SWC75
Bored Historian
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
- 34,513
- Like
- 67,192
Saturday October 6 TBA at PITTS BURGH TV: TBA
On October 13, 2001, Syracuse defeated Pittsburgh 42-10 in Pittsburgh. It was not an unusual result. The Orange had topped the clawless Panthers 16 times in the previous 18 years with one tie. Since then, we’ve beaten them 3 times in 17 years and never in Pittsburgh. 2001 was the last season we were in the national rankings. We are hoping to get to a bowl game this year. Pitt had been to nine in a row until last season. They are perhaps our most direct recruiting rival in the conference and even before that and the two teams have a history full of alternating periods of dominance. When we turn this series around, we will know that we have “made it”.
On the surface, this seems like a good year to give this series a shove. We beat them last year by the same score we beat Clemson. They finished 5-7, lost their two most experienced quarterbacks, their top receiver, their best offensive linemen and best defensive back. But, (like us) they played a very difficult schedule last season with Penn State and Oklahoma State being added to top ACC foes NC State, Virginia Tech and Miami. They’ll have another tough slate this year with Penn State, South Florida and Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Miami. Like Syracuse, they will tend to be better than their record indicates.
The two experienced quarterbacks left because freshman Kenny Pickett took over the job down the stretch and led them to a near upset of the Hokies and the real thing against Miami. He passed for a total of 435 yards in those games and ran for a couple of scores. “Pickett seems to have the mental make-up and physical tools to be a great one.” His competition will come from transfer Ricky Towns, a former five star recruit who originally committed to Alabama and wound up playing for USC and Arkansas before coming here. Pitt also has a “Wide Receiver U.” reputation but they are having to rebuild in that area. Rafael Araju-Lopez will be a start. He had 43 catches for 531 yards and 2 scores last year. “Pittsburgh expected big things from Tre Tipton last year” but a knee injury set him back.
They are blessed at running back. Darrin Hall rushed for 628 yards and 9 scores but had some big games: 254 yards vs. Duke, 111 vs. Virginia and 121 against North Carolina. Qadree Ollison rushed for 1,121 as a freshman in 2015 and had a couple of 90 yard games last year on his way to 398. Both are big dudes, (5-11 225 and 6-2, 230). A.J. Davis turned down Michigan, Ohio State, Florida and Auburn to come play for the Panthers. He’s another big one at 6-0 215. Fullback George Adams is even bigger at 6-0 240 and he can catch passes, 22 of them in 2016, when he also scored 10TDs. He was hurt last year but is back and healthy. Pitt is going to be able to ground and pound with the best of ‘em.
Except they are “just average” on the offensive line, only running for 149 yards a game last year and giving up 31 sacks. And they are patching up that line with a grad transfer from Kent State, (Kent State?) Stefano Millin and JUCO transfer Chase Brown. Alex Booker was All-ACC honorable mention at guard.
Their defensive line is in the same boat, with the team recording 23 sacks, 79th nationally. Nose tackle Shane Roy is probably the best player.
The situation is much better at linebacker. New DC Randy Bates was the linebacker coach at Northwestern, where he developed some good players. He’s got all three starters back for that unit, which totaled 216 tackles, 21.5 for a loss: Saleem Brightwell, Oluwaseum Idowu and Ehijah Zeise, (Didn’t people sued to be named Smith or Jones?) “Junior free safety Damar Hamlin, a four-star recruit, deemed himself healthy for the first time in his career this spring. If he remains that way, Pittsburgh would finally see the speed, strength and instincts that (Coach Pat) Narduzzi has often praised.” Redshirt freshman Paris Ford is “the Panther’s most athletic player”.
Kicker Alex Kessman set a carrier Dome record by hitting a 56 yarder in last year’s game and also had a 55 yarder but is not consistent, missing 8 of 19 attempts. They are looking for a new punter. Australian Kirk Christodoulou is a graduate of their renowned “Pro-kick” program. Their top return man, Quadree Henderson, jumped to the pros.
2017
Offense: TY- 366.2 (97) RY- 148.5 (86) PY- 217.7 (73) S- 23.9 (101)
Defense: TY- 396.5 (69) RY- 142.4 (41) PY- 254.2 (106) S- 26.6 (65)
TO: Even (64)
BYE WEEK
I predict a tie.
