As a lifelong Wolfpack football fan, I have painful and unfortunately vivid memories that include, but are certainly not limited to, fiascoes like the triple overtime failure against defending national champion Ohio State in 2003. To recap for those fortunate souls who struggle to recall that afternoon, the game ended in a loss when we found out that, apparently, running the ball on three of four plays when facing first and goal from the 4-yard line with the best quarterback in school history is not the way to go.
Memories like these explain why I rarely let myself get too excited about State football; more times than I count, the higher my hopes have been raised, the more demoralizing it has been when the team has given way to reality in the form of things like the three-game losing streak that followed an 8-0 start to the 2002 season.
But we are all probably well aware of and fully capable of spouting off about various miserable moments from the past 10 years of Wolfpack football, so I will go ahead and explain why I think – and hope/pray – that this year will be different.
A number of things about this team tell me this season will not leave fans feeling stupid for expecting a big season, and nothing is more responsible for my high hopes than coach Tom O’Brien. O’Brien’s priorities are to run the ball, stop the other team from running the ball, and win low-scoring games with an offense that limits turnovers and penalties. In addition to having a reputation for tolerating none of the turnovers and penalties that so often derail promising seasons, O’Brien also prides himself on the character of his teams, and this showed last year, when the Pack finished the regular season with four consecutive victories after a 2-6 start. My guess is if he can keep the team focused and positive enough to finish the regular season with four straight wins and a bowl game after a disastrous eight-game stretch like the one a year ago, he will have little difficulty keeping the team grounded and playing to the best of its ability under the pressure that will accompany this season’s high expectations.
As responsible as O’Brien is for my optimistic outlook on this season, the situation at quarterback is even more encouraging. After last season, everyone knows what redshirt sophomore quarterback Russell Wilson is capable of, and a scary thought for opposing defenses is that he and O’Brien have both said he spent much of last year learning to read defenses. Throwing 17 touchdowns and just one interception while rushing for 388 yards and four touchdowns was not bad for a freshman ‘learning the defense.’ And although Wilson’s incredible running ability creates questions about whether or not he will be able to stay on the field, redshirt freshman Mike Glennon is as talented a backup as there is in the country, and with every receiver from last year returning, the passing game will be in as good a hands as any could realistically hope for it to be, with (preferably) or without Wilson.
In addition to O’ Brien and Wilson, with 13 of 22 starters returning, this team has proven experience at nearly every position, and especially along both the offensive and defensive lines, where many coaches and experts say more games are won and lost than anywhere else. With three returning starters on both sides of the ball and a projected starting lineup that will feature seniors starting at virtually every position on both lines, it is hard to foresee either line getting pushed around. If the team has one weakness, it is in the defensive backfield, where the loss of Nate Irving and inexperience in the secondary will have opposing offenses challenging our pass coverage every chance they get. But the defensive secondary should have help if the experienced front seven, led by redshirt senior Willie Young, can get after the quarterback half as effectively as they did in April’s Red/White Game, when they recorded 12 sacks. And for those mortified by Nate Irving’s injury, consider that sophomore Dwayne Maddox, Irving’s likely replacement, started as many games last year, four, as Irving started in 2007, the year before his breakout season.
Knowing the Pack has a coach like O’Brien, a standout quarterback with a promising backup, and an abundance of experience and talent returning at various positions, I am hoping – as always – and expecting – for the first time since I can remember – that the 2009 football season will be as successful as so many seem to think it will be.
However, I really hope this does not end up making for a sickly amusing story about the time I wrote a column predicting a successful season that ended in yet another letdown.
