By Adam Abramson
I headed into Manhattan last night to kick off the season. My intention of watching North Carolina State-South Carolina was quickly dashed as I I headed to a Miami alumni bar.
I finally found a TV with the game I was hoping for towards the end of the second quarter and quickly saw both schools were sloppy. The Wolfpack has a host of problems on offense, as I figured. Also, thoughts to NCST freshman Russell Wilson, who was carted off the field.
Steve Spurrier is lucky State isn't a good ball club, because he got away with Tommy Beecher chucking interceptions. Any decent team would have taken all of that to the bank. We'll see what he decides to do after last night. Smelley, a sophomore, played in half the team's games last year and wasn't too bad. Might have to go with the hot hand.
Tom O'Brien's team, on the other hand, had 138 yards of total offense (49 through the air). That's bad. He could have used Matt Ryan. He has highly touted Mike Glennon redshirting this year, and we'll see if he'll keep the shirt on (I think he will). But expect Glennon to be the guy of the future in Raleigh.
I was able to watch much of the Miami game. Now, I know it was against Charleston Southern, but let me say I came away extremely impressed with Jacory Harris. He showcased his speed, vision and arm. Randy Shannon moved the pocket for him and Harris made some nice throws on the run. You could see the true freshman come out in him now and again, but he's going to be a special player in Miami and will be the catalyst, should the Hurricanes return to their familiar dominant state by 2012.
Moving west, how about Toby Gerhart of Stanford? When I saw him rumble for 46 yards down the sideline, I thought it was NC State running for a TD (helmets are similar, give me a break). But when I saw it was Gerhart crushing my dreams of an Oregon State cover, I had to say I was impressed. The Cardinal was able to withstand 490 yards of Beaver offense by forcing two picks and a fumble on the one-yard line to end OSU's comeback. See what happens when you take care of the football and take advantage of turnovers?
And props to Riley Skinner. He's continuing to impress everyone in Winston Salem and he makes the Demon Deacons a tough draw in the ACC. Last night's performance against Baylor is exactly what the team needs to kick start another big season.
I'll be back later with some picks.