Quote :

"2008 Preseason Polls Spreadsheet with the teams ranked based on average ranking in the polls. http://www.lsufootball.net/articles/2008-preseason-polls.htm"

[Edited on May 5, 2008 at 11:39 PM. Reason : ]

5/5/2008 11:39:36 PM

Quote :

"2008 Preseason Polls Spreadsheet with the teams ranked based on average ranking in the polls. http://www.lsufootball.net/articles/2008-preseason-polls.htm"

Where's are we?

5/5/2008 11:51:43 PM

probably somewhere around 98

5/6/2008 12:00:52 AM

we should make ours look just like that nebraska stadium. that thing is sweet looking.

5/6/2008 12:30:24 AM

Nebraska's endzone stands are huge. I'd rather have the sideline seating be large rather than the endzone seating, that way there are more people in between the endzones to make noise.

Texas A&M, Clemson, and Washington are a good example of this. Washington's Husky Stadium has had decibel measurements in the 130s before, by both ESPN and ABC. It has over 70% of the seats between the endzones. It should be even better once they take the track out and add on to it.

Future Husky Stadium





Current Husky Stadium

5/6/2008 7:21:26 AM

Congrats to Marcus Stone!

http://www.gopack.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=9200&ATCLID=1458005

Stone Signs on With Bears

Raleigh, N.C. - Former NC State tight end Marcus Stone has signed a free agent contract to play football for the Chicago Bears. Stone attended the Bears’ rookie mini-camp this past weekend as one of 28 players vying for a spot on the team. He got the call on Tuesday afternoon that the Bears had decided to sign him.

Stone, a team captain in 2007, will report to the Bears’ training facility in two weeks to begin the team’s offseason conditioning program, then will attend camp in July. A former quarterback who moved to tight end as a junior, Stone finished his Wolfpack career with 40 catches for 520 yards and threw for 1,478 yards. He played in 37 games, starting 22 (nine at quarterback and 13 at tight end).

5/6/2008 6:30:04 PM

The guy has something about him that is just so likeable. Happy for him.

5/6/2008 7:54:24 PM

Staying in the Pac-10 and the state of Washington, we profile Washington State's Martin Stadium, capacity: 35,117. Martin Stadium was the first college football stadium to build down rather than up to add seats. In 1979, Wazzu removed the 400 meter track and lowered the playing field by 16 feet, which added over 12,000 new seats that were closer to the field. Since then this has become one of the most popular ways in which to add seats to stadiums. What Martin Stadium lacks in seats, it makes up for in intimacy. The seats are very close to the field and there is not a bad seat in the house. Also the student section takes up one entire sideline of seating, the North Side, as well as most of the West Endzone, giving them a student section that seats 12,500 (that's more than State's fwiw ). The only time it decreases in size is when the students have to give up their West Endzone seating for the Apple Cup game against their rival UW. Martin Stadium is relatively new in comparison to a lot of other college football stadiums. It was opened in 1972, after Rogers Field (Wazzu's original wooden seat stadium) was burned down of suspected arson. An odd thing about Martin Stadium is that it is named after a graduate of Washington State's rival, the University of Washington. The stadium is named after Clarence D. Martin, the governor of the state of Washington from 1933-41, and a 1906 graduate of UW. Martin Stadium is currently undergoing an estimated $70 million multi-phase renovation that will bring capacity to an expected 43,000. It should be complete by 2009.


Martin Stadium in 1978 prior to the removal of the track and lowering of the field.

5/6/2008 8:30:57 PM

t minus 113 and counting

5/7/2008 3:01:50 PM

5/7/2008 3:22:09 PM

Today we profile Texas A&M's Kyle Field, capacity: 82,600 (Largest Crowd: 88,253). A trip to this stadium might make you think you were at a European soccer match with all the singing, most notably "Saw Varsity's Horns Off" where everyone in the stadium puts their arms on each others shoulders and sway back and forth. This is where the popular term the 12th man originated.

