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Bagels with Russell Wilson, and a ‘huge’ opportunity for State

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If it’s Friday morning and you’re looking for N.C. State quarterback, where would you look? Bruegger’s bagels at North Hills, right?

Well, that’s correct. The Capital Sports Report was having a bagel and pondering the State-Georgia Tech game in a cozy corner of Bruegger’s when in walked Russell Wilson. Cool guy, by the way. If you’ve never met him, he’s much more muscular up close than you’d think, and just as well-spoken as on camera. Impressive guy.
So, on to Saturday. We expect Wilson to play well, but the difference in this game will be N.C. State’s defense.
State can score on Tech, just like North Carolina did. But Tech kills teams with big plays. The difference in that game in Chapel Hill was one Tech pitch to Orwin Smith that turned into a 73-yard touchdown. On that play, Smith burst through the left side quickly and Carolina’s inexperienced secondary was nowhere to close the gap.
State faces Georgia Tech with a defense featuring  similar personnel. Both State and Carolina have some talent, though inexperienced, on the defensive front backed by tremendous linebackers. But the secondary is more questionable, with UNC missing all four starters because of NCAA and academic issues and State having a young secondary.
The Wolfpack has two significant advantages going in. One is that it gets to look at vide of the UNC game and show its players where Carolina broke down. The other is the defense, with coordinator Mike Archer and new linebackers coach Jon Tenuta, has showed a knack for coming up with aggressive, but controlled, blitzes that snuff out offenses.
Asked about Tenuta, O’Brien said, “I think he’s contributed, how much I’m not sure. But certainly one of the things we talked about when I hired him was to help with our third-down defense. Our third-down defense is much better through first three games of the year.
“He’s helped us get off the field, which we had tremendous problems with a year ago.”
State allowed rivals to convert 42 percent of their third downs last year. This year, that number has dropped to 23.7 percent, by far the best number in the ACC.
O’Brien said State was running some blitz packages last year, but has been more successful this year in part because the defense is more familiar with it.
All that has put State in position to go 4-0 and win its ACC opener for the first time under O’Brien.
A win Saturday, O’Brien said, “I think it would be huge for this football team.”
The skinny

Consider attending one of these 10 area high school football games tonight

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Here are 10 football games that are within driving distance in the Triangle area tonight. In bold is the predicted winner. Most games are at 7:30 p.m. You might want to check with local officials as some games start at 7.
My record last week was 8-2 for a season total of 36-15.

Broughton at Millbrook, 7 p.m.

Cary at Holly Springs

Charlotte Country Day at Ravenscroft

East Chapel Hill at Durham Jordan

Enloe at Leesville Road, 7 p.m.

Knightdale at Southeast Raleigh

Lee County at Green Hope

Middle Creek at Athens Drive

Panther Creek at Apex

Wakefield at Sanderson, 7 p.m.

Check the scores in our Sports Roundup on the left navigation bar.

The skinny

UNC’s Thorp misses the point on importance of facilities

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North Carolina chancellor Holden Thorp had an excellent column in Thursday’s News & Observer that addresses the football situation. In that, he defends athletics director Dick Baddour and the school’s investigation into what happened with the players.

But Thorp made an assertion that is worth addressing. He wrote, “Better facilities will give us the ability to attract even better recruits who can succeed both in the classroom and on the field.”
In fact, the evidence in the Triangle shows just the opposite – better facilities do not lead directly to success on the field. UNC itself is a perfect example – the Kenan Football Center opened in 1997, but UNC’s football fortunes collapsed when Mack Brown left for Texas after that season. That facility, especially at the time, was astonishing, but Carolina still couldn’t win.
N.C. State has made multiple upgrades to Carter-Finley Stadium, all fueled by the promise of ever-improving records, and the Wolfpack has been rewarded with four straight losing seasons for the first time since the 1950s.
Duke moved into the swank Yoh Football Center in  2002 – and the Devils still haven’t won. The bottom line is quality coaches – especially quality assistant coaches – are more significant than facilities.
The skinny

Duke was part of historic football game 59 years ago

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It was 59 years ago that the first live sporting event was seen coast-to-coast. NBC televised the Duke at Pittsburgh football game on Sept. 29, 1951.

Oddly a big deal was not made of that fact in the 1952 Duke yearbook. However, viewers got to see a good one.

