Gameday: NC State vs. Wofford

NC State (0-2) hosts Wofford (2-0) as the Wolfpack is looking for its first win of the season. Gametime is set for 6:00 tonight, and the contest is not televised.

Carter-Finley Stadium

NC State (2-0) vs. Wofford (2-0)
Saturday, September 15, 2007
6:00 pm Carter-Finley Stadium
Raleigh, NC

Wofford Links

Wofford Official Site

Roster

2007 Statistics

Game Notes

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NC State Game Notes

NC STATE VS. WOFFORD
Although this isn’t the first time that NC State has met Wofford College on the gridiron, it IS the first time the two teams have faced each other in almost a century. In 1920, the squad from Spartanburg, South Carolina came up to Raleigh to take on the North Carolina A&T “Farmers” (the Wolfpack name came one year later). The Terriers definitely went home with their tails between their legs, as NC State won 90-7. That was the second-highest scoring output in school history and no team has scored more since.

BLACKMAN IS ALL PURPOSE BACK
The Wolfpack’s Darrell Blackman is definitely the man of all purposes for the Wolfpack. Blackman leads the ACC by almost 20 all-purpose yards and ranks ninth nationally in that category two weeks into the season - averaging 207 yards per game.

Thus far in 2007, Blackman has 164 receiving yards on nine grabs, six punt returns for 98 yards and eight kickoff returns for 152 yards. His 90 yards in punt returns in the season opener marked the fourth-highest single game total in school history (he now holds three of the top five marks on that list).

Blackman caught six passes for 128 yards (all in the first quarter) in the loss at Boston College. That marked the first 100-yard receiving game for a Wolfpack player since the 2005 season.

Blackman ranks 11th in the NC State record books with 3,156 career all-purpose yards.

PASSING UP
NC State currently leads the ACC in passing offense, averaging 311 yards per game. That mark ranks 14th nationally. Two quarterbacks combined for 351 passing yards in the loss at Boston College, the highest for the Wolfpack since the 2003 Mazda Tangerine Bowl. Starter Harrison Beck threw for 321 of those yards, the highest since Philip Rivers had 475 in that same bowl game. In the season opener, NC State tallied 272 passing yards (207 by Harrison Beck and 65 by Daniel Evans). That passing tally was the highest for a Wolfpack squad in 23 games (since a 286 yard total against Eastern Kentucky on Sept. 17, 2005).

The Wolfpack completed 24 passes in the season opener, which was the most since the season opener versus Virginia Tech in 2005 (27). When that number was topped by 29 at BC, it was the highest since that 2003 bowl game.

PASSING DOWN
Although the passing numbers for the Wolfpack offense have risen, the number of passing yards allowed by the Pack “D” has dropped. NC State leads the ACC and ranks ninth nationally this week in passing defense, allowing a lowly 117.5 yards per game. That number is even more impressive when factoring in that the Pack faced one of the nation’s top QBs last week, holding BC’s Matt Ryan to just 142 passing yards - his lowest total since midway through his sophomore campaign. In his previous game, Ryan had thrown for 405 yards and five touchdowns. He threw for just one TD versus the Pack.

WOLFPACK IS KNEE-DY
If you take a look at the Wolfpack depth chart today, and what it looked like in the preseason media guide, you can see that the Pack has definitely been KNEE-ed.

Three Wolfpack starters, all of whom were honors candidates heading into the season, have been sidelined by knee injuries. NC State has lost its leading receiver and rusher from last season, as well as one of its top defensive players.

In the last week of July, tight end Anthony Hill underwent reconstructive knee surgery for a torn ACL, just a few days after he was named to the preseason ‘watch’ list for the John Mackey Award. His injury will keep him out for the entire 2007 campaign.

In the season opener, just a few days after he was named to the preseason ‘watch’ list for the Doak Walker Award, Toney Baker suffered a knee injury that also brought his season to a close. Baker will undergo reconstructive surgery at a later date.

And just two days before the Boston College game, defensive tackle DeMario Pressley twisted his knee and underwent surgery on Sunday. Although his injury is not season-ending, it came just after an elbow injury that kept him from starting the season opener. Fortunately, all three players still have a redshirt year remaining.

OFFENSIVE LINE LACKS EXPERIENCE
The point of most concern on this year’s Wolfpack squad is undoubtably the offensive line. Of the 10 players on the two deep, FIVE had never player in a collegiate game heading into the season opener with Central Florida, while another had just seen action in two career contests. Two of those five are true freshmen this year - Jake Vermiglio and Desmond Roberts.

Only four players had ever started a game before the Central Florida and those four had combined for just 38 starts. The 10 players on the two-deep at offensive line had only played in 72 career games combined heading into the opener.

A TURNOVER TALE
Despite gaining 407 yards of total offense at Boston College, turnovers killed Wolfpack drives time after time in the 37-17 loss. The Wolfpack turned the ball over seven times, most since a seven TO game in 1995 versus Clemson.

