for the ceremony. This years race is so intriguing for a few reasons. First, there is no clear cut winner. We can narrow it down to four guys but once you get there it gets a little dicey. Second, the leading candidate in many peoples mind is an underclassman on a three loss team. This is how I think they'll should finish up.

4. Chase Daniel. Great player. Definitely deserves to be considered. He completed 70% of his passes and threw for 4170 yards. He had 33 touch downs and 10 picks. He had a passing rating of 151 and only lost to one team. But he lost to them once. And when your competition in this race is two other unbelievable quarterbacks your gonna need to have to do something amazing to separate you from the pack and Chase just doesn't have that. He's a great player who I would love to have on my team. But he's not gonna be the winner.

3. Darren McFadden. He could be the best player in college football. He rushed for 1725 yards and had 15 rushing touchdowns. He averaged over five yards a carry and ran for 143 yards a game. Who can forget his amazing performance against LSU. He rushed for 3 touchdowns and threw one. But at the same time how can you forget what he did against Auburn, Florida International and Mississippi State. In each of those games he was held under 90 yards and against Auburn he only mustered 43 yards. Maybe teams were piling players in the box but a Heisman winner should do better against his weaker opponents.

2. Tim Tebow. Amazing season. 68% pass completion, 29 touchdowns, only 6 picks! That doesn't include his rushing stats. 838 yards rushing, over 4 yards an attempt, 22 touchdowns, NO FUMBLES. He's an amazing player who deserves all the praise he getting. Most would say he's the front runner going into tonight's event. Here's my problem: He lost three games. When trying to find a Heisman trophy winner I think one of the most important factors is how well did your team do. I realize a great player can be on a not so great team and get great stats that blow away others. But the object of the game is to win, and if you don't win games while others in the Heisman race do I can't justify giving you the award. Tebow is an amazing player who is going to be scary good next year. They might as well give him next years Heisman tonight.

1. Colt Brennan. 71% pass completion, 4174 yards passing, 38 passing touchdowns, 8 rushing touchdowns and 380 passing yards a game. Who is more valuable to their team. If Hawaii didn't have Colt they wouldn't be anywhere near where they are now. Last season Brennan threw 58 touchdowns which is more than Tebow combined for this season. Let's not forget Brennan's most important stat, 0 losses. As in zip, nada, zilch. In a season where so many great teams had bad games and lost, when Hawaii had a bad game they won. They won because Colt Brennan picked apart opposing teams defences. There were a couple times this season when Hawaii looked down for the count. Down 21-0 to Washington in the last regular season game Brennan rallied his troops and came up with the win. The only knock I have heard about Brennan is his lack of schedule. Granted that's an important factor when deciding who gets to go to a BCS bowl game (cough, Kansas, cough), but Brennan could have performed like McFadden against Florida International or Mississippi State. The fact is he did what he had to do to win his games. And he put up some astounding numbers doing it.

So there's my take on how this years Heisman race should go down. In a few hours all this speculation will mean nothing and well know the winner. But until then lets debate.

P.S.- Where's Kevin Smith out of UCF. Not only did he pound the Wolfpack rushing defence but he's about to break Barry Sanders single season rushing mark. He should definitely be on the list.

Georgia Tech Signs Paul Johnson

2007-12-07T19:08:00.001-05:00

Navy head coach Paul Johnson has decided to leave Annapolis for Atlanta. Johnson was introduced as the Yellow Jackets head coach at a press conference earlier today. Navy AD Ched Gladchuk had this to say about Johnson's departure,

"Paul is fixated on what Paul wants to do and that's the next step and new challenges at Georgia Tech," Gladchuck said. "We appreciate what Paul has done and we'll always remember him as one of the great coaches in Navy history. But we're very respectful of his wishes for new challenges at Georgia Tech."

During his time at Navy Johnson amassed a 45-29 record and turned a struggling program that into one of the top offences in the land. One main factor that might have taken Johnson to Georgia is that he started his coaching career at Georgia Southern collecting two national championships during his tenure there.