Duke, with Bill Murray in his first year as coach, took an early 7-0 lead but trailed 14-13 at the half. It was beginning to look as if it would end that way but with five minutes left George Grune raced 42 yards with a Pitt punt down to the enemy 26 yard line. Just four plays later, halfback Charlie Smith bulled his way into the end zone to give the Blue Devils the lead. The Duke defense stopped a Panther drive to ensure the Devils 19-14 victory.

The Pittsburgh yearbook claimed that the Panthers outplayed the Devils in “every department” and lost due to “a freak pass interception and a blocked punt.” There was no mention of the punt return or the fact that the game was televised across the country. It was Duke’s second game of the season and Pitt’s first. The Devils would finish the year at 5-4-1 while the Panthers would finish 3-7.

As a bit of trivia, the game was not seen in New Orleans because the coaxial cable wasn’t extended there until almost a year later.

Also, Wikipedia says the game was played on Sept. 22 but, as you can see from the football program, the game was actually played on Sept. 29. In addition, the Pitt sports information office says on its athletics website that the game was played at the Rose Bowl when it was really played at Pitt Stadium. Not sure why there is so much confusion.

The game was part of an experiment. The NCAA feared that live telecasts would reduce attendance at games. In January of 1952, after the 1951 season experiment, the NCAA adopted a plan where the NCAA would have total control over one national telecast each week.

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ACC football notes: Duke center honored for community service

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Below are mid-week notes provided by the four ACC schools in the state of North Carolina.

Duke
Duke senior center Bryan Morgan has been named to the 2010 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® announced by the Allstate Insurance Company and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). “It is a huge honor and I am thankful to have been nominated,” said Morgan. “I love to work in the community and work with the kids and people of
Durham. It makes me very grateful for all of the opportunities I have been given.”

Morgan is the third Blue Devil to earn the honor, joining Zaid Abdul-Aleem (1994) and Re’quan Boyette (2008). A native of Hoover, Ala., Morgan has participated in community service projects involving Duke Children’s Hospital, Durham Rescue Mission, Read with the Blue Devils, Marbles Kids Museum, E.K. Powe Elementary School, Sandra E. Lerner Jewish Community Day School, Veterans Affairs Center, Forest at Duke Retirement Home, among others.

North Carolina
Quarterback T.J. Yates (Marietta, Ga.) has not thrown an interception in his last 89 attempts, dating back to last year’s bowl game vs. Pittsburgh. He has thrown 70 passes without an interception this year. That is the longest streak in his career. His previous best was 67 attempts in 2008 – last 12 vs. McNeese State, 22 vs. Rutgers, 18 vs. Virginia Tech, 3 vs. Georgia Tech and first 12 vs. NC State. The school record for attempts without an interception is 154 by Oscar Davenport in 1996-97. Yates’ 46 attempts without an interception vs. LSU was a school record for a single game. The previous record was 42 by Darian Durant vs. NC State in 2003.

NC State
NC State enters the Georgia Tech game tied for sixth nationally in turnover margin, with seven takeaways to just two giveaways for a +5 mark. The Wolfpack didn’t turn the ball over in its first two games, but fumbled twice in the win over Cincinnati.

Quarterback Russell Wilson (Richmond, Va.) has thrown 101 passes this season without an
interception and even though the Pack is playing two freshmen at halfback, there have only been two lost fumbles.

The Pack’s success in holding onto the ball is even more impressive considering that in 2009, NC State finished the season ranked 114th nationally in turnover margin, with 25 turnovers to just 14 takeaways.

Wake Forest
A number of Wake Forest and Florida State players were high school teammates before heading to college. FSU freshman T Garrett Faircloth (Brunswick, Ga.) is a graduate of the Bolles School where he teamed with Wake Forest freshman P Alex Wulfeck,(Orange Park, Fla.) redshirt sophomore LB Scott Betros (Jacksonville, Fla.), junior C Chance Raines (Jacksonville, Fla.), freshman S Desmond Cooper (Jacksonville, Fla.) and freshman FB Jordan Garside (Jacksonville, Fla.).