Harrison Beck, making his first career start at quarterback, threw five interceptions in the game and also fumbled, while redshirt freshman punter Nathan Franklin also fumbled a snap.

Turnovers are anathema to any football coach, but especially to the 2007 Wolfpack staff. Head coach Tom O’Brien’s 2006 Boston College squad led the ACC and tied for second nationally in turnover margin, while defensive coodinator Mike Archer’s Kentucky squad led the SEC in that same category last season and tied BC to rank second nationally.

NC State only turned the ball over twice in the season opener, but has forced just one turnover so far this season.

A TALE OF TWO HALVES
It took the Wolfpack a while - in fact a whole half - to get rolling in the season opener. NC State was sluggish on both sides of the ball in the first half against Central Florida, allowing 25 points while scoring three, rushing for -14 yards while giving up 169 and tallying just 62 yards in total offense. After the break, however, the State offense tallied 295 yards, while the defense allowed just 38 total yards (just seven yards in the third quarter!).

The most important stat, however, was that NC State scored 23 unanswered points in the second half. The Wolfpack ended up with 357 total yards to Central Florida’s 299.

BECK BY THE NUMBERS
Although his interception numbers may be the stat that stands out, quarterback Harrison Beck has posted some impressive numbers in other passing categories. Although he’s really only played a game and a half (he came in late in the second quarter in the season opener), Beck ranks third in the ACC with 264 passing yards per game. His 321 passing yards against Boston College was the most for a Wolfpack signal caller since the 2003 season. Behind his throwing, NC State had a 100-yard receiver (Darrell Blackman) for the first time in two seasons and his 49-yard throw to Blackman was the longest NC State completion since 2005 as well.

Beck also drove the Pack down the field 98 yards for a score in the first quarter at Boston College, tying as the longest scoring drive for the Wolfpack since a 99 drive versus Florida State in 1998.

In the second half against Central Florida, Beck led the Pack to 23 unanswered points. He threw 16-26 (.615) for 195 yards and two TDs in the half (his one interception was on his last pass of the game) and drove State down to the UCF 40 before the clock ran out.

The game marked Beck’s first ever in action in the red and white and his first of any kind since the 2005 season, when he played in two games (Kansas State and Colorado) for Nebraska.

WOLFPACK QUARTERBACKS IN THEIR FIRST START
The last time an NC State quarterback had made his first career start on the road before last Saturday was on November 16, 1991, when Terry Harvey got the nod against Duke and led his team to a 32-21 victory.

Since that time, six Wolfpack players had started at quarterback before the bC game, but all had played in the friendly confines of Carter-Finley Stadium in their first outing as a starter.

Dating back to 1971, NC State has had 22 different quarterbacks start games, but only three (Beck, Harvey and Kevin Scanlon in 1976 at Wake Forest) had made their first start on the road.

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Wofford Game Notes

Overall Record 2-0

Conference Record 0-0

Wofford National Statistical Rankings (Football championship subdivision)

Rushing offense...2

Passing offense..96

Total offense...15

Rushing defense...23

Passing defense...97

Total defense...64

Turnover margin...7

Recap of Wofford’s last contest

Wofford 52, Charleston Southern 24

Saturday, September 8, 2007

SPARTANBURG, SC – The Terriers’ defense came up with five interceptions on the night and Kevious Johnson and Andy Strickland both had two touchdowns on the night. Mike Rucker added an 89-yard kickoff return for touchdown and a rushing touchdown.

The Terriers wasted little time in scoring when Kevious Johnson capped a six play, 58-yard drive with a nine yard touchdown run at 11:06 in the first quarter. The Buccaneers responded when Kenny Harper scored on a three-yard run to tie the game. On the ensuing kickoff, Mike Rucker went 89-yard for a touchdown.

Wofford took only two plays to go 30 yards as Andy Strickland went 23-yards on a reverse for the touchdown at 14:44 in the second quarter. A nine-play drive was capped by a 27-yard reception by Kevious Johnson from Ben Widmyer to take a 28-7 lead.

Ben Widmyer scored from seven yards out on a quarterback keeper to take a 35-14 lead. With just 25 seconds left in the first half, Vernon Huger caught his second touchdown pass of the day from Eli Byrd from two-yards out. The half ended with the Terriers having a 35-21 lead.

Ben Widmyer connected with Andy Strickland for a 47-yard touchdown reception for a 45-24 lead in the fourth quarter. With under a minute remaining in the game, Gary Blount intercepted his second pass of the game. Michael Rucker wrapped up the scoring with a 15-yard run and a 52-24 final score.

