Photo by John Joyner.
Graduate student quarterback Brandon Mitchell runs the football through a scrum during the homecoming football game against North Carolina in Carter-Finley Stadium Saturday, Nov. 2, 2013. The Tar Heels defeated the Wolfpack 27-19, dropping N.C. State to 0-5 in conference play.
The 2013-2014 season was always going to be a rebuilding year for N.C. State. However, the Wolfpack fans that hoped State would have a winning season received a rude awakening when the game clock hit 0:00 on Saturday against UNC-Chapel Hill.
After State’s loss to the Tar Heels at Carter-Finley Stadium, State (3-5, 0-5 ACC) is now stuck at the bottom of the ACC’s Atlantic Division below regular bottom dwellers such as Boston College and Wake Forest.
N.C. State head coach Dave Doeren said he was pleased at the level of crowd support by the Wolfpack faithful on Saturday.
“I can’t say enough about being in a game like that and in the environment that our fans created,” Doeren said. “To our student section and our band, I say thank you to them. Stay with us because we’re going to keep fighting to make this right for you.”
Since the loss, there have been murmurs among Wolfpack fans regarding head coach Dave Doeren’s future as the Wolfpack’s lead man. These rumors are absolutely absurd.
Athletics director Debbie Yow made an excellent hire with Doeren, and the Athletics department is with him for the long haul. Doeren needs to be given at least four years to settle into Raleigh, bring in his own recruits and give Wolfpack fans reason to believe they have a bright future.
Saturday’s game was a clash of polar opposites in offensive philosophy.
State established early that it was determined to run the ball, while the Tar Heels looked to gain most of its yards through the air. Both teams executed their game plans, but State was unable to find the end zone after the first quarter.
State’s defense was clearly affected by the loss of senior starting linebacker D.J. Green. Green was ejected from the game in the first quarter after a targeting penalty.
Doeren said that the early ejection crippled the Wolfpack for the rest of the game.
“It’s going to hurt any team when you lose a starter on a judgment call,” Doeren said.
A key turning point was a disastrous fake punt by the Wolfpack late in the first quarter. Doeren said he took full responsibility for the play, which gave the Tar Heels the ball on State’s 29-yard line. The Heels took advantage of the opportunity, scoring a touchdown to take the lead, 14-10.
“I thought we had it and it didn’t work, so that’s on me,” Doeren said. “It was on tape, and they gave us the look I thought it would work against.”
The Wolfpack were again fooled on a 59-yard touchdown for UNC midway through the second quarter that put the Heels on top 21-16. UNC threw an apparent bubble screen to freshman wide receiver Ryan Switzer, but when Switzer caught the ball, he tossed a deep pass to wide-open sophomore receiver Quinshad Davis. Davis’ second touchdown of the day gave Carolina the lead for good.
Carolina controlled the field-position battle throughout the game thanks to junior punter Tommy Hibbard. Hibbard pinned the Wolfpack inside its own 15-yard line four times on the afternoon and gave the Pack’s offense too much ground to cover.
The last time both teams met in Raleigh, on Nov. 5, 2011, N.C. State’s then-freshman punter Will Baumann had one of the best performances of his career, pinning the Tar Heels inside their own 20-yard line five times en route to a 13-0 Wolfpack win.
State’s season is not lost yet.The Wolfpack needs to win three of its final four games to become bowl eligible for the fourth straight season.
Doeren’s hard-nosed, blue-collar mentality has rubbed off on his players, who gave it everything they had on Saturday, but it simply wasn’t enough.