Saturday October 20 TBA NORTH CAROLINA TV: TBA
The Tar Heels are a cautionary tale for our future, (I hope). In 2015, they had the kind of breakthrough season we hope to have in the near future:
North Carolina Historical Scores
They lost their opener to South Carolina 13-17 and then ripped off ten wins in a row, winning the Coastal Division and pairing them with Clemson in the ACC title game. The result was an exciting, back and forth offensive show which the Tigers barely survived, 40-37 on their way to their first confrontation with Alabama in the NCAA title game. Then the Heels had another wild game in a bowl game against Baylor, losing 38-49. They wound up 10-3 and scored 570 points, (44 a game). If we have a season like that, we will have our heads in the clouds. We’re back! Happy Days are here again! We’ll have another 15 winning seasons in a row, just like last time! Maybe we’ll have another dream season like ’87 or even 59! That surely was the feeling at Chapel Hill.
They actually had a solid follow-up the next year, going 8-5 and scoring 420 points, (32 a game), and losing a close bowl game to Stanford. They had to have figured that it would take a couple years to build back up to a peak. Then came last year’s 3-9 disaster, with two of the wins being over Old Dominion and Western Carolina. They had a 6 game losing streak in the middle of the season in which they scored 74 points. This year, more of the same is predicted, including a 6th place finish in the coastal division. We are looking at this game as a game we should win and therefore must win to achieve our goals. The climb to the top is tough but staying there is even tougher, especially when everybody wants to do what you did and has the resources to do it. When we get good again, there’s unlikely to be a 15 year run of winning records, as in the MacPherson/Pasqualoni era, (or 22 straight non-losing seasons as we had in the Schwartzwalder Era or the 23 straight non-losing seasons we had from 1914-35). We’re likely to get sea sick, rising to 9-10 wins, falling back to 7-8 then 5-6, back up to 7-8, then 9-10 again, etc. It will be better than what we are experiencing now but likely short of a “glory era”. That’s if we can avoid what happened to the Tar Heels.
Opposing coaches on this year’s North Carolina team: “There’s no secret to beating them. They can’t stop the run, haven’t been able to do it for at least three years and maybe more. If you can run the ball and keep that offense off the field, that’s an easy formula. Last year, when they were young on offense and the quarterbacks struggled, it was a different deal altogether. That’s why the record looked so bad…They didn’t have the offense to make up for their annual struggle against the run.” I wish we could run the ball. Maybe we can this year.
The quarterback positon is still unsettled. “Chazz Surratt seized the job early last season as a redshirt freshman, showing promise as a dual threat. But he struggled as the talent around him deteriorated due to injuries and he eventually got banged up himself before giving way to Nathan Elliott. Elliott, now a fourth-year junior, led the Tar Heels to wins in two of their final three games. He lacks the size and physical tools Surratt possesses but he impressed coaches and teammates with his leadership and toughness. They will have a superb target to throw to in 6-1 205 he caught 35 passes at 18.0 yards per catch and scored 6times. Anthony Ratliff-Williams, probably the team’s best player. “He is a dangerous runner after the catch and is adept at making contested grabs on long passes.” He also returned two kick-offs for touchdowns.
They may not be able to stop the run but they can run it. Jordan Brown and Michael Carter combined for 1171 yards on 235 carries and 12TDs. “Neither player has exceptional size or speed but the duo’s tag team act gives UNC the equivalent of a well-rounded workhorse. True freshman Javonte Williams, who led his high school team to a state championship on UNC’s field, could be a factor after impressing coaches with his intelligence and vison during the spring.”
Their O-line is ‘unproven’. Right tackle Charlie Heck is the only returning starter. (They are very religious down there so they call him ‘Heck’.) Likely left tackle William Sweet “has some starting experience”. The D-line, “long a weakness of UNC’s defense, is poised for improvement after returning eight of its top nine players from a year ago.” (The problem is, that’s eight guys they had last year when they finished 101st in rushing defense.) Senior end Malik Carney, who had 5.5 sacks, “leads the charge”. Tomon Fox had 4 sacks. “The Tar Heels must be stronger at the point of attack after ranking last in the ACC against the run in each of the last five seasons.” In that 2015 bowl game against Baylor, the Bears ran for 645 yards in that game.
The Heels lost 2/3 of their starting linebackers but the returnee, Cole Holcomb, has led the team in tackles in each of the last two seasons. They have to replace a cornerback and safety who started 35 games between them. The Heels had 8 interceptions in the last two seasons, tied for worst in the country in that span. They will rebuild with the other safety, Myles Dorn, and the other cornerback, K. J. Sails. Both had two picks and Sails led in pass break-ups. UNC gave up ten 50+ yard touchdowns from scrimmage last year.