The tradition began in Dallas on January 2, 1922, at the Dixie Classic, the forerunner of the Cotton Bowl. A&M played defending national champion Centre College in the first post-season game in the southwest. In this hard fought game, which produced national publicity, an underdog Aggie team was slowly defeating a team which had allowed fewer than 6 points per game. The first half produced so many injuries for A&M that Coach D. X. Bible feared he wouldn’t have enough men to finish the game. At that moment, he called into the Aggie section of the stands for E. King Gill, a student who had left football after the regular season to play basketball. Gill, who was spotting players for a Waco newspaper and was not in football uniform, donned the uniform of injured player Heine Weir and stood on the sidelines to await his turn.. Although he did not actually play in the game, his readiness to play symbolized the willingness of all Aggies to support their team to the point of actually entering the game. When the game ended in a 22-14 Aggie victory, Gill was the only man left standing on the sidelines for the Aggies. Gill later said, "I wish I could say that I went in and ran for the winning touchdown, but I did not. I simply stood by in case my team needed me."

Aggie football fans call themselves the 12th Man, meaning they are there to support the 11 players on the field. To further symbolize their "readiness, desire, and enthusiasm," the entire student body stands throughout the game, something that nearly every school's student section does now. In a further show of respect, the students step "off the wood" (step off of the bleachers onto the concrete) whenever a player is injured, which is again done by many student sections around the country. Texas A&M has trademarked the term 12th Man.

Students at Texas A&M basically take College Football Traditions 101 with class being held on Friday nights at 12 midnight (Midnight Yell Practice) and on Saturday for gameday. My favorite tradition of A&M's is that you kiss your date after every score. If one doesn't have a date, they raise their hand or a lighter, find and kiss the closest guy/gal that also doesn't have a date.

There are plans for expanding Kyle Field to over 115,000, but university officials haven't taken any steps to make this a reality.









Future Kyle Field


[Edited on May 9, 2008 at 1:02 PM. Reason : ]

5/9/2008 12:55:35 PM

5/11/2008 11:54:28 AM

Who all do you think starts at LB this year? When do we make the transition to a 3-4? Will Dwayne Maddox play a lot this year?

5/13/2008 3:20:37 PM

I doubt we see a 3-4 this year given our fairly stacked d-line and our lack of experienced depth at linebacker. I don't know who is a definite starter at linebacker other than Nate Irving at olb. On the other side I think it will be either Robbie Leonard or Thomas Barnes, probably Leonard given Barnes' lack of ideal size and experience. In the middle I would think would be Ray Michel, but I expect for Maddox to take that position away from him by mid-season.

5/13/2008 3:39:32 PM

Irving, Michel, Leonard to start the season. you'll see barnes and Maddox get some PT as the season moves along with Audi Cole making some noise as well. Alot of people are saying that one of Beasley/Lucas will get some PT, but i really dont see it unless they come in and blow people away

5/13/2008 3:42:14 PM

5/13/2008 5:29:08 PM

Tour of the Murphy Center with Mark Thomas of 99.9 The Fan
http://www.wral.com/sports/999thefan/video/2862313/

5/13/2008 5:32:39 PM

someone come up with some ACC pick'em thingy (ATS)... and none of that NCSTATE p*# shit

5/13/2008 5:34:01 PM

Quote :

"ACC will remain at eight for league football games Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) By Dane Huffman Posted: Today at 5:10 p.m. The ACC will continue to play eight conference football games and not go to nine after discussions at the league meetings, ESPN is reporting and WRAL has confirmed. Commissioner John Swofford is expected to address the issue after Wednesday's main business session. The league meetings conclude Wednesday. The possibility of adding a conference game was discussed among coaches and athletics directors on Tuesday at Amelia Island, Fla. "We listened to the coaches and we've backed off the nine games," Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips told ESPN. "It's off the table for discussion." Some coaches have opposed moving to nine conference games because it cuts down on nonconference opportunities. One athletics director told WRAL the league is not discussing expanding the number of conference games in men’s basketball. The ACC currently plays 16 league games and will keep that for the next three years, until the television contracts expire after the 2011 season."

