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I am very nervous about the game this Saturday. After reading the PonyFans.com game preview, it sounds like SMU is going to have their hands full. I have heard that NSState barely runs the ball, and if they are going to be passing all night, I think SMU is doomed. Our secondary has potential, but I think the UTEP game showed their lack of experience and their lack of proper, basic skills in tackling. KG cannot do everything on his own.

If SMU wants to win, the secondary is going to have to stop trying to be play makers, and get back to the fundamentals...TACKLING. Also, Aldridge and Pratt are going to have to have huge games. They need to be pressuring the QB all game. They might have been over-hyped at the beginning of the season, because they are yet to show me anything. They too will have their hands full, because it sounds like NCState has a large o-line. The rest of the D-line will have to step up, since Croy is out.

Now to offense. We looked like last year’s team at UTEP. What happened to our passing game from Kansas. Billy Ford did not get a pass thrown to him the whole UTEP game. We need to utilize EVERYONE. Comet, Cardwell, Carter, McD., Ford, Hampton, Brown...etc. Josh had a poor first half, but he really stepped it up in the second half. He is a great runner, and sometimes he needs to tuck the ball and run, instead of holding on to it. Josh also looked like he had some problems with hanging on to handoff fakes too long, he got sacked twice doing that. Josh is going to have to play a perfect game at NCState.
SMU is not a come from behind team. If we want to win, we need to come out strong from the beginning. I hope SMU comes home with a "W" because we have another tuff game 9-23-2000.

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Go Red, Go Blue, Go Mustangs, S M U

Good points.

I was wondering what happened to Billy Ford. And what about Bryan McDearman? I don't think one pass has gone his way in two games. Is he in the doghouse or something? I'd find that hard to believe.

One pass was thrown to McD in UTEP, and he dropped it in the endzone. But it looked like a difficult catch I guess?

Actually we do run the ball a fair amount but because we play ball control with short passes it just seems like we don't run. Our running back Ray Robinson leads the ACC in rushing after 2 games, kind of funny considering our quarterback leads the nation in passing yards.

Where in the world did this offense come. I really don't recall you guys having much of an offense last year. All of a sudden you have a quarterback leading the nation in passing and a rb leading the ACC in rushing. Do you guys have the same coaches, etc.?

I think, like I said in another post somewhere, that this game is going to be a great challenge for the Mustang defense. You will challenge our young secondary. You will challenge our small defensive line. The one thing I can count on, it that the Mustang defense wont give you anything for free. Coach Schumann is a defensive genius. It is truly amazing what he does with the talent he is given. That is not to say we don't have any talent on defense, just that he makes our players play on a level no one ever dreamed they would play on.

Our new head coach is Chuck Amato, a former defensive coach at Florida State and NC State alum. He's assembled quite a staff of assistants, with the most notable being Norm Chow, the former offensive coordinator at BYU.

I think we have the 2nd highest-paid staff in the country.

Best of luck Saturday... I'll definitely be there! GO PACK!

I've heard that the NCState RB (Robinson) is a star in the making. Somewhere I read that he's passed FSU's Travis Minor to be the second-best RB prospect (for the NFL) in the ACC, behind Maryland's LaMont Jordan. Is that true? Is he that good? If so, you guys are going to have a huge year, because I think Minor is terrific and Jordan is even better, and if Robinson is in that same tier of talent, then he's a genuine stud.

Good luck this year, 'Pack -- after this week!

Ray Robinson, our TB, was ACC Rookie of the Year two years ago. He played with an assortment of nagging injuries last year and suffered a bit of a "sophmore slump" as a result. He has tremendous potential, and one of the main concerns that our coaching staff has with his play is that he doesn't know when to go down. He takes some needless hits because he is constantly fighting for extra yardage. He leads the ACC in rushing at this point with just over 100 yds per game and over 5 yds per carry.

He is also becoming an excellent receiver out of the backfield. Ray's return to full strength has been a huge plus for our offense in the first two games. His numbers have also been good so far because we tend to use the pass to set up the run rather than the other way around. Ray will present a challenge for your defense without a doubt. If they try to tee-off and come after the QB without respecting the run, then he could have a huge night. It should definitely be interesting on Saturday.