Freeman Jones was 9 for 14 on field goals. Hunter Lentz averaged an impressive 44.9 on punts. Ratliff-Williams is a threat to go the distance any time he gets the ball.
2017
Offense: TY- 369.6 (96) RY- 144.2 (90) PY- 225.4 (70) S- 26.0 (83)
Defense: TY- 436.1 (99) RY- 213.0 (113) PY- 223.1 (63) S- 31.3 (88)
TO: -6 (103)
Saturday October 27 TBA NORTH CAROLINA STATE TV: TBA
We first played the Wolfpack in the second game of the 1972 season Coached by a young Lou Holtz, they ran us ragged, 20-43 in Raleigh. . Through the 1971 season, we were the 27th winningest program in history with a win percentage of .620. They were #111 at .471. Since then, we are #68 (.502) and they are #42 (.553). that still suggests that the subsequent series would have been competitive. Instead we’ve won 1 of 11 games and been out-scored by an average of 12ppg. It hasn’t even mattered where the games have been played:
Syracuse vs North Carolina State 1869-2017
Our one win came in a year when they were racked by injuries on offense or we might be 0-12. Yet this is another game we probably need to have to get to a bowl game.
Ryan Finley is the unanimous choice as the top returning quarterback in the league. Last year he completed 312 of 479 passes, (65.1%), for 3,518 yards (11.2) 17TDs and 6 interceptions in 13 games. Athlon has Eric Dungey on their All-ACC third team, behind Virginia Tech’s Josh Jackson. Lindy’s has Clemson’s Kelly Bryant as their third teamer. How do Dungey’s stats compare to Finley’s? In 9 games he completed 225 of 377 (59.7%) for 2,465 yards (11.0) 14TDs and 9 interceptions. Multiply by 13/9 and you get 325/545, 3,561 yards 20TDs and 13 interceptions. The real difference is accuracy: completion percentage and too many interceptions. But our guy is capable of being just as productive as Finley, depending on their offensive lines and receivers. There’s another difference: Finlay ran for 316 positive yards but lost 122 on sacks for a net of 194 yards and 3TDs. Dungey ran for 787 yards in gains, lost 195 in sacks for a net of 595 and scored 9 TDs. So Eric is more of a multi-threat guy. This will be an interesting battle of perhaps the best QBs in the league.
Finley’s favorite target is 6-3 213 Kelvin Harmon, who had 69 catches for 1,017 yards (14.7) and 4 scores. Like SU, they have a converted quarterback who is now a wide-out, Jakobi Meyers, and who is “elusive with the ball and has breakaway speed”. You have to get a hold of the ball to do that and Meyers caught 63 of them for 727 yards (11.5) and 5 scores. Dungey doesn’t have anyone who has proven himself like that.
They lost Nyheim Hines, who rushed for 1,142 yards last year. The heir apparent is Reggie Gallaspy who gained 506 at 4.4 a pop and scored 7 times. He’s coming off “nagging foot injuries his first three season. Ricky Pearson, a four star recruit, has “big play potential”. Three starters are back on the O-line.
The Pack has to replace no less than 8 starters on defense, including ACC defensive player of the year Bradley Chubb. They run a 4-2-5 and all of the front six will be new starters. End Darian Roseboro will probably be their best lineman while “senior linebacker Germaine Pratt has a knack for the big play but will need to be more consistent”. They were 26th in the country against the run last year but only 104th against the pass. “The secondary struggled with injuries and never really stabilized”. Cornerback nick McCloud is the best returnee but grad transfer Stephen Griffin at safety may turn out to be the best player.
Two placekickers missed 10 of 20 field goals last year. AJ Cole averaged 43.7 yards per punt. Hines was their top kickoff and punt returner and “there are no obvious replacements”.
The Wolfpack may suffer a “regression to the mean” season after a strong 9-4 season last year, much as UNC did in 2016. It will be interesting to see what happens next for them if they do. In the meantime, they appear to be vulnerable this year. We need to find a way to beat them.