Head coach Mike Ayers Bio

Wofford head coach Mike Ayers (Georgetown, KY ‘74), the winningest coach in school history, is in his 20th season at the Terrier helm with a record of 125-89-1 . . .Ayers is in his 23rd year as a collegiate head coach and has a record of 136-110-2 that includes a three-year stint as the head coach at East Tennessee State from 1985-87 . . . Ayers has earned Southern Conference Coach of the Year honors in three of the last seven years, being so honored by the league coaches in 2000 and 2003 and by the media in 2000, ‘02 and ‘03 . . . Ayers was the 2003 recipient of the Eddie Robinson Award as Division I-AA’s National Coach of the Year and also earned the 2002 Division I-AA National Coach of the Year award from the College Sporting News (I-AA.org) in addition to being the runner-up for the Robinson Award . . . Between 2002-04, Ayers led the Terriers to a 29-8 overall record and an 18-5 league mark including a conference championship and an appearance in the Division I-AA national semifinals in 2003.

Terriers against FBS Teams

This will mark the seventh time in the last eight seasons the Terriers have played against a member of the FBS (NCAA Division I-A) ... Last season Wofford lost 27-20 at South Carolina as the Terriers brought the score within one touchdown with 4:42 on the clock and then drove to the Gamecock 10-yard line ... Recently the Terriers have also played West Virginia (2005), Air Force (2003), Maryland (2002), Clemson (2001), South Carolina (2001) and Louisiana Monroe (2000).

Continuing the Win Streak

With two wins to open the 2007 season, the Terriers have added to their win streak and have now won 7 straight games, the second longest winning streak in the FCS. Appalachian State leads the FCS and all of NCAA Division I Football with a 15 game winning streak. Wisconsin leads the FBS with eleven straight wins.

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NC State Two-Deep Depth Chart

2007 NC State Depth Chart

Offense
Quarterback
12	Harrison Beck	6-2/220	Soph.*
7	Daniel Evans	6-2/191	Jr.*
Halfback
24	Andre Brown OR	6-0/228	Jr.
29	Jamelle Eugene	5-10/195	So.*
Fullback
46	Pat Bedics	6-1/250	Sr.*
22	Cedric Hickman	6-1/252	Fr.*
Wide Receiver
1	John Dunlap	6-1/218	Sr.
80	Donald Bowens	6-3/206	So.
Wide Receiver
2	Darrell Blackman	5-11/210	Sr.
5	Jarvis Williams	6-4/205	Fr.*
Tight End
9	Marcus Stone	6-3/250	Sr.*
89	Matt Kushner	6-4/259	So.*
87	R.J. Armstrong	6-2/255	Jr.
Left Tackle
73	Julian Williams	6-5/292	So.*
70	Jake Vermiglio	6-5/315	Fr.
Left Guard
69	Kalani Heppe	6-4/300	Sr.*
57	Andrew Redfern	6-3/307	Jr.*
Center
72	Luke Lathan	6-4/292	Sr.*
74	Andy Barbee	6-3/303	So.*
Right Guard
76	Curtis Crouch	6-5/324	Jr.
66	Yomi Ojo	6-3/310	Jr.*
Right Tackle
60	Meares Green	6-4/295	Jr.*
55	Desmond Roberts	6-4/295	Fr.

Special Teams
Place Kicker
27	Steven Hauschka	6-3/190	Sr.*
36	Josh Czajkowski	5-9/178	Fr.*
Punter
26	Bradley Pierson	5-9/163	Jr.*
33	Nathan Franklin	6-0/165	Fr.*
Long Snapper
56	Corey Tedder	6-1/212	So.
Holder
26	Bradley Pierson	5-9/163	Jr.*
Kick Returner
2	Darrell Blackman	5-11/210	Sr.
29	Jamelle Eugene	5-10/195	So.*
Punt Returner
2	Darrell Blackman	5-11/210	Sr.
29	Jamelle Eugene	5-10/195	So.*

Defense
Right Defensive End
41	Martrel Brown	6-2/265	Sr.*
96	Antoine Holmes	6-2/281	Jr.
Left Defensive Tackle
93	John Bedics	6-4/295	Jr.*
62	Markus Kuhn	6-5/275	Fr.
Right Defensive Tackle
49	Alan-Michael Cash	6-1/286	So.*
91	Teddy Larsen	6-2/285	So.*
Left Defensive End
98	Littleton Wright	6-6/248	Sr.*
97	Willie Young	6-4/230	So.*
Weakside Linebacker
5	Ernest Jones	6-2/232	Sr.*
45	John Ware	5-11/205	Fr.*
Middle Linebacker
95	James Martin, II	6-1/233	Sr.*
44	Ray Michel	6-0/224	So.*
Strongside Linebacker
52	LeRue Rumph	6-1/227	Sr.*
56	Nate Irving	6-1/227	So.*
Left Cornerback
8	Jimmie Sutton	5-11/181	Sr.*
6	Levin Neal	5-11/191	Jr.
Strong Safety
4	Javon Walker	6-0/199	Fr.*
7	DaJuan Morgan	6-1/206	Jr.*
Free Safety
25	Miguel Scott	6-1/195	Jr.
34	Robbie Leonard	6-0/194	Jr.*
Cornerback
14	J.C. Neal	5-11/195	Jr.
30	Jeremy Gray	6-2/186	Jr.*

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Thanks to NC State and Wofford Athletics for much of the information in this preview.