My take: Watch out. Johnson is a top rate coach who uses what he has to work with to create dangerous offensive threats. I'm happy a coach of his caliber has come to the ACC but nervous he might be able to pull together a top rate team.

Meeting Sidney

2007-12-07T00:37:00.000-05:00

So instead of studying for my sociology final tomorrow my roommate and I decided to head to Sammy's to watch the Redskins Bears game. We shared a few brewskies and had some chips as we watched the game on the big screen t.v.s which consumed our attention. After quenching my thirst I headed to the restroom. As I was leaving the restroom I opened the door and caught a glimpse of a familiar face. I did a quick double take to confirm my suspicions. It was in fact the head coach of the NC State basketball team Sidney Lowe! I stood in the threshold contemplating whether or not to say anything to the leader of the pack. After several moments I said, "Good luck this season Mr. Lowe." Coach Lowe turned to me and said, "Thank you, appreciate it." I then ran a 4.25 forty back to our booth to tell my roommate that I had just met Sidney Lowe. I guess when you want to meet an NC State celebrity, blow off studying and head to the restroom at Sammy's.

Scratch That: Grobe Staying In Winston-Salem

2007-12-06T12:09:00.000-05:00

Jim Grobe has decided to decline the offer from Arkansas and remain the head coach at Wake Forest. Apparently after meeting with WFU athletic director Ron Wellman late last night Grobe decided he was happy to stay at Wake Forest. No word has come out of Fayetteville concerning this sudden change of heart but Wellman has told several sources that Grobe will be staying and he is happy to do so.

Grobe to Arkansas

2007-12-06T02:36:00.000-05:00

It appears Jim Grobe, the coach of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, is leaving the comforts of Winston Salem to take the Arkansas job. According to the Sports Illustrated:

"A University of Arkansas private fundraising arm approved a salary supplement Wednesday for Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe, a strong indication that Grobe will replace Houston Nutt as the Razorbacks' coach."

Neither party would confirm if Grobe has taken the deal and with the way Arkansas handled the hiring of their basketball coach last year who could blame them. According to ESPN it is likely that Grobe will be announced Thursday as the new head coach of the Razorbacks.

Personally I'm sad to see Grobe leave the Deacons. As much as I have hated losing to Wake Forest the past three seasons I also hate it when a good coach leaves the ACC. It was nice to see the level of overall play in the ACC rise the past couple of seasons. But now its time to start speculating who will take over a talented Wake Forest team that has been red shirting most of their prospects.

Interesting Salary Database

2007-12-05T12:57:00.000-05:00

USA Today has posted an interactive database that allows you to examine the salaries and actual contracts of almost every division 1-A college coach. This database can be found at:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/graphics/coaches_contracts07/flash.htm

Some interesting facts I noted from this source:

Butch Davis has the 4th highest base salary in the NCAA. This is before he signed his new extension that takes his salary over 2 million annually.
Tom O'Brien has to opportunity to make 850,000 in bonuses; the fourth highest amount in the NCAA
Butch Davis is the second highest paid coach in the ACC and 13th highest paid in the NCAA
Pete Carroll is paid all his salary up front. No bonuses or other sources of income.

After quickly going through Tom O'Brien's contract here are some quick points

For every six year period when the football team's graduation rate is above 55% O'Brien receives $50,000.
Every time NC State goes to a non BCS bowl O'Brien receives $50,000.
Every time NC State goes to the ACC championship game O'Brien receives $100,000 dollars.
Every time NC State wins the ACC championship or goes to a BCS bowl game O'Brien receives an additional $200,000 dollars
TOB gets $50,000 dollars for winning 5 ACC games. Then he gets another $50,000 dollars for winning 6 games and again for 7 ACC wins. The bonuses for ACC wins cannot exceed $200,000.
When NC State finishes the season ranked in the polls, TOB receives a bonus based on where in those polls they stand.
TOB's buy out is equal to $360,000 X the number of years left on his contract. If TOB left today to accept another job he would have to pay State $2,160,000.

