The Big East may have lost the conference realignment battle for Pitt and Syracuse, but it won the war between Cincinnati and N.C. State. The other one was probably more important.
Morning Tailgate: Defending N.C. State Coach Tom O’Brien (Sort Of)
Tom O’Brien has won 102 games as a college football coach. In 1997, he inherited a Boston College program that had finished with a losing record in seven of the previous 10 seasons, and after a couple of years running in place, he lead the Eagles to a nearly unprecedented level of success. Beginning with the 1999 season, he helped B.C. to embark on a run of 12 consecutive winning seasons (a streak that will probably come to an end this year). In his final three seasons in Chestnut Hill, his Eagles went 28-9; the year after he left for N.C. State, his recruits went 11-3 with Jeff Jagodzinski at the helm. He has some strong program-building bona fides on his résumé.
N.C. State had a solid, if less than elite, offense with Russell Wilson behind center -- they ranked 28th in Off. F/+ in 2008, 19th in 2009 and 33rd in 2010 -- but unfortunately he couldn’t play defense. The Wolfpack ranked 78th in Def. F/+ in 2008 and 113th in 2009, leading to a combined record of 11-14 and no bowl games. In 2010, however, there was a breakthrough. N.C. State jumped to 24th in Def. F/+, and despite slight regression on offense, N.C. State’s record jumped to 9-4 with a Champs Sports Bowl win over West Virginia. Heading into Wilson’s senior season, it was easy to find some general reasons to be excited about the N.C. State program.
Read Article >VIDEO: Jenn Brown Calls Cincinnati Coach Butch Jones ‘B---- Jones’
It’s funny when people actually accidentally cuss, especially when they accidentally insert a curse word as a part of someone’s name, especially when it’s on live TV, especially when it’s a football coach being referred to as a “bitch.” That’s pretty much the entire story here.
Read Article >PHOTO: Mark May Fills In For Dr. Lou, Nobody Likes It
I’m no lawyer, and Mark May is no doctor, but based on my extensive legal research one of us could be facing as many as seven years in prison for what happened tonight:
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Read Article >Cincinnati Vs. N.C. State Halftime Score: Bearcats Prevailing In Hideous Game
N.C. State Vs. Cincinnati: How Russell Wilson’s Exit Changed This Matchup
But back to quarterbacks. NCSU quarterback Mike Glennon has fared admirably in replacing Wilson, and has Cincy fans wondering if the Bearcats’ zone defense can handle a complicated pro set. Of course, Glennon’s lack of imposing weaponry does calm the nerves a tad:
It was a similar array of personnel that actually made Wilson look even better during his time in Raleigh. The challenge for Glennon is to make the most of his options, since he won’t be taking games over the way Wilson could. Last year, Wilson had 366 total yards and three touchdowns against Cincinnati.
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