Posted: 11/3/2009 by Bryce Wilson
It’s convenient, and largely accurate, to hurl all sorts of criticism at Tom O’Brien and his team after N.C. State’s latest ACC pitfall, 45-42 at Florida State:
- “Can’t stop their own shadow, forget Christian Ponder and a volatile ‘Nole offense”
- “Secondary torched…again”
- “Not enough pure talent and speed to keep up”
- “Finding ways to lose” (see previous three conference games)
But the one insult your can’t hurl at State after last Saturday’s wild loss is that it’s heartless.
Call the ‘Pack mediocre, call them bad even, declare the season an outright disappointment, pile on a porous and injury-decimated defense, wonder whether Obie will eventually get it done in Raleigh…and so on. But don’t question this team’s mettle. For all its faults – and there are many – N.C. State spilled some guts in Tallahassee and flexed the mettle that O’Brien-coached teams are known for.
When you’re 0-4 in league play (the only winless team), surrendering 44 points per game and forced to field a lineup that no sane person could have envisioned eight weeks ago, then you hang your hat where you can. State can hang those read-and-white helmets on the tenacity it displayed at Doak Campbell, an intangible that, if bottled and tapped into again, will translate into a tangible victory or two before the sun sets on 2009.
More importantly, it’s a quality that further establishes an identity for O’Brien’s program…a distinctly similar characteristic that marked his steadfastly successful teams at Boston College.
The ‘Pack had every reason to fold it up and fuhgetaboutit against the ‘Noles.
It started its seventh different secondary in eight games and fielded a linebacking corps that’s a mere shell of what O’Brien penciled in before the season. To say that N.C. State has been victimized by injuries defensively would do injustice to the severity of the situation. On the other side of the line stood arguably the ACC’s best QB and dangerous offensive threat in Ponder. Say what you will about FSU – leaky D, coaching discordance, penalty-prone – but the Seminoles rack up explosive plays and points in a hurry (54 at BYU comes to mind). Ponder and company are playing with confidence and struck early and often Saturday.
Yet every time they did, State responded. Five different times…and nearly a sixth. Russell Wilson looked like, well, vintage number 16 – 20-30, 349 yards, and 5 TDs – practically willing his offense behind a beat-up line (R.J. Mattes injured a knee on the second play). Owen Spencer was explosive vertically, while George Bryan chipped in with another score. And Toney Baker has emerged as a feel-good story, comeback player-of-the-year candidate and all-around horse for State.
The road ahead isn’t exactly paved with gimmies (what is when you’re scratching for just one W, any W), but every single contest is winnable…even the trip to Blacksburg on November 21. And certainly this weekend’s game with Maryland, which is vying with State for a spot in the cellar.
If O’Brien can find a way to infuse his injury-riddled squad with a similar moxie and resolve as what we saw last weekend, good moments lie ahead for this group…now and down the road.
Hey, at least it’s a start.