Wolfpack Beginning to Growl

"Some of these guys have really made a turn in the way they practice." So said Wolfpack Coach Tom O'Brien after State's 29-24 upset of 21st-ranked Virginia. "They have finally started to believe that if they do it in practice and work hard in practice, it will do dividends on the field."

And that is a key to anything. Good preparation breeds confidence, and confidence usually means success. Teams that practice well usually play well.

Yes, it looks like Tom O'Brien and his staff are finally beginning to get their message across. Little by little, but very surely, progress is being made. Despite some devastating injuries, State is becoming a decent football team.

I didn't think that was possible before their open-date week on Oct. 13. The Wolfpack could have packed it in, but they didn't. They regrouped and recommitted, and players began to realize they didn't have all the answers. Now a football team is beginning to emerge.

Running back Jamelle Eugene told us after the Virginia win that some players realized that doing it their way wasn't working and that maybe it was time to start listening to what the coaches were saying.

That fumbling and stumbling bunch that looked so inept in going 1-5 in what O'Brien calls the first season is now 2-0 in what State has dubbed its second season. Those two wins over East Carolina and Virginia are very impressive. And State's nightmarish nine-game ACC losing streak is over.

Against Virginia, the Pack was able to run the ball a little, with Eugene going for 112 yards, but what they also did was protect Daniel Evans. The oft-injured, much- maligned offensive line gave Evans some time against a vaunted pass rush led by All-American candidate Chris Long. With the threat of the run and with protection, Evans was able to throw for 347 yards and three touchdowns.

Sitting in the press box, I think every time Evans throws those rainbow-like tosses that it's going to be intercepted or knocked down. But we once asked Evans what his strength was as a quarterback and he didn't hesitate when he said, "I'm accurate." And when given time, Daniel Evans is indeed accurate. Those rainbows seem to somehow settle nicely right into the receivers' bread-baskets.

He threw some beauties to Donald Bowens. With leading receiver John Dunlap out with an ankle injury, Bowens stepped up for 11 catches worth 202 yards. Evans would throw it up like he knew Bowens would catch it no matter where it was, and Evans did. His 30-yard strike when State was down 24-23 in the fourth quarter was a perfect throw to a hot receiver.

State also is finally forcing some things on defense. Two interceptions led to 10 points, and State stymied Virginia on critical third-down plays in the second half, holding them to just one of nine conversion attempts. They have talent on that side of the ball.

So the record still says a not very good 3-5, but that's a little deceiving now because this is no longer a team just playing out the string. There are four game games left. At Miami, at home to Carolina, at Wake Forest and at home with Maryland. Win three of those, and the Wolfpack is bowl-eligible. It's a long shot, sure, but a tad shorter than it was. It's possible.

Earlier this month, we never dreamed that “State” and “bowl” would be in the same sentence. I admit I thought the Wolfpack was the worst team in the conference.

I don't think that now.

Don't get me wrong. No one will mistake State for a Top-25 team, but they're now no pushover.

That couldn't be said a month ago. The coaches are teaching and the players are listening.