5/13/2008 9:15:47 PM

Why are there so many people riding Texas Tech's nuts this upcoming season?

5/13/2008 9:52:51 PM

TOB says what's up motherfuckers

5/13/2008 10:08:58 PM

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/story/1071745.html

Former Wolfpack DB Scott signs with Giants

Former N.C. State defensive back Miguel Scott has signed a free agent contract with the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

Scott, who was invited to the rookie minicamp on a tryout basis last week, was a three-year starter for the Wolfpack as a safety and recorded more than 40 tackles during his senior season. He played in 42 games in his career with 27 of those being starts. He had more than 180 tackles and three interceptions at NCSU.


Congrats Miguel! Now go out and make the team.

5/14/2008 11:47:26 AM

Wait a minute, so I go that lost his starting spot his senior year on a 5-7 team gets a chance in the NFL? I mean he used to be a solid player but NFL?

5/14/2008 12:06:36 PM

our poor guys foot is being mercilessly attacked by that thugs head.


ps: can someone photoshop to make that an ncstate player kicking?

[Edited on May 14, 2008 at 1:09 PM. Reason : .]

5/14/2008 1:08:08 PM

^^^^^I guess it's because they have Crabtree and Harrell back, and their defense is supposed to be much improved...I don't know how much I buy into the hype but Crabtree is sick.

5/14/2008 1:23:52 PM

Yeah Michael Crabtree is sick and should finish somewhere high in the Heisman running this year. I don't think he wins it, but I could see him getting 4th in the voting. I just don't see TT putting up a better record than Oklahoma and/or Texas this year. They have to get by at least one to make it to the Big XII Championship game.

What are you guys' predictions for the season in terms of the conferences. I haven't decided on any but the ACC, but I have an idea of who I think will win the others.

My ACC predictions.

ACC Coastal
1. VT
2. UM
3. UNC (I hate to put them here, but they have a pretty easy schedule)
4. GT
5. UVA
6. Duke

ACC Atlantic
1. CU
2. WF (they look like they will have one of if not the best defenses in the ACC)
3. UMD
4. FSU (academic scandal really hurts them here. they will most assuredly lose the WF game which is their final game without the players that were suspended from play for the first four games. that will already put them in a hole in the division race. I think the FSU @ NCSU Thurs. night primetime game determines who finishes fourth in the division)
5. NCSU
6. BC

ACCCG - Clemson vs. Virginia Tech

Winner - A 2 loss Clemson team upsets a 1 loss VT team that had National Championship aspirations.

Tammy Bowden then chokes in the Orange Bowl to continue the ACC's losing streak in BCS games and further hurt the conference's football reputation.

5/14/2008 1:33:16 PM

Quote :

"ps: can someone photoshop to make that an ncstate player kicking?"

i know you're joking, but the sad thing is if someone did this, it'd be in the N&O the next day under a headline such as "NC State fans plan violent attack against USC on August 28th; Stafford bans fans from traveling to away games"



And to ^ that post, the coastal division is absolutely horrid. unless GT or UVA pull off a shocker, i wouldn't be suprised to see UNC finish 2nd in the division. hell they'll probably be able to do that with a 5-7 or 6-6 record. their schedule is nauseatingly easy. that division outside of VT is a joke.

[Edited on May 14, 2008 at 2:02 PM. Reason : 5+6=12 durr]

5/14/2008 2:02:10 PM

^no kiddin. All 3 of our ACC wins came from the coastal division last year. It is a complete joke compared to the Atlantic

5/14/2008 2:13:11 PM

^ Would have been 4 wins had we played Duke.

