Come One, Come All

The Atlantic Coast Conference managed to keep a colossal story under wraps until Friday – a revelation that sent an earthquake through college athletics.  The University of Pittsburgh and Syracuse University will make the leap from the Big East to the ACC, but the Big East will require both schools to satisfy their contractions until the summer of 2014.  Many feared that the ACC may be one of the lost conferences during the "Super Conference" expansion process, but this move solidifies the ACC place going forward.

The ACC has confirmed that other schools have contacted the conference about joining but would not give any details during the teleconference on Sunday.  Among the rumored schools are University of Connecticut, the University of Texas at Austin, and Rutgers University.  Texas has been the most desirable school to add since day one because of their consistent relevance in both basketball and football.  However, Texas may end up trying to keep the Big-12 alive or join Notre Dame as an independent because of their newly founded Longhorn Network.

Not every conference is as eager to join the ranks of the ACC and Big-Ten (which really needs to change their name since they now have twelve members and the Big-12 is already taken – by a school that now has only ten).  The Pac-12 declined the additions of Texas and Oklahoma on Tuesday and plans to stick with their twelve program memberships for the time being.  The "Super Conference" movement is an entirely football related decision for these universities and it places a new burden on their non-revenue generating sports; golfers and volleyball players from Florida State University will now have to make trips to one school in particular, making a more than 1,200 mile excursion to Syracuse, New York as a necessary appearance in conference play. Colleges are hoping that the new conferences will create new sources of revenue, due primarily to lucrative television contracts, as their central effort make up for the losses of their other athletic programs.

Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled that this may be a step toward correcting the BCS.  Everyone knows that post season college football is flawed and turns many fans off.  Nevertheless, football resolving their dilemma at the expense of the other athletic programs exhibits a lack of creativity by the system. College athletics are no longer about the athletes, regardless of how much we want them to be; financial gain is at top of the food chain.

NC State Week 1 Recap

The smell of charcoal burning.  The thud of bean bags smacking cornhole boards.  Footballs crowding the air space like an international airport.  College football was finally back Saturday.  However, the NC State offense did not get the memo.  The WolfPack were out gained by the FBS Liberty Flames 406 yards to 318.  It took seven Liberty turnovers and two big returns from the defense and special teams for the Pack to extinguish the Flames 43-21. (Sorry, super cheesy I know)

Rumbles of Russell Wilson could be heard throughout the stadium after the WolfPack's slow start.  I even heard someone calling for Tom O'Brien's job/head.  (He was rather belligerent)  Mike Glennon's debut was indeed quite vanilla, completing 58% of his passes for 156 yards and one late touchdown.  Glennon was hounded with pressure throughout the game by a Liberty defensive line that should have been out classed.  The NC State offensive line has been problematic for some time but Wilson was able to mask their inadequacies during his tenure.  His ability to turn a broken play into a 20 yard scramble is what made him such an asset to coach O'Brien.  The WolfPack can no longer hide this glaring weakness.  


Despite the pressure, Glennon was able to at least share the wealth, completing passes to ten different receivers.  One problem, All ACC tight end George Bryan was not among the ten.  What better of an asset for an inexperienced quarterback than a tight end of Bryan's caliber?  He has to be more involved for the WolfPack going forward.

One positive for the offense this past weekend was, even without starting running back Mustafa Greene, the Wolfpack's running game was able to average over 4.5 yards per carry.  Take away Glennon's negative 26 yards and the average settles around 6.5.  The running game's success will keep defenses honest and allow Glennon more time in a quarterback's favorite place, standing in the pocket.

In his debut, Glennon, neither impressed nor lost my trust.  He effectively managed the game and never seemed to lose his composure.  The offense was even able to find their stride in the fourth quarter, scoring touchdowns on three consecutive possessions.  The overreaction to the WolfPack's performance is to be expected given the circumstances, but first game butterflies aren't worth calling for a coach to be sent to the guillotine.  Look for Glennon and the WolfPack to build off their fourth quarter success against overtime defeated Wake Forest next Saturday.

-Pictures credited to: http://www.wralsportsfan.com/ncsu/