Chuck Amato came to N.C. State talking about championships. He believed he would win not just ACC Championships, but national championships, of which he had been a part at Florida State. In seven years, Amato's Wolfpack teams didn't win championships. But when Philip Rivers was his quarterback, Amato was able to make these dreams plausible to fans.
The Rivers years were good years. State won 34 of 51 games, going to bowls in each of the quarterback's four seasons. The school defeated national power Notre Dame in the 2003 Gator Bowl. Excitement generated by the Rivers era, especially the win over Notre Dame, boosted season ticket sales and jump-started the big engine called fund-raising. Donors forked over large amounts of cash for stadium expansion and new facilities, in the anticipation of more big wins.
But Wolfpack football began a downturn after Rivers left -- at least on offense. The 2004 season produced 5 wins against 6 losses -- a losing season Amato vowed would never happen again. 2005 brought a 7-5 ledger, but offense played only a supporting role-nearly half the starting defensive unit became NFL draft picks. In 2006, State not only suffered the second losing season Amato told Pack fans they would never see, but lagged behind in most key offensive statistical categories.
Watching Philip Rivers' outstanding play this season in the NFL, juxtaposed against State's offensive struggles in the years since he left, brings a new perspective to the early years of the Amato era. The Wolfpack program was not what it seemed. State could change offensive coordinators: Norm Chow, Marty Galbraith, Noel Mazzone. It didn't seem to matter who was calling the shots upstairs as long as Rivers was making the plays on the field.
That all changed after Rivers graduated in 2004. Over three seasons, neither Jay Davis, nor Marcus Stone, nor Daniel Evans, could deliver what Pack fans had come to expect. State could change offensive coordinators: Mazzone then Marc Trestman. It didn't seem to matter who was calling the shots. The Pack simply couldn't make enough plays on the field.
Amato's supporters can point to many positives during the past seven years. He broadened the scope of recruiting at N.C. State and brought in more talented athletes. Amato instilled a toughness on defense not seen at State, except perhaps with the White Shoes Defense of 1967, on which Amato played. Above all, his teams played hard, to the very last down Saturday night against East Carolina.
But the football fan seems to be more accepting of the offensive juggernaut that gets outscored, rather than the defensive power that can't score. Amato quieted his critics in week five when he replaced Stone with the more accurate Evans. The move produced two wins-before the slew of losses that forced Athletic Director Lee Fowler's hand. With Evans, fans saw hope that some completed passes would turn the losing to winning. But injuries to the offensive line. untimely turnovers, and widespread mental mistakes kept the Pack from winning any of its last seven games, even though every one was close.
Now Wolfpack players must adapt to a new head coach. Presumably, the N.C. State braintrust will bring in someone with sophisticated ideas about offense. In the new ACC, every school has a strong defense, except perhaps for those other two schools in the Triangle. To reach the next level, N.C. State needs a guy who not only can recruit, but also scheme, protect, pass, catch, and run the ball down the field. Without getting penalized.