2017
Offense: TY- 451.8 (25) RY- 176.4 (50) PY- 275.4 (29) S- 32.2 (40)
Defense: TY- 384.2 (58) RY- 131.0 (26) PY- 253.2 (104) S- 25.2 (58)
TO: +8 (22)
On October 13, 2001, Syracuse defeated Pittsburgh 42-10 in Pittsburgh. It was not an unusual result. The Orange had topped the clawless Panthers 16 times in the previous 18 years with one tie. Since then, we’ve beaten them 3 times in 17 years and never in Pittsburgh. 2001 was the last season we were in the national rankings. We are hoping to get to a bowl game this year. Pitt had been to nine in a row until last season. They are perhaps our most direct recruiting rival in the conference and even before that and the two teams have a history full of alternating periods of dominance. When we turn this series around, we will know that we have “made it”.
On the surface, this seems like a good year to give this series a shove. We beat them last year by the same score we beat Clemson. They finished 5-7, lost their two most experienced quarterbacks, their top receiver, their best offensive linemen and best defensive back. But, (like us) they played a very difficult schedule last season with Penn State and Oklahoma State being added to top ACC foes NC State, Virginia Tech and Miami. They’ll have another tough slate this year with Penn State, South Florida and Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Miami. Like Syracuse, they will tend to be better than their record indicates.
The two experienced quarterbacks left because freshman Kenny Pickett took over the job down the stretch and led them to a near upset of the Hokies and the real thing against Miami. He passed for a total of 435 yards in those games and ran for a couple of scores. “Pickett seems to have the mental make-up and physical tools to be a great one.” His competition will come from transfer Ricky Towns, a former five star recruit who originally committed to Alabama and wound up playing for USC and Arkansas before coming here. Pitt also has a “Wide Receiver U.” reputation but they are having to rebuild in that area. Rafael Araju-Lopez will be a start. He had 43 catches for 531 yards and 2 scores last year. “Pittsburgh expected big things from Tre Tipton last year” but a knee injury set him back.
They are blessed at running back. Darrin Hall rushed for 628 yards and 9 scores but had some big games: 254 yards vs. Duke, 111 vs. Virginia and 121 against North Carolina. Qadree Ollison rushed for 1,121 as a freshman in 2015 and had a couple of 90 yard games last year on his way to 398. Both are big dudes, (5-11 225 and 6-2, 230). A.J. Davis turned down Michigan, Ohio State, Florida and Auburn to come play for the Panthers. He’s another big one at 6-0 215. Fullback George Adams is even bigger at 6-0 240 and he can catch passes, 22 of them in 2016, when he also scored 10TDs. He was hurt last year but is back and healthy. Pitt is going to be able to ground and pound with the best of ‘em.
Except they are “just average” on the offensive line, only running for 149 yards a game last year and giving up 31 sacks. And they are patching up that line with a grad transfer from Kent State, (Kent State?) Stefano Millin and JUCO transfer Chase Brown. Alex Booker was All-ACC honorable mention at guard.
Their defensive line is in the same boat, with the team recording 23 sacks, 79th nationally. Nose tackle Shane Roy is probably the best player.
The situation is much better at linebacker. New DC Randy Bates was the linebacker coach at Northwestern, where he developed some good players. He’s got all three starters back for that unit, which totaled 216 tackles, 21.5 for a loss: Saleem Brightwell, Oluwaseum Idowu and Ehijah Zeise, (Didn’t people sued to be named Smith or Jones?) “Junior free safety Damar Hamlin, a four-star recruit, deemed himself healthy for the first time in his career this spring. If he remains that way, Pittsburgh would finally see the speed, strength and instincts that (Coach Pat) Narduzzi has often praised.” Redshirt freshman Paris Ford is “the Panther’s most athletic player”.
Kicker Alex Kessman set a carrier Dome record by hitting a 56 yarder in last year’s game and also had a 55 yarder but is not consistent, missing 8 of 19 attempts. They are looking for a new punter. Australian Kirk Christodoulou is a graduate of their renowned “Pro-kick” program. Their top return man, Quadree Henderson, jumped to the pros.
2017
Offense: TY- 366.2 (97) RY- 148.5 (86) PY- 217.7 (73) S- 23.9 (101)
Defense: TY- 396.5 (69) RY- 142.4 (41) PY- 254.2 (106) S- 26.6 (65)
TO: Even (64)
BYE WEEK
I predict a tie.
