Man, I am so glad I don’t have to type Loiuville anymore (context here), but more on them in a minute. Let’s get right into this week’s matchup:
Week 6 vs Wake Forest (aka WtFU)
It’s always some bullshit with these guys, isn’t it? This year, the “narrative” is quite full. Here are the top 3 topics surrounding the program as NC State greets the Demon Deacons on Saturday:
1. Gio Lopez is like, good now?
The discussion this week is all about how revamped the Demon Deacon offense is now that they have…checks notes… Gio Lopez at QB?!? The dude seemed lost last year at UNC, now is lighting it up.
We’ll put aside any jokes about UNC for now, and look at Gio’s current stats:
Passing yards, 1377 (17th)
Pass yards/attempt, 9.1, (25th)
Pass yards/game, 275.4 (20th)
He’s only thrown 1 interception
The one area of possible attack is in the pass rush. NC State was able to successfully get to Lincoln Kienholz, so they will have to do the same this week. Lopez is just as wily on the ground as Kienholz, and will turn busted plays into big gains. State has to be prepared for designed runs like, you know, the whole Beau Pribula situation.
I just hate that we’re at the point where we’re worried about how much damage a Gio Lopez led offense is going to do, and that leads to the next point…
2. Dave Doeren year 14 vs Jake Dickert year 2
Dave Doeren is not just battling Jake Dickert on the field, he’s also fighting the narrative that his tenure is stale and past his prime. Meanwhile, Dickert stepped in and took Wake Forest to 9 wins in his first year. This 9 win total is buyoed by the fact that they beat an SEC team (Mississippi State) in their bowl game. Turns out beating SEC teams is good for the general opinion on your program, Dave Doeren oughta try that some time.
Dickert is now in year 2, yet somehow has Wake with more juice than State has had in years, with a fraction of the Pack’s NIL budget. It will most likely be short-lived since he seems like the hot coaching candidate this year, but still. If the Deacons win this game, expect the boo birds to be out in full force for the fans wanting Boo Corrigan to find a Dickert of his own (or literally just hire him straight up). This narrative is exhausting and is a discourse I hope to avoid entirely, so for that point alone I’d like for NC State to win this game.
Wake Forest sits at 4-1 right now. NC State SHOULD be 4-1 as well, but you know, fumbles in the endzone will do that, and they’re 3-2 instead. If the Wolfpack can win this game it will put them in good position to maintain momentum towards the ultimate goal (which we are not speaking aloud yet, but are trying to manifest).
3. The NC State offensive line is, like, nonexistent right now
The Wolfpack’s injury report is a legit joke:
Spike Sowells is out for the season, and based on how he limped off the field, I wouldn’t be surprised if Yousef Mugharbil is soon to be announced as such. Add Rylan Vann and possibly Kamen Smith, and you have to go deeeeeep on the depth chart to actually field a functioning offensive line. We’re about one week away from Dave Doeren holding open tryouts to fill gaps on the line.
On top of that, Duke Scott being out and maybe Jojo Trader, and now we really aren’t sure who will be protecting CJ Bailey, nor he will be handing the ball off/passing to.
Insert: Ive_got_a_bad_feeling_about_this.gif
As for Loiusvile: Was it a good win or not?
Depending on who you ask, NC State either notched a good win against a quality opponent last Saturday, or they got lucky the Lousiville pooped the game away. Two sides of the same game’s coin.
NC State went out against the odds and won a great game against a very good football team.
NC State didn’t exactly win that game, so much as the Cardinals lost the game.
The truth, as always, is somewhere in the middle. Yes, the Cards did a ton to help the Wolfpack in this game. They coughed up 5 fumbles, losing 3 of them. But also NC State went in and forced those fumbles. It actually should have been more turnovers, since NC State dropped at least 2 surefire interceptions.
Dave Doeren and his staff out-coached Jeff Brohm, but the haters are not willing to give flowers. I think a lot of people feel like we’ve been here before. In last week’s picks, Trey correctly picked the win citing that that is precisely the kind of game Dave Doeren has a tendency to pull out of his butt just when he needs it most. The issue a lot of fans have is feeling like they’ve been burned in the past thinking one week’s good win will snowball into an avalanche of future success, but Dave Doeren simply doesn’t operate that way. He can follow up good wins with head scratching losses. A lot of people are like the Hawkeye “don’t give me hope” gif. They won’t be willing to acknowledge the possibility of success until the season is over and it’s actually happened.
But then, there’s a darker side of the fan base. Those that are actively rooting for ultimate destruction, and need Doeren to fully crater before their ultimate wish of him being removed from office can be granted. They are shorting NC State stock and need it to bottom out, so every win goes against their aims. They think that another 7-8 win season will only prolong this tenure. We will keep an eye on this growing narrative.
Anyway, let’s get to the picks!
Well, those are depressing…
AI slop’o’matic pic of the week:
It’s kind of hilarious how it literally is just replacing each week’s opposing mascots with that of the current week, but it’s basically the same photo.
I thought this might be too boring, so I said, “We're in "spooky season" now, so make those deacons more demon-ish”, and got this:
I should have just quit while I was ahead. Although the haunted mansion and full moon in the back are a nice touch.