Personally I love TOB's contract. He gets paid a great annual salary but has the added incentive to make a ton of extra money if he graduates his players and gets the results on the field. Knowing how TOB cared before at BC about his players graduating and how he built a program that preformed as well as it did this year how can you help but not be excited.

Bowden Staying At Clemson, Grobe Considers Talking To Michigan, Duke and GT

2007-12-04T16:18:00.000-05:00

Early this morning the word going around was that Clemson's coach Tommy Bowden was in talks with Arkansas about their head coaching vacancy. Considering the scrutiny Bowden has come under the last couple seasons about his teams lack of consistency, and the fact that he is one of two coaches in division I who was been at a team for at least 9 seasons and not won a conference championship, this story seemed like it might have some chance of actually happening. Now it appears Bowden used the Arkansas job as leverage in hopes of getting a raise and a contract extension from Clemson. And Clemson gave it to him. Despite many Clemson fans hoping for a change in leadership, Bowden has taken a contract extension that will keep him at Death Valley through 2012 and pay him an annual salary of 2.2 million. According to ESPN,

"He was gone this morning," a source told ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach. "He was just looking for more stability. He's excited about the team he's got coming back and the recruiting class coming in. They have good momentum and he and his family are happy there."

With one ACC coach secure another might be getting a call soon. Jim Grobe, head coach at Wake Forest, seems to be on everyone's list as a possible candidate for the Michigan Wolverines head coaching position. In a recent interview Grobe commented that,

"I'm happy here, I think our fans understand that. I don't know that there's not another move for me, but I'm not out chasing that move around. I'm not going after it. I'm not opposed to talking to people if they're interested in what we've done here at Wake Forest, but we've got a good situation at Wake Forest."

Now it seems as though Michigan is eyeing Ball St. head coach Brady Hoke.

The Blue Devils position is still open and they really want Paul Johnson to fill it. Johnson is the head coach at Navy and has done a great job getting the most out of his recruits. Johnson's Midshipmen lead the nation in rushing at over 350 yards per game and have made a habit of going to bowl games. Duke has held meetings with Johnson and are willing to pay their coach next around 1 million annually but Johnson is keeping his options open.

Georgia Tech is looking to the next level to find their coach. The front runner for the GT job is Rich Neuheisel, currently the offensive coordinator at the Baltimore Ravens. Georgia Tech might have some competion now that Neuheisel's alma matter UCLA has a vacancy at their head football coaching position.

O'Brien's Name Being Thrown Around At Michigan

2007-12-03T13:07:00.000-05:00

I'm excited TOB is at State. I think he can turn our ship around. I think he can bring in great recruits that will perform on the field and in the class room. I think he can bring us conference championships and BCS bowl berths. Apparently so does Michigan. At least his name is being tossed around in Ann Arbor. According to Tom Dienhart at the Sporting News,

"Two other interesting names recently were dropped in my lap: N.C. State's Tom O'Brien and Missouri's Gary Pinkel.

O'Brien has been at N.C. State just one season, but he is a perfect fit in Ann Arbor. He's a Navy grad who has coached at high-minded academic schools such as Virginia (as an assistant) and Boston College (as head coach). Plus, O'Brien is one of the nation's best coaches."

Thankfully people at Michigan don't seem to excited by this prospect. Scott Bell at the Michigan Daily (UM's student newspaper) reports that,

"To be completely honest, none of the potential candidates inspire too much excitement. Tom O'Brien? Jim Grobe? Greg Schiano? Even Jeff Tedford doesn't sound like a sexy hire after California's embarrassing second-half collapse."

Let's hope Michigan's AD shares this sentiment and doesn't become to interested in TOB's services.

RIP BCS

2007-12-02T22:57:00.000-05:00

After another exciting college football season that included everything from App St. beating the winningest football program in history, to a top 5 team losing to an unraked opponent 13 times, to a WAC team going undefeated again and pulling out some really exciting wins, to Stanford (a 44 point underdog) upsetting USC, to the top 2 teams in the nation losing on the final day, and countless other exciting moments that can only be witnessed in college football, we are once again faced with the reality that the season will end on a down note. The BCS is once again ruining another thrilling season with a bowl process that leaves us all wanting more. Here are some of my biggest problems with this years selections.

