Bout to hit the road. Long-ass drive, but it'll be a fun time!

11/2/2007 6:20:33 AM

http://cggazette.com/absolutenm/templates/indextemp.aspx?articleid=3356&zoneid=1

O'Brien's Pack look for another upset vs. UM
By CHENG SIO

Through eight games last season, North Carolina State was 3-5. Through eight games this year, the Wolfpack are also 3-5. See any notable differences?

Didn’t think so.

On the surface, it seems as though North Carolina State is just a mediocre program, and it very well may be. But underneath the surface, it could be a program that’s not too far away from getting back to its glory days. If that’s truly going to be the case, the man Wolfpack fans may have to thank could very well be their new head coach, Tom O’Brien.

N.C. State fired former head coach Chuck Amato last November after Amato finished with a losing record for the second time in three seasons.

Less that two weeks later, O’Brien jumped ship from Boston College – currently ranked No. 2 in the country – to Raleigh because of the Wolfpack’s boisterous fan base, upgraded facilities and potential.

O’Brien has had little success…yet. But if you listen to Wolfpack senior defensive tackle DeMario Pressley, winning may not be too far away.

“They both have very different coaching styles,” Pressley said. “Coach Amato, he’s more like vocal, and he had a certain fire and flash. Coach O’Brien has a lot of poise, and he demands your attention.”

Pressley adds that with O’Brien, “You don’t wanna let him down.”

If you’re wondering if Pressley has a grudge with Amato, he doesn’t. He loves the guy. Heck, Amato recruited him.

Pressley says one of the main reasons why he decided to go to State was the family atmosphere that Amato created.

But with O’Brien, Pressley says that it’s “a very organized and really tight ship” that is steering the Wolfpack football program.

When you look at the history of Amato and O’Brien, you would see two different slopes in their head coaching career.

Amato, like the flashy guy Pressley said he is, started out with four consecutive winning seasons thanks to the play of record-setting quarterback Philip Rivers. After Rivers left is when Amato began his decline to unemployment.

O’Brien, on the other hand, went 4-7 in each of his first two seasons at Boston College after inheriting a 5-7 team. Even with the losing, O’Brien built up the talent base with guys such as current NFL players Chris Hovan (DT), Mathias Kiwanuka (DE/LB) and Dan Koppen (C), and with current Eagles like Matt Ryan (QB) and DeJuan Tribble (CB).

By his third season at Boston College, O’Brien had a winning season as he went 8-4. Ever since then, O’Brien has collected seven more winning seasons in a row although that may come to an end this year.

So what’s his secret? Pressley has some ideas.

The first theory is that when things go bad, Pressley says that O’Brien would be calm about it and assure the team that things will be fine.

The second theory has to do with how O’Brien views winning.

“He’ll let you know you did a great job, but he’ll also tell you don’t dwell on it,” Pressley said. “He points out the good and the bad. Win or lose, he’ll critique on what you have to do to be better next time.”

And then of course, there’s the theory that everyone has on O’Brien: his authoritarian/military style. After all, O’Brien was once an assistant coach at Navy.

“I don’t see a dictator,” Pressley stated. “I used to be scared of him, but not as much now. His silence, determination and poise can be intimidating.”

That silence, determination and poise may be the ingredients needed to bring North Carolina State back to the top.

A win at Miami would be a step in that direction.

11/2/2007 8:22:55 AM

I bet it would be pretty easy to write a script to generate pre-game sports articles. Shit is fucking formulaic as hell.

11/2/2007 8:28:02 AM

updated injury report

Curtis Crouch, OG - Probable, ankle sprain
John Dunlap, WR - Probable, ankle sprain
Corey Tedder, LS - Probable, fractured hand
Julian Williams, OT -Out, knee sprain

11/2/2007 2:46:26 PM

Quote :

"Since when did Miami represent themselves with a bird? Or do I just not know anything about their sports program?"

11/2/2007 5:15:15 PM

silly freshman.

11/2/2007 5:18:43 PM

The ibis is the first bird to leave before a hurricane and the first one to return after a hurricane. I had to ask that when Miami came to Knoxville several years back.

11/2/2007 6:13:41 PM

Apparently Kyle Wright likes State!

Quote :

"Kyle Wright has passed for 1,240 yards on the season with nine touchdowns and nine interceptions. It’s still up in the air whether the senior will start against N.C. State on Saturday, but regardless, here’s a photo of Wright that shows him giving a little love to the Pack. "

http://blogs.technicianonline.com/

Don't know how to post the picture though...