Saturday October 20 TBA NORTH CAROLINA TV: TBA
The Tar Heels are a cautionary tale for our future, (I hope). In 2015, they had the kind of breakthrough season we hope to have in the near future:
North Carolina Historical Scores
They lost their opener to South Carolina 13-17 and then ripped off ten wins in a row, winning the Coastal Division and pairing them with Clemson in the ACC title game. The result was an exciting, back and forth offensive show which the Tigers barely survived, 40-37 on their way to their first confrontation with Alabama in the NCAA title game. Then the Heels had another wild game in a bowl game against Baylor, losing 38-49. They wound up 10-3 and scored 570 points, (44 a game). If we have a season like that, we will have our heads in the clouds. We’re back! Happy Days are here again! We’ll have another 15 winning seasons in a row, just like last time! Maybe we’ll have another dream season like ’87 or even 59! That surely was the feeling at Chapel Hill.
They actually had a solid follow-up the next year, going 8-5 and scoring 420 points, (32 a game), and losing a close bowl game to Stanford. They had to have figured that it would take a couple years to build back up to a peak. Then came last year’s 3-9 disaster, with two of the wins being over Old Dominion and Western Carolina. They had a 6 game losing streak in the middle of the season in which they scored 74 points. This year, more of the same is predicted, including a 6th place finish in the coastal division. We are looking at this game as a game we should win and therefore must win to achieve our goals. The climb to the top is tough but staying there is even tougher, especially when everybody wants to do what you did and has the resources to do it. When we get good again, there’s unlikely to be a 15 year run of winning records, as in the MacPherson/Pasqualoni era, (or 22 straight non-losing seasons as we had in the Schwartzwalder Era or the 23 straight non-losing seasons we had from 1914-35). We’re likely to get sea sick, rising to 9-10 wins, falling back to 7-8 then 5-6, back up to 7-8, then 9-10 again, etc. It will be better than what we are experiencing now but likely short of a “glory era”. That’s if we can avoid what happened to the Tar Heels.
Opposing coaches on this year’s North Carolina team: “There’s no secret to beating them. They can’t stop the run, haven’t been able to do it for at least three years and maybe more. If you can run the ball and keep that offense off the field, that’s an easy formula. Last year, when they were young on offense and the quarterbacks struggled, it was a different deal altogether. That’s why the record looked so bad…They didn’t have the offense to make up for their annual struggle against the run.” I wish we could run the ball. Maybe we can this year.
The quarterback positon is still unsettled. “Chazz Surratt seized the job early last season as a redshirt freshman, showing promise as a dual threat. But he struggled as the talent around him deteriorated due to injuries and he eventually got banged up himself before giving way to Nathan Elliott. Elliott, now a fourth-year junior, led the Tar Heels to wins in two of their final three games. He lacks the size and physical tools Surratt possesses but he impressed coaches and teammates with his leadership and toughness. They will have a superb target to throw to in 6-1 205 he caught 35 passes at 18.0 yards per catch and scored 6times. Anthony Ratliff-Williams, probably the team’s best player. “He is a dangerous runner after the catch and is adept at making contested grabs on long passes.” He also returned two kick-offs for touchdowns.
They may not be able to stop the run but they can run it. Jordan Brown and Michael Carter combined for 1171 yards on 235 carries and 12TDs. “Neither player has exceptional size or speed but the duo’s tag team act gives UNC the equivalent of a well-rounded workhorse. True freshman Javonte Williams, who led his high school team to a state championship on UNC’s field, could be a factor after impressing coaches with his intelligence and vison during the spring.”
Their O-line is ‘unproven’. Right tackle Charlie Heck is the only returning starter. (They are very religious down there so they call him ‘Heck’.) Likely left tackle William Sweet “has some starting experience”. The D-line, “long a weakness of UNC’s defense, is poised for improvement after returning eight of its top nine players from a year ago.” (The problem is, that’s eight guys they had last year when they finished 101st in rushing defense.) Senior end Malik Carney, who had 5.5 sacks, “leads the charge”. Tomon Fox had 4 sacks. “The Tar Heels must be stronger at the point of attack after ranking last in the ACC against the run in each of the last five seasons.” In that 2015 bowl game against Baylor, the Bears ran for 645 yards in that game.
The Heels lost 2/3 of their starting linebackers but the returnee, Cole Holcomb, has led the team in tackles in each of the last two seasons. They have to replace a cornerback and safety who started 35 games between them. The Heels had 8 interceptions in the last two seasons, tied for worst in the country in that span. They will rebuild with the other safety, Myles Dorn, and the other cornerback, K. J. Sails. Both had two picks and Sails led in pass break-ups. UNC gave up ten 50+ yard touchdowns from scrimmage last year.