- How did LSU jump ahead of VT. I am not forgetting the beating LSU gave VT back in September but look what has happened in the last two days. VT was ranked 6th with a BCS rating of .7811 going into this weekend while LSU was right behind them at #7 with a rating of .7744. VT then beat #11 ranked Boston College by 14 while LSU beat #14 ranked Tennessee by 7. This week, LSU comes in at #2 with an average rating of .9394 with VT finished at #3 with a rating of .8703. LSU jumped 5 positions and gained .165 points in the ratings while VT jumped 3 spots and gained .0959 points in the ratings. LSU gained .0691 more points that VT while beating a lower ranked team by less points. How in the world is this possible.

-So sorry MIZZOU. Missouri was the number one team going into the weekend coming off a great game aganist the then #1 Kansas Jayhawks. But Missouri fell short in the Big XII championship game against #9 Oklahoma for the second time this season. Missouri lost the conference title and had to hope to receive an at large bid to get into a BCS game. The invite never came. Instead, Kansas got a bid. That's not the worst of it. Illinois, a three loss team who lost to Missouri earlier in the season also got a bid. Are you telling me a team ranked #6 in this weeks BCS poll, ranked 2 spots higher than Kansas, ranked 7 spots higher than Illinois, doesn't get a bid. When you factor in the fact that Kansas has the 106th toughest schedule (out of 119), and they don't even have a win against anyone who even received a vote to be placed in the top 25, tells me that something is not quite right with the system in place.

- The Ohio State Luckeyes. I realize Ohio State has a pretty good team. They won 11 games in a major conference and beat the likes of Wisconsin, Michigan and Penn State. But they also played the 75th toughest schedule in the nation. Perhaps my biggest problem with OSU being given a spot in the title game is the fact that they did not play. For the past two weeks they have been sitting on their butts back in Columbus hoping and praying for a scenario just like this. They don't have a tough title game added on to the end of their schedule so why are they rewarded for doing nothing. I think a playoff would be a perfect end of season test to tell how good these buckeyes really are. Also it will be interesting to see if they get this special treatment again if they get blown out like they did last year.

So those are my major problems with how the current BCS system has played out. Now for the real question. What system could be put in place that would reveal who the best team in college football is. Here is my solution

-An 8 team playoff. The first round would put the #1 team playing the #8 team, the #2 team versus the #7 team, the #3 team versus the #6 team, and the #4 versus the #5. These bowls would retain the names of the current BCS bowls. In round 2 the highest ranked team remaining would face the lowest ranked team remaining with the two teams left facing off in the other round two game. Finally, the winners of these two games would face off in the National Championship.

-The conference champion from the 6 major conferences (ACC, SEC, PAC 10, Big XII, Big 10, and the Big East) automatically get a bid to play in the tournament. The final two spots would be filled by at large teams.

-The problems a system like this solves
1) You're no longer arguing about who the #1 and #2 teams are which is far more controversial than arguing about who the #8 and #9 teams are.

2) The regular season still matters. The added bonus to win the conference championship would push teams excite fans.

3) Money. Those lousy corporate heads that are sucking all the fun out of college football would be able to make even more money now because there are three more huge games to sell out.

4) Its a college football playoff!!! Whats not exciting about that!!! Each week the best teams in the nation face off to determine who gets to go on to another exciting game against another of the nations best!!!

Hello

2007-12-02T22:50:00.000-05:00

So after reading countless blogs and articles about NC State, the ACC and other sports issues I have decided that I wanted to voice my opinion. So here it is. The Brick Yard Pack. A blog dedicated to covering NC State athletics and any other sports related stories I desire to comment on. I'll be surprised if anyone starts to read this on a regular basis but I hope to present some different views and spark some conversation with other sports enthusiasts.