5/14/2008 2:16:29 PM

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3395407

Quote :

"O'Brien always develops a good offensive line. Let's see how NC State survives early road games at South Carolina and Clemson. If the Wolfpack show any proficiency on the ground, watch out."

Damn you preseason high hopes!! Every year I try to talk myself down, but every year I am optimistic... GO PACK!

5/14/2008 3:39:49 PM

To have a good running game, you also have to have a pass threat. Unless that changes this season, I'm pessimistic about our chances.

5/14/2008 4:06:25 PM

A good OL will make a bad QB mediocre, and a mediocre QB good.

I don't know if we're quite there yet though.

5/14/2008 4:34:45 PM

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3393786

Spring answers

1. Nurse them back: This team needs everyone to be healthy this fall in order to have a fighting chance. Injuries played a role in Tom O'Brien's 1-5 start in his first year as coach, and with an abundance of youth on the current roster, he needs Toney Baker, Andre Brown and Anthony Hill -- three of his top playmakers -- at 100 percent. They should be ready.

2. The real deal: Jamelle Eugene had to start last year when two starters were injured, and heading into the spring game, he was the lone running back on scholarship -- again. With Baker (knee) and Brown (foot) out, Eugene proved his durability yet again. He carried 15 times for 68 yards, including a 21-yard touchdown run. The three other backs in that game were walk-ons.

3. Right faces in right places: O'Brien did some shifting and found out who his five best players are on the offensive line. John Bedics and Ted Larsen, part-time starters at defensive tackle, switched to offensive guard and it improved the group. Senior tackle Meares Green, senior Curtis Crouch and junior Julian Williams are returning starters.

Fall questions
1. Quarterback: O'Brien can't make a decision until he sees what incoming quarterback Mike Glennon has to offer. Returning starter Daniel Evans missed the spring because of shoulder surgery, and Russell Wilson made a strong case while he was out. Still, O'Brien has hopes Glennon, the younger brother of Virginia Tech quarterback Sean Glennon, will add to the competition this fall.

2. Still shifting: Although O'Brien found out who his best offensive linemen are, he's still tinkering with where they should line up. Green started off at center but was moved him to tackle, and the others are still moving around from tackle to guard. Tackles Jake Vermiglio and Jerraill McCuller have starting experience and are in the mix, but the challenge is improving upon last year's 89.2 rushing yards per game.

3. Second season: How much improvement will show in O'Brien's second season after his 5-7 debut? The schedule will force young players to learn quickly, as it includes Clemson and South Carolina in two of the first three weeks of the season. O'Brien said his team has to play better football and can't have more interceptions (23) than touchdowns (14) this year.

5/14/2008 8:28:32 PM

honestly
i've placed bets on teh last two seasons and u know i dont want to sound cocky or anything but i have won both of those


1st bet

2006 after posting a 3-2 record with chuck the chest, i predicted we would lose the rest of the season because i had this *feeling* we were going to get too cocky and every team we would face the rest of the season would want to rape us

profit - 100$


2nd bet

Last year, after going 1-5, i bet we would finish 5-7 (only fault here was i predicted losses to miami and Wake forest) but i still won another 100$


For 2008, i must say, i think theres gonna be a turnaround, i mean, obrien's got a good system going on, and if we play with at least 75% of the intensity that we did when we beat ecu to Miami,
i think we can pull out 7 wins at least.

i think we will definitely lose to SC and Clemson, but for this season i say we go 9-3 the other loss either being against maryland or wake

