Almost a year ago to the day, Cincinnati faced NC State on the road in the hostile confines of Carter-Finley Stadium on a Thursday night. In two days, the Bearcats have a chance to exact some revenge on the Wolfpack but with the added fact that the game will be played in a blacked out Nippert Stadium, one of the most raucous environments in college sports. Thankfully for the Bearcats Mr. Russell “Smoke and Mirrors” Wilson has since left NC State in favor of Wisconsin. He was about as frustrating of a quarterback as you’ll ever see on the football field. Not only was the defense simply unable to get a hand on him but when he did slip away it usually led to a 10 yard run or a 40 yard bomb downfield. The Bearcats ended up battered and bruised when the clock hit double-zeros with a final score of 30 – 19. The game wasn’t nearly as close as Zach Collaros threw two touchdowns in garbage time to save face. Before we get to the game we need to learn more about NC State, which is a much different team in 2011 than it was in 2010.
Thankfully Steven over at the SB Nation blog Backing the Pack helped me out with a few questions I had about this shiny new NC State football team.
Bearcats Nation: How is the offense adjusting to the new quarterback Mike Glennon?
Steven: About as well as could be expected, which has as much to do with how Glennon as played as anything else. The offense still pretty much looks the way it did last season scheme-wise, and Glennon has performed well through a soft early schedule. He’s not getting a lot of help from the ground game right now, though; the offensive line hasn’t shown the progress we were hoping for, and we’re still without our best running back.
BN: What does he bring to the table that Russell Wilson does not? What are some of his weaknesses?
Steven: The main difference probably is in the raw tools–Glennon is a prototypical drop back passer; 6-6 with a big arm that gives him the ability to put the ball anywhere. Not that Wilson was lacking for arm strength. His judgment has been good so far, and he’s been efficient. As far as weaknesses, his awareness in the pocket in terms of feeling pressure coming isn’t great right now, which I’m sure has to do with his lack of experience. Thursday will be just his fourth career start. And obviously, he doesn’t have anywhere near the speed Wilson has.
BN: How is the recovery of Mustafa Greene going? Who will take his place if he isn’t ready to go by the UC game?
Steven: Tom O’Brien plays this injury stuff close to the vest, so your guess is as good as mine. As far as I know, he’s still on target to return at the beginning of October. You can expect to see James Washington and Curtis Underwood to split carries in his absence. Washington’s more the quickness guy, Underwood more of a power runner. Neither is exceptionally talented.
BN: What can we expect out of the NC State offensive and defensive lines?
Steven: I’d like to know the answer to this question myself. Probably won’t see much push off the line in either case, though the pass protection has been solid. On the defensive side, we’ve been crushed by injuries to the defensive line and that’s really damaged our ability to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks and halt opposing ground games. That’s by far my biggest concern heading into the game on Thursday. I think we got Cincinnati out of sorts last year by giving the Bearcats trouble at the line of scrimmage. I’m not so sure we can pull off a repeat performance.
BN: Who are some playmakers on both sides of the ball UC should keep an eye out for?
Steven: We have good speed at receiver in TJ Graham and Tobais Palmer, and they’ve become Glennon’s favorite targets in the early going. Both of those guys have scored on big pass plays this season, and Graham is also a threat as a kick returner. Tight end George Bryan is one of the ACC’s best, though his impact has been limited so far this season. I think we’re seeing defenses make more of a point of taking him out of the game. But he’s always dangerous, and he has great hands.
Defensively, Audie Cole is our best playmaker at linebacker now that Terrell Manning is out with an injury. Safety Earl Wolff is an outstanding player as well.
BN: If you were the Cincinnati coaching staff, what areas of NC State’s offense and defense would you exploit?
Steven: I’d see how State’s defensive line responds early since that’s been such a problem area through three games, but if I’m Cincinnati I don’t think I’m going to go out of my way and try anything drastically different. I don’t see much reason to do that, especially if the pass protection is good. Liberty had some success with quick throws that negated our pass rush. Wake Forest pretty much did whatever since their offensive line is huge and we couldn’t get anyone by them on a consistent basis.
BN: What is the Wolf Pack’s punting/kicking situation looking like?
Steven: It looks very, very scary since we are starting true freshmen at kicker, punter, and long snapper, but they’ve done a good job so far. We haven’t missed a field goal yet (granted that’s not saying a whole hell of a lot), and as far as the punting goes, none of those kicks have been blocked, which is something. Our kick return game is good–TJ Graham is always a threat to take one to the house and he’ll handle both kickoffs and punts.
BN: Who’s the biggest home run threat at returner?
Steven: The aforementioned Graham; he took a punt back for a touchdown against Liberty and has several other lengthy returns this season. I don’t know how many return TDs he has in his career, but it’s at least three.
BN: Who wins?
Steven: As unimpressive as our defense has looked this season, I think Cincinnati’s offense will have a good night. I expect Collaros to pile up plenty of passing yards. (jinx jinx jinx) Give me Cincinnati by 11, 38-27.
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There you have it, a complete breakdown of the Wolfpack. Once again, many thanks go out to Steven for answering my onslaught of questions. It looks like the Bearcats have a real advantage in this game especially on the defensive line vs. NC State’s offensive line/running backs. With Mustafa Greene out, that’s just another playmaking threat Cincinnati doesn’t have to worry about. Glennon is replacing Russell Wilson at quarterback but don’t fool yourself he’s no slouch. As a highly touted recruit, he joined the Wolfpack as their quarterback of the future. He has all the tools of a BCS field general but just doesn’t have the experience of playing enough games at the college level. Let’s hope he doesn’t all of a sudden figure things out on Thursday or this could turn into a repeat of the Tennessee game.