The Deacons have five players from the Bolles School on their roster, while Faircloth is the only Bolles graduate on the Noles’ roster. Deacon senior WR Jordan Williams was a teammate of two Seminoles at First Coast HS in Jacksonville: junior CB Avis Commack and junior RB Jermaine Thomas. Wake Forest redshirt sophomore WR Lovell Jackson and FSU sophomore T Rhonne Sanderson were teammates at Plant High School in Tampa, Fla. Wake Forest junior G Ryan Britt and FSU senior QB Christian Ponder were teammates at Colleyville Heritage High School in Texas. As a junior at CHHS, Britt protected the senior QB Ponder as the Panthers’ starting left tackle.

Wake Forest redshirt sophomore DE Derricus Ellis is a graduate of Darlington Prep in Rome, Ga., where he played with FSU P Shawn Powell and C Ryan McMahon.

The skinny

Burney out six games, Williams out four for Carolina

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North Carolina football players Kendric Burney and Deunta Williams must miss competition and repay benefits as a condition of becoming eligible to play again, the NCAA decided Wednesday.


Burney, who received $1,333 in benefits, must miss six games and pay $575.19 to a charity of his choice. Williams, who received $1,426 in benefits, must miss four games and pay $450.67 to charity of his choice.

“We plan to appeal the length of the suspensions,” said Dick Baddour, UNC Director of Athletics.  “While I respect the NCAA process, I believe the penalties to be unduly harsh given the individual circumstances in these cases.”

The university declared both student-athletes ineligible for violations of NCAA agent benefits and preferential treatment rules. According to a UNC release, these benefits in part included trips to California, Atlanta and Las Vegas for Burney and two trips to California for Williams. The majority of the benefits Burney received were from an agent. The majority of Williams’ benefits were preferential treatment violations associated with visiting a former North Carolina player.
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NCSU’s Yow addresses football, spring sports, marketing … and Tuffy

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The Raleigh Sports Club was packed Wednesday, and for good reason. New N.C. State athletics director Debbie Yow addressed the club, and as you might expect, it was a straight talk about where the Wolfpack is headed.

It also included some insight into the football program, Olympic sports, agents, the marketing of N.C. State and even an interesting comment about The News & Observer.
But the big news of the day? Well, Tuffy, of course. Tuffy is the new Wolfpack mascot, a Tamaskan dog bred to look like a wolf, who delighted fans in the Thursday night win over Cincinnati.
“I’ve never spent so much time talking about a dog,” Yow joked to the crowd of several hundred.
State introduced a new dog at the opener against Western Carolina, but that Tamaskan, which Yow said was a female, did not work out. Yow said they found the current Tuffy from a private owner in New Bern, who wants to stay anonymous. “They are thrilled that their dog, the Tamaskan, is our Tamaskan,” Yow said.
Yow said the school will create a Facebook page for Tuffy and possibly even electronic birthday wishes that, say, a grandparent can order to send to a grandchild from the mascot.
“We have some plans for Tuffy,” Yow said.
On a more serious note, Yow – the sister of former Wolfpack coach Kay Yow and a native of Gibsonville – said the chance to return to her native state and work for new chancellor Randy Woodson led her to Raleigh. A headhunter who had called her through the years called one more time, and this time she shocked the headhunter by saying , Maybe. In particular, she wanted to meet Woodson to see if there was a fit.
“I met Randy and he blew me away,” she said. “He is stable, he is talented and he is going to stay.”
On other issues:
@ Yow said N.C. State athletics could no longer stand to be last in the Sears Director Cup standings among ACC schools and last in overall graduation rates.
“They are going to be flipped,” she said of those numbers. 
@ Yow said she had heard many Wolfpack fans complaining about The News & Observer but said, “The N&O has been fair to us.”
@ Yow raved about a recent Wall Street Journal article praising the hiring potential of N.C. State graduates.
@ Yow said she felt for North Carolina and its football troubles, saying, “A rogue tutor can happen anyway. The other [staff member] is different.” UNC assistant coach John Blake resigned earlier this season after questions about his connections to a California sports agent.
 