5/14/2008 10:22:33 PM

Aug. 28 @ South Carolina - Tossup with it favoring USC
Sept. 06 William & Mary - W
Sept. 13 @ Clemson - L they've owned us the past few years
Sept. 20 East Carolina - W we've got the home crowd on our side
Sept. 27 South Florida - Tossup with it favoring us; USF lost a decent amount and we have the home crowd on our side
Oct. 04 Boston College - W they will be like us without Rivers but will still have enough talent to pull of 6 wins and go bowling
Oct. 16 Florida State - Tossup with it probably favoring us given our history of playing on Thurs. night primetime and in the recent part of the series
Oct. 25 @ Maryland - Tossup with it favoring UMD
Nov. 08 @ Duke - W
Nov. 15 Wake Forest - Tossup with it favoring WF, i say tossup b/c we will be at home and can play with them if we don't have stupid Amato era like mistakes (see 2006 game)
Nov. 22 @ North Carolina - Tossup
Nov. 29 Miami - Tossup with it favoring us, they still don't have a QB, but will probably be marginally better than last year


I think Clemson is the only definite loss on the schedule. We can play with the rest of the teams on the schedule. Since this is NC State we are talking about, pessimistically split the tossup 3 Ws and 4 Ls and we have a 7-5 season.

5/14/2008 10:39:07 PM

^^you just lost $100

5/14/2008 10:41:46 PM

Quote :

"for this season i say we go 9-3"

jesus, man. can i also bet you $100 on this?

5/14/2008 10:43:45 PM

i'll think about it

[Edited on May 14, 2008 at 10:47 PM. Reason : .]

5/14/2008 10:46:34 PM

yea, i am holding out hope for a 7-5 season, but 6-6 / 5-7 seem perfectly reasonable as well. Fortunately our schedule isn't too bad.

5/14/2008 11:25:44 PM

Quote :

""for this season i say we go 9-3""

seein that come true would be worth losing the 100 bones

5/14/2008 11:38:08 PM

Miami is a hard one to predict. Sure they still dont have a QB, but they still have some serious speed/athletes.

5/15/2008 1:18:03 PM

SC is going to stomp the shit out of us.

5/15/2008 1:20:37 PM

^^ Yeah, but it's at the end of the season. A quarter of the team will probably be suspended by then if Miami sticks to their THUG U reputation.

5/15/2008 1:33:41 PM

Quote :

"but for this season i say we go 9-3 the other loss either being against maryland or wake"

hahahaha. plz to tell me another.

i'll hop on that $100 train too

5/15/2008 1:39:13 PM

Quote :

"SC is going to stomp the shit out of us. "

I don't see that happening at all. Their defense will be above-average, but they lost their RB from last season and are breaking in a redshirt freshman QB (I think). They'll probably beat us, but I sure as hell don't see them "stomping" us.

5/15/2008 4:48:43 PM

back to the topic at hand.....

who is FOR SURE already going to this game... meaning you somehow have a ticket...

5/15/2008 5:07:07 PM

^ an old roommate and I are planning on going. i'm going to be looking on stub hub during the summer.

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2889910/

Son of a bitch! The State Fair opens the day of the Florida State game! I was wanting to come to this game so I could have an excuse to take two days off and have a long weekend.

The comments by some of the non-State fans on their have obviously never been there when both a football game and the Fair is going on. I remember the students losing our parking in the fairgrounds lot and having to park all the way out near the site of the old jail during the Miami game in 2004. Also I remember a Clemson game when there were 55k people at the game and another 100,000 at the fair. If you've never experienced this then you should feel grateful. Traffic is a nightmare. In fact after the Miami game a bus had got in an accident and we were just sitting on Blue Ridge for over an hour b/c the highway patrol were idiots and didn't know how to direct traffic around the accident. People were mad as hell. They were getting out of their cars and cussing at the highway patrol to do something and stop standing around.

[Edited on May 15, 2008 at 5:33 PM. Reason : link]

5/15/2008 5:32:38 PM

I am heading down with my old roommate and will be trying to find tickets from now til gametime. Anyone in the Charlotte area want to get a caravan down 77 to Columbia going?

5/15/2008 5:50:56 PM

Quote :

"but for this season i say we go 9-3"

BOAST BOAST BOAST

5/15/2008 6:00:10 PM

->

5/15/2008 6:37:11 PM