Last weekend went relatively like I expected. Came out early and had great success on offense against a much inferior defense. Would have liked to have seen better production in the 2nd half but for the time being our offense should have gained some confidence. I'm not the biggest AJ fan but he seemed to handle the spread offense much better and the O-Line was able to provide some great blocking schemes.
Now, looking at this week I'm not nearly as convinced of a win. My initial gut told me that NC State had a horrible defense that would make them vulnerable to defeat. However, their scoring defense is essentially the same as ours (18 yd / gm) and has gotten better over the past few games. In addition, they are giving up 100 yards less per game than we are over the past 3 games.
Does their weak opponents account for these numbers? I'm not sure but either way they have a potent offense with a solid running game that should give us fits on defense. Especially with their ability to pass over the middle, which still is our biggest weakness on defense.
That being said, our offense is still putting up similar yardage to NC State's over the past three games (without the points). In addition, their pass defense has been poor recently while their run defense has been stellar (79 yd / game). I think we have better running backs (even with our 4-6 string) than anybody they have faced up till now and this should only help us soften a defense that has given up big yards on the pass.
This game will really come down to which defense plays a better game and some key special teams play (much like NC State got against CU). If we can keep the ball out of River's hands and make sure we don't wear out our defense, we can and will win this game. However, if we get caught up in a shootout, we'll lose big time. We need to concetrate on minimizing their points allowed when they move the ball (i.e. - hold them to FGs rather than TDs).
This game can easily be won but we'll need to minimize all mistakes and get up early. I look forward to discussing a great win come Saturday evening.
Now, looking at this week I'm not nearly as convinced of a win. My initial gut told me that NC State had a horrible defense that would make them vulnerable to defeat. However, their scoring defense is essentially the same as ours (18 yd / gm) and has gotten better over the past few games. In addition, they are giving up 100 yards less per game than we are over the past 3 games.
Does their weak opponents account for these numbers? I'm not sure but either way they have a potent offense with a solid running game that should give us fits on defense. Especially with their ability to pass over the middle, which still is our biggest weakness on defense.
That being said, our offense is still putting up similar yardage to NC State's over the past three games (without the points). In addition, their pass defense has been poor recently while their run defense has been stellar (79 yd / game). I think we have better running backs (even with our 4-6 string) than anybody they have faced up till now and this should only help us soften a defense that has given up big yards on the pass.
This game will really come down to which defense plays a better game and some key special teams play (much like NC State got against CU). If we can keep the ball out of River's hands and make sure we don't wear out our defense, we can and will win this game. However, if we get caught up in a shootout, we'll lose big time. We need to concetrate on minimizing their points allowed when they move the ball (i.e. - hold them to FGs rather than TDs).
This game can easily be won but we'll need to minimize all mistakes and get up early. I look forward to discussing a great win come Saturday evening.