Thoughts and Observations from Raleigh

Nov 1, 2015, 10:57 AM

First of all, I'd heard a lot about how bad the fans were. Maybe I just went at a good time, but I had nothing but good experiences interacting with them. The only thing I really had an issue with was their treatment of the national anthem.

The stadium is pretty cool. I've seen it called a dump, and I don't think it was at all. There was a surprising lack of energy throughout the game, however. I like their tailgating setup outside the stadium.

As for the actual game, not much bad you can say about the offense. They had an answer every time NC State scored, and I felt confident every time they stepped on the field.

The defense was another story. I haven't felt that helpless watching our defense in a long time. Quick passes negated our pass rush for the most part. On runs, we seemed undisciplined. I don't like to name names, but a couple players took bad angles and didn't fill the correct gaps. Our focus just didn't seem all there defensively. I like to think we weren't looking ahead to FSU, but...

Special teams, I couldn't tell what happened with the kicks and haven't really gotten to watch a replay. Was Huegel kicking too low? Did we just not block well enough? Maybe someone can fill me in there. On kick returns, I'd just rather see us kick it out of bounds and let teams take it at the 35. We can't give up a 100 yard KR to FSU next week.

That's about all I got. Fun trip overall. If there's a bright side to the defensive fiasco it's that we can still win a shootout if we have to. I have no doubt Venables will get things corrected, however.

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State fans are terrible. I do, however, agree that they have the best football atmosphere that we play in outside of Doak Walker. I haven't been to VT, Virginia, or Miami yet, but only get the impression that VT may have a chance. Louisville and SC play some football, but it's only fairgrounds around those places. We went there 2011 and heard nothing but derision from their fans, including a bunch of trash talking on the way out of the stands. All before the game I heard was how we were going to kill them, and they were just glad to have a good team coming to their stadium. Then they beat us, and went nuts. They are a team and fanbase that thinks they should be good, but doesn't normally back it up, and doesn't know how to back it up when they do win.

I work for an engineering firm in Charlotte, which is mainly filled with State and Charlotte engineering grads. I never say a word about football to those people unless it's complimentary. I especially don't talk trash about their programs to them, even after we have beaten their butts. The point is that tomorrow would have been filled with a bunch of trash talk from them had this game gone the other way, or even if we had won by a close score, and some blown calls made the difference.

TLDR: don't give state fans too much credit; they suck.

Thoughts and Observations from Raleigh

Re: Thoughts and Observations from Raleigh

Re: Thoughts and Observations from Raleigh

Re: Thoughts and Observations from Raleigh

My first trip there

Re: Thoughts and Observations from Raleigh

You went at a good time

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