Freeman Jones was 9 for 14 on field goals. Hunter Lentz averaged an impressive 44.9 on punts. Ratliff-Williams is a threat to go the distance any time he gets the ball.
2017
Offense: TY- 369.6 (96) RY- 144.2 (90) PY- 225.4 (70) S- 26.0 (83)
Defense: TY- 436.1 (99) RY- 213.0 (113) PY- 223.1 (63) S- 31.3 (88)
TO: -6 (103)
Saturday October 27 TBA NORTH CAROLINA STATE TV: TBA
We first played the Wolfpack in the second game of the 1972 season Coached by a young Lou Holtz, they ran us ragged, 20-43 in Raleigh. . Through the 1971 season, we were the 27th winningest program in history with a win percentage of .620. They were #111 at .471. Since then, we are #68 (.502) and they are #42 (.553). that still suggests that the subsequent series would have been competitive. Instead we’ve won 1 of 11 games and been out-scored by an average of 12ppg. It hasn’t even mattered where the games have been played:
Syracuse vs North Carolina State 1869-2017
Our one win came in a year when they were racked by injuries on offense or we might be 0-12. Yet this is another game we probably need to have to get to a bowl game.
Ryan Finley is the unanimous choice as the top returning quarterback in the league. Last year he completed 312 of 479 passes, (65.1%), for 3,518 yards (11.2) 17TDs and 6 interceptions in 13 games. Athlon has Eric Dungey on their All-ACC third team, behind Virginia Tech’s Josh Jackson. Lindy’s has Clemson’s Kelly Bryant as their third teamer. How do Dungey’s stats compare to Finley’s? In 9 games he completed 225 of 377 (59.7%) for 2,465 yards (11.0) 14TDs and 9 interceptions. Multiply by 13/9 and you get 325/545, 3,561 yards 20TDs and 13 interceptions. The real difference is accuracy: completion percentage and too many interceptions. But our guy is capable of being just as productive as Finley, depending on their offensive lines and receivers. There’s another difference: Finlay ran for 316 positive yards but lost 122 on sacks for a net of 194 yards and 3TDs. Dungey ran for 787 yards in gains, lost 195 in sacks for a net of 595 and scored 9 TDs. So Eric is more of a multi-threat guy. This will be an interesting battle of perhaps the best QBs in the league.
Finley’s favorite target is 6-3 213 Kelvin Harmon, who had 69 catches for 1,017 yards (14.7) and 4 scores. Like SU, they have a converted quarterback who is now a wide-out, Jakobi Meyers, and who is “elusive with the ball and has breakaway speed”. You have to get a hold of the ball to do that and Meyers caught 63 of them for 727 yards (11.5) and 5 scores. Dungey doesn’t have anyone who has proven himself like that.
They lost Nyheim Hines, who rushed for 1,142 yards last year. The heir apparent is Reggie Gallaspy who gained 506 at 4.4 a pop and scored 7 times. He’s coming off “nagging foot injuries his first three season. Ricky Pearson, a four star recruit, has “big play potential”. Three starters are back on the O-line.
The Pack has to replace no less than 8 starters on defense, including ACC defensive player of the year Bradley Chubb. They run a 4-2-5 and all of the front six will be new starters. End Darian Roseboro will probably be their best lineman while “senior linebacker Germaine Pratt has a knack for the big play but will need to be more consistent”. They were 26th in the country against the run last year but only 104th against the pass. “The secondary struggled with injuries and never really stabilized”. Cornerback nick McCloud is the best returnee but grad transfer Stephen Griffin at safety may turn out to be the best player.
Two placekickers missed 10 of 20 field goals last year. AJ Cole averaged 43.7 yards per punt. Hines was their top kickoff and punt returner and “there are no obvious replacements”.
The Wolfpack may suffer a “regression to the mean” season after a strong 9-4 season last year, much as UNC did in 2016. It will be interesting to see what happens next for them if they do. In the meantime, they appear to be vulnerable this year. We need to find a way to beat them.
2017
Offense: TY- 451.8 (25) RY- 176.4 (50) PY- 275.4 (29) S- 32.2 (40)
Defense: TY- 384.2 (58) RY- 131.0 (26) PY- 253.2 (104) S- 25.2 (58)
TO: +8 (22)