@ Yow said she is thrilled with State’s 3-0 start in football, but said Saturday’s game at Georgia Tech is a critical one. She said she was impressed by how coach Tom O’Brien commands the attention of his team during meetings. “As an AD, that’s the first sign of trouble, if the coach is speaking and they aren’t really on point.”
State has had four straight losing seasons, three under O’Brien. “I hope he turns it. He’s a good guy. I’d like to see him turn it,” Yow said.
Yow also said she wore a watch that celebrated Maryland’s 2001 ACC football title, and plans to continue to wear it until State wins the league (which it hasn’t done since 1979). “I’m going to wear it until that’s us and then it goes into the trash at that point,” she said
@ N.C. State has struggled in the non-revenue sports, a point that hasn’t been lost on Wolfpack fans. Yow praised new volleyball coach Bryan Bunn, who was hired by Lee Fowler, and women’s soccer coach Steve Springthorpe. But as for spring sports, she said, “All the spring sports are on notice.”
She said State would look to address what the programs need, and then, “We’re going to expect a heightened level of achievement.”
@ Yow spoke with fire about the issue with athletes and the letter she sent to all the registered agents in North Carolina, saying the school would pursue legal action if an agent cost her athletes eligibility.
“They have no right to do that, and they are going to pay personally,” she said.
@ In response to a fan’s question about N.C. State’s marketing and sports information efforts, Yow spoke directly about Annabelle Myers, the Wolfpack’s long-time sports information director. “Annabelle’s really not as bad an SID as the message boards think she is, but she does need some direction, and we’re going to provide that for her.”
(Quick aside – the Capital Sports Report has known Myers for years and finds her quite professional, helpful and responsible.)

As for marketing, she said, “We’re going to have a whole branding campaign.”
However, Yow said N.C. State had the lowest athletics department budget in the ACC, and that would affect any initiatives.
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Davis quips that Carolina might put NCAA updates on I-40 billboard

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You could tell in Butch Davis’ voice Wednesday that he is weary of talking about the NCAA and academic investigations and whether the 12 players being held out will return. Davis said again Wednesday that there is no update as Saturday’s game at Rutgers approaches.
“We’ll probably put up billboards on I-40 and announce it,” Davis said. “But as of right now, the team we played with against LSU and Georgia tech is the team we are preparing to play against Rutgers.” Davis said
Carolina decided to take that approach before the opener against LSU. “We practice all week long with the players we know are going to play,” he said.
That has meant some opportunities for other players, including tailback Johnny White. White fumbled early against LSU and disappeared, but ran hard Saturday in the 30-24 loss to Georgia Tech. Shaun Draughn, the starter in 2009, had been held out of the LSU game but was reinstated for the Tech contest.
“It was good to get Shaun back,” Davis said. “There is room for both of these guys to play. Johnny has earned everything he has been given right now.”
Davis said it will take time for Draughn “to get back into game playing condition.”
“Shaun will play a little bit bigger role each week as he gets back into the groove of the offense,” Davis said.
The skinny

In a fascinating volleyball match, State can’t knock off UNC

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One of the good stories in the Triangle has been the surprising rise of N.C. State in volleyball. Last December, athletics director Lee Fowler fired Charita Stubbs after she couldn’t produce a winning season in four tries. Given State’s mediocre history in the sport, that was no surprise.

But State, under new coach Bryan Bunn, started 10-3 and came into Tuesday night’s match with North Carolina looking to see where it stands compared to the ACC powers. State lost 25-20, 20-19, 25-20 in a match that was hard-fought, fast-paced and fun to watch.
Volleyball is quite a bargain. You can take your daughter, park for free, sit in a front-row seat, buy her a scoop of ice cream and not spend more than $3. If you do go to Reynolds, remember there is food being sold right nearby at the student union, and you can easily walk over and walk back to Reynolds in a matter of minutes. Given the quality of play, and ease of getting into Reynolds Coliseum, it’s an amazing deal.

State had about 1,000 people at Tuesday’s contest, including athletics director Debbie Yow. One of the frustrations with Fowler that Wolfpack fans voiced was State was at the bottom of the ACC in sports across the board, including volleyball. Yow didn’t hire Bunn, but the Wolfpack appears to have a winner in a coach with 20 years of experience, including the last three as associate head coach at Baylor.

Carolina’s experience and talent was obvious Tuesday. Emily McGee had 16 kills and 13 digs for UNC, but the Tar Heel who seemed to give State the most trouble was 6-2 Courtney Johnston, who officially had nine kills but seemed to rise well above the net and slam down impressive shots.

State got a great game from Luciana Shafer, the UNC-Greensboro transfer who features a brilliant serve and ability to spike with real force. Watching the women on both sides rise to block spikes and dive to save balls was a joy. And a free joy at that.