by David on September 9, 2009
2009 SEC Football Week 2
Riley Angel takes a look at Week 2 in the SEC
Week Two begins the start of conference play for several SEC teams. The SEC had a good opening week, going 11-1, with the only loss being Georgia to No. 9 Oklahoma State. Here are the predictions for SEC teams in the season’s second week.
Troy at Florida
Troy came into this season as a projected favorite of the Sun Belt Conference. After a surprising loss to Bowling Green, however, the team comes into Gainesville trying to regain its footing.
by David on September 2, 2009
South Carolina vs. NC State
Thanks to our friends over at The ACC & SEC Blog
NC State vs South Carolina
Thursday, Sept 3 Raleigh, NC
Line: NCST -4
The college football season kicks off with an ACC vs SEC matchup at Carter-Finley Stadium as the Wolfpack of NC State look for redemption against the South Carolina Gamecocks. Last season, South Carolina thumped the Wolfpack 34-0 in Columbia aided by 171 yards on the ground, their highest total against an FBS opponent all year.
NC State Offense vs South Carolina Defense…
NC State returns ACC Freshman of the year Russell Wilson at QB. Wilson was knocked out of the game last year when the Wolfpack were still in contention. His pinpoint accuracy is very unusual for a young player and he has wheels to make plays with his feet. But expect the sophomore to stay in the pocket more this year because those hits he took on the run contributed to his numerous injuries last year. Redshirt freshman Mike Glennon is backing up Wilson this year and drew rave reviews in the Spring.
The Wolfpack return the core of their offensive line that improved as the year went on. With continued improvement, this unit could be one of the best in the ACC. Last year, NC State was breaking in several lineman that had been switched over from the defensive side of the ball. In their last six regular season games, State ran the ball for 149 yards or more in each game.
Wilson’s top targets look to be receivers Owen Spencer and Jarvis Williams who combined for over 1000 yards last season. But I am guessing State’s main mode of transportation in this game will be on the ground with Toney Baker and Jamelle Eugene. Baker is coming off a two year absence but has shown explosiveness in his twelve career starts.
Looking to stop the Wolfpack is a South Carolina defense that smothered NC State in the opener last year allowing just 138 total yards. Coming off the edge will be two really good pass rushers in Eric Norwood and Cliff Matthews. The Gamecocks allowed 133 yards per game on the ground last season which was about middle of the pack for the SEC, but they allowed an average of 237 over their final three.
South Carolina’s secondary is replacing 100 career starts. The back four will need the front four to put some pressure on NC State’s QBs.
Russell Wilson will contend for ACC Player of the Year, if he stays healthy
This is a preview of
Game Day: NC State-South Carolina Preview and Prediction
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