Tag: Brennan Armstrong

Tar Heels have yet another disappointing performance against NC State

UNC played poor football on Saturday night, shooting itself in the foot yet again. NC State took advantage for win number nine.

Would 2023 finally be the year UNC beats NC State in football again?

The answer was clear from opening kickoff – a resounding NO.

NC State, a team known more for its defense than its offense, hung 504 yards on the Tar Heels’ porous defense in a 39-20, Wolfpack victory.

UNC has been exposed a lot in recent weeks, but just how embarrassing was Saturday night in Raleigh?

Typically, even the hottest of teams will have an occasional drive stall out.

Not the Wolfpack. Not against the Tar Heels, who couldn’t stop a turtle from 100 yards downfield.

Dual-threat quarterback Brennan Armstrong played like an all-star for NC State, completing 22-of-31 passes for 334 yards and three touchdowns. Kevin Concepcion gave Carolina trouble at both running back and receiver – leading all rushers with 55 yards, plus all receivers with 131 yards and two touchdowns.

How badly did UNC play on offense?

To sum it up in short, Drake Maye didn’t complete a single pass in the first quarter. He did finally end his night with 254 passing yards and two touchdowns, but a majority of that yardage and scoring came in garbage time.

Carolina star running back Omarion Hampton, who entered the game with six straight, 100-yard outputs and tied for the FBS lead in rushing yards, finished with a disappointing 28 yards on nine carries.

We all knew winning in Raleigh would be a tall task for UNC, a place it hasn’t won since a 41-10 win in 2019.

But we also figured Carolina would be more competitive in a rivalry game.

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UNC at NC State: Game preview, info, prediction and more

Whoever wins Saturday night’s UNC-N.C. State football game likely locks up third place in the ACC. What should you be looking out for?

Remember all the hype before college football started?

It’s dwindled a bit, with teams not playing up to expectations, but still alive with Rivalry Week coming up this weekend. Ohio State-Michigan has arguably the greatest implications, with the winner likely locking in a College Football Playoff spot, but Friday and Saturday are also full of rivalry clashes.

One of those under-the-radar, rivalry games is UNC-N.C. State, which kicks off on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 8 p.m. ET in Carter-Finley Stadium. Both teams sit at 8-3, with the winner on the inside track for 10 wins (Bowl Games in December). If Georgia beats Georgia Tech, the Carolina-State winner locks up third place in the ACC.

Carolina started 6-0 and was ranked 10th in the AP Poll, only for disappointing losses to UVA and Georgia Tech to drop them entirely. UNC lost to Clemson last weekend, but that result was more likely to happen.

N.C. State is the complete opposite. The Wolfpack started 4-3, but have won their past four matchups. They’ll try to make it three in a row against Carolina, who’s held late leads in the 2022 and 2021 matchups.

Five questions Notre Dame needs to answer to defeat NC State

What do you need to see the Irish do to defeat the Wolfpack?

For the first time all year, the competition level for [autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] is closer for everyone to really get an idea of how good this team really is.

After trouncing Navy and Tennessee State, the Irish have to hit the road for the first time this year (I know the game against the Midshipmen wasn’t in South Bend, but it was still considered a home game) to face NC State.

The Wolfpack present different problems that Notre Dame will have to solve on Saturday morning. Here are five questions that the Irish will have to answer for them to come out with their third win to start the season.

Know your foe: Which NC State players could give Notre Dame problems

Which members of the Pack do the Irish need to stop?

The first real test of the 2023 season for [autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] comes this Saturday, when they travel to Raleigh, North Carolina to take on the [autotag]NC State Wolfpack[/autotag].

Both teams are undefeated, with the Irish having an extra win due to playing in week zero. The difference for Notre Dame is that they aren’t playing teams that have significantly less talented rosters. (It makes it a bit easier for me to identify who to watch as well)

This isn’t going to be like the first two weeks for the Irish, the Wolfpack have a very good team and here are five players who could give Notre Dame problems on the road this Saturday.

NC State statistical leaders through one game

Does anyone on this list concern you?

NC State is having a very peculiar season with its schedule. It opened the 2023 season with a win over independent UConn and now will face a second straight independent in Notre Dame. It then will face VMI before playing its ACC schedule except for one game against Marshall. Talk about one quirk after another.

Like the Irish, the Wolfpack have a quarterback finishing out his eligibility with them after spending the remainder of his career at a different school. In this case, the Wolfpack’s quarterback spent the previous five seasons at Virginia and even has experience facing the Irish (including on this writer’s wedding day). Of course, that’s only one player. There are many others who could give the Irish fits in what many are saying is their first real test of the season.

The Wolfpack have played only one game, but here’s who you might want to look out for when they face the Irish:

Auburn among top schools in sweepstakes for Brennan Armstrong

Auburn is one of three schools that is in the hunt to land the former Virginia quarterback.

Auburn has been a hot name in the transfer portal market since its opening on Dec. 5, especially at the quarterback position.

The first quarterback portal battle for Auburn was between NC State’s [autotag]Devin Leary[/autotag] and Coastal Carolina’s [autotag]Grayson McCall[/autotag]. However, Leary elected to sign with SEC foe Kentucky, and McCall recently decided to remove his name from the transfer portal.