11/2/2007 7:18:58 PM

[Edited on November 2, 2007 at 10:55 PM. Reason : ]

11/2/2007 10:55:24 PM

^thanks

11/2/2007 11:59:33 PM

Talking to some of my friends here at Miami... they are worried. This game concerns Miami a lot. Especially after last week's win over UVa and the fact that NC State has a "nothing to lose" mentality with a good coach.

Saw Robert Randolph and Talib Kweli tonight for a free show at UM.

11/3/2007 12:49:56 AM

gonna be hard as shit waking up hungover to watch this game.

11/3/2007 2:52:47 AM

I hate noon games.

11/3/2007 9:36:30 AM

I have a good feelin bout this one...

NC State 42
Miami 14


Gonna be one of those "Are you shitting me?" games.

11/3/2007 9:38:33 AM

ha, if we put up 42 on them, I'm going streaking through campus.

11/3/2007 9:40:31 AM

noon game, 10 1/2 point dogs,opposing QB is out, miami should be a 5 point fav tops, this has all the makings...How can we not cover with being given 10 points???

11/3/2007 9:43:03 AM

Bc Miami will make our offense look like the first half of the season today.

11/3/2007 10:02:46 AM

the problem is i wouldn't bet on us to cover that, i mean, when we lose we lose BAD. But if were close, we'll pull it off

I say:

NC STATE-27
Miami- 17

11/3/2007 10:10:00 AM

radio link, anyone?

yahoo went espn360 on us and now u have to be a cfb subscriber

11/3/2007 10:46:53 AM

i had to ad-block the background to this page bc it's retarded

11/3/2007 10:47:29 AM

I just bumped into Larry Coker. Wonder how he feels about being here for the game.

11/3/2007 10:53:58 AM

HERE WE GOOOOO!






WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLF!

11/3/2007 11:00:39 AM

amazing crowd

11/3/2007 11:01:56 AM

the Orange Bowl is EMPTY

11/3/2007 11:02:34 AM

PACK

11/3/2007 11:03:07 AM

nice first play

11/3/2007 11:03:08 AM

woah i was about to say i thought they were calling interference there

11/3/2007 11:05:04 AM

http://webclust1.liquidcompass.cc/sos4stnrd/audio_player.php?id=WILT

11/3/2007 11:05:34 AM

defense getting heat on freeman.

11/3/2007 11:06:00 AM

we are winning the punting game

11/3/2007 11:09:48 AM

stuff it pack

11/3/2007 11:14:05 AM

so ironic that max mayfield and larry coker sound EXACTLY alike, and although they don't like just alike they look very similar

if you don't know max mayfield is the director of the national hurricane center in miami and coker is the former coach of the miami...hurricanes



[Edited on November 3, 2007 at 11:18 AM. Reason : how do you have 20 thousand people at homecoming]

11/3/2007 11:14:41 AM

now if the line can keep pressure off of evans.

haha, 3 straight runs. Is that you up there trestman?


[Edited on November 3, 2007 at 11:17 AM. Reason : ]

11/3/2007 11:15:04 AM

we're winning the field position game at least

11/3/2007 11:19:21 AM

what better way to keep pressure off our own qb than by punting the ball to the other team

11/3/2007 11:20:23 AM

"playing on the road in a touch environment"?

11/3/2007 11:21:33 AM

damn.

11/3/2007 11:21:46 AM

GAME

11/3/2007 11:21:52 AM

jesus

11/3/2007 11:22:12 AM

son of a bitch

11/3/2007 11:24:04 AM

our offense better pick their shit up when they get the ball back or our defense is going to be dead before the 2nd quarter starts.

haha. freeman was running for his life.

[Edited on November 3, 2007 at 11:26 AM. Reason : ]

11/3/2007 11:25:15 AM

thanks to whoever posted the radio link!

11/3/2007 11:28:40 AM

why is comcast doing a duke game?

11/3/2007 11:30:23 AM

^^no prob

Both QBs have not done anything. Eugene may have to run for 300 yards for us to win this one.

[Edited on November 3, 2007 at 11:31 AM. Reason : .]

11/3/2007 11:30:58 AM

BACK IT UP

11/3/2007 11:32:22 AM

stupid fucking penalties.

11/3/2007 11:32:23 AM

BACK IT UP AGAIN

11/3/2007 11:32:57 AM

WHAT A DOPE 3RD DOWN SERIES THERE

11/3/2007 11:33:49 AM

here's the offense we've grown accustomed to the past couple of years

11/3/2007 11:35:05 AM

I was about to say...that offense looks familiar.

11/3/2007 11:35:28 AM