Now that the fate of those two quarterbacks has been sealed, Auburn appears to have two more names within its sights.

Reports surfaced on Dec. 23 that Auburn and head coach Hugh Freeze had been in contact with Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders about possibly earning his signature. There appears to be another name in the race, Virginia’s [autotag]Brennan Armstrong[/autotag].

ESPN’s Pete Thamel shared Monday during a segment on College Gameday that the Virginia field general has been contacted by Auburn, as well as NC State and Oklahoma State.

Thamel is led to believe that Armstrong is leaning towards staying in the ACC, and will be reunited with his former offensive coordinator.

“Brennan Armstrong had a down year with the departure of Robert Anae, his offensive coordinator (from Virginia),” Thamel said. “I was told (Monday), ‘Don’t be surprised if Armstrong reunites with him at NC State.’ Auburn and Oklahoma State are also in the mix there.”

Armstrong had his strongest season in 2021 under the direction of Anae. Despite Virginia finishing with a 6-6 record, Armstrong completed 326-of-500 passes for 4,449 yards and 31 touchdowns.

[autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag], [autotag]Holden Geriner[/autotag], and [autotag]T.J. Finley[/autotag] return to the quarterback room from last season’s roster. Auburn also added three-star [autotag]Hank Brown[/autotag] to its’ 2023 signing class. However, Freeze is looking for experience at the position in his first season at Auburn. Quarterbacks such as Sanders and Armstrong fit the mold of what Freeze is looking for.

“Yes, we are (going to seek a transfer QB),” Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze said during his early signing period press conference on Dec. 21. “If it’s the right one, that we believe we can win games with.”

Sanders and Armstrong are among the top quarterbacks that remain in the transfer portal, joining Arkansas‘ Malik Hornsby.

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Who’s next at QB for Florida? Here are some transfer portal options

Here are some of the top names to keep an eye on in the transfer portal as the Gators look for their next signal-caller.

Florida football faces some serious attrition at the quarterback position after the departure of starter [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] to the NFL draft and the dismissal of [autotag]Jalen Kitna[/autotag] from the program due to criminal charges. Add the revocation of 2023 recruit [autotag]Marcus Stokes[/autotag]’ scholarship due to unacceptable behavior, and [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] has quite a pickle to deal with this offseason.

The good news is the program has done very well bolstering its depth under center for the long term, earning commitments from 2023 five-star signal-caller [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag] as well as 2024’s [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag].

Unfortunately, there is only [autotag]Jack Miller III[/autotag] and a few other untested young gunslingers to help bridge the quarterback room in the interim, which means the Gators will need to dip into the NCAA transfer portal for at least one potential starter in 2023.

Take a look below at the list of potential transfer portal targets Gators Online’s Nick de la Torre put together in the second edition of his hot board, along with some relevant rankings and stats to go along with them.

Notre Dame football: Compelling quarterbacks continue to enter transfer portal

Which quarterback do you want Notre Dame to focus greatest on in the portal?

The Monday following the conference championship games in college football suddenly has the feel of national signing day all over again,  In a way, anyway.  Just instead of young men declaring where they’re going to play football, they’re instead saying their services are open for those interested.

Notre Dame is certainly a team that will be interested in adding a quarterback through the portal.  [autotag]Drew Pyne[/autotag] announced he’s entering it, and the lack of experience at the position for 2023 is a concern.  Who will Notre Dame target?

We have a running tracker of each quarterback to officially enter the portal.  As of this posting, there are nearly 60 names in it – go ahead and check it out or there will also be a link to it at the bottom of this post.

Here are a handful of names that are officially entered that may be competing to start in 2023 at Notre Dame.

Notre Dame football: 5 things to know for Dec. 2, 2022

An unexpectedly busy day in case you need to catch up

Well we’ve made it through our first work week of the postseason and Notre Dame will find out its bowl destination on Sunday. As we discussed earlier in the week, chances seem pretty strong that it will end up in Jacksonville for the Gator Bowl. One outlet still had it heading to the Holiday Bowl, so perhaps there will be a surprise.

Thursday wound up being a fairly busy day in the Notre Dame athletic land as expected College Football Playoff news was finally made official, perhaps the most intriguing quarterback to date entered the portal and the Irish landed their 26th commitment. All of that, a heartbreaking loss for the Irish women’s basketball team, and Paul Finebaum’s latest thoughts on Notre Dame’s independence are in your Five Things to Know for Friday, Dec. 2, 2022.

Pitt with pair of pick-sixes in 11 seconds against Virginia QB Brennan Armstrong

Pitt pilfered a pair of Virginia passes in the first 16 seconds for TDs

Virginia might want to consider sticking to the ground game.

The Cavaliers were playing the Pitt Panthers on Saturday in ACC action.

Brennan Armstrong attempted a pair of passes in the first 16 seconds and they had the same result … nothing Virginia wanted.

Armstrong’s pass five seconds into the game was picked by M.J. Devonshire, who returned it 29 yards for a touchdown.

If at first, you don’t succeed, why not try again?

That’s what Armstrong did with the same result.

This throw wound up in the hands of Marquise Williams, who returned it 39 yards for a score.

The Panthers were up 14-0 in 16 seconds and their offense had not taken the field.