Tag: Wolfpack

What went right and wrong in UNC’s win against NC State

A look back at UNC’s Saturday afternoon win, taking a closer look at what went right and wrong for the Tar Heels.

The UNC men’s basketball program brought out the brooms Saturday, sweeping NC State after a 79-70 victory.

Despite being the superior team, the Tar Heels struggled out the gate and the finish, proving no matter the record, when two rival teams face off you can throw records out the window. Outside of play being played at a higher level due to the rivalry aspect, UNC did a few right and wrong things that caused the rollercoaster affair.

A lot went right for UNC to secure the victory, but a majority of what went wrong took place in the first half, which is why the game was close in the first place.

In the first half, the defense was nonexistent, with NC State knocking in seven triples (64%), shooting 57.6% from the field to pour in 45 points. 13 of those 45 points were scored by UNC turnovers, as NC State continued to capitalize off the Tar Heels mistakes.

The second half painted a completely different story, with UNC playing juggernaut defense. They held NC State to 22.8% from the field in the second half, including a stretch of 15 consecutive missed shots for the Wolfpack. NC State’s hot shooting from three also vanished, knocking in 2 of 8 three-point attempts.

The finish was nearly a disaster, with UNC not delivering the blowout that was breading but getting the job done despite the few drops of sweat.

From an offensive standpoint, UNC did a great job attacking the basket, resulting in 27 free throw attempts, which they capitalized by shooting 85.2% from the line. [autotag]Elliot Cadeau[/autotag] had an aggressive outing, pushing the pace with 15 points and seven assists.

This win was ideal for UNC, who has two big games left, big for their reasons. They will take on Notre Dame on Tuesday, marking [autotag]Armando Bacot’s[/autotag] and potentially [autotag]RJ Davis’s[/autotag] last game in the Dean Smith Center. Then they travel across the street to take on arch-rival Duke Blue Devils, as they look to complete the regular season sweep.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Notre Dame-NC State Picks: Do Irish struggle in first true road game of ’23?

Does Notre Dame move to 3-0 or is trouble a brewing at NC State?

Notre Dame is 2-0 and has been untested in blowout victories over Navy and Tennessee State.  The subject matter gets more difficult this weekend though as the Irish are in Raleigh to take on NC State.

It’s just the fourth meeting all-time between the Irish and Wolfpack, a series NC State leads 2-1 since New Year’s Day 2003.  Will Notre Dame move the all-time series to even and more importantly, will the Irish be 3-0 when Central Michigan comes to South Bend next week?

Here is what the Fighting Irish Wire staff sees happening in the 12:00 p.m. ET kickoff on Saturday.

Related Notre Dame-NC State content:

Notre Dame updates depth chart ahead of NC State contest

Sam Hartman’s career struggles vs. NC State 

ESPN FPI Projects Notre Dame’s 10 remaining games for 2023

Notre Dame opponent adds Van Wilder-receiver through portal

He started college in 2016.

When Notre Dame travels to take on North Carolina State this September the Wolfpack will be playing with a new offensive weapon.  6-5, 200-pound Bradley Rozner is transferring to NC State from Rice.

Rozner brings not only size but an ability to make plays to Raleigh.  Last year he hauled in 44 receptions for 876 yards and 10 touchdowns.  For those scoring at home that’s just four yards shy of averaging 20 yards per reception.

Here’s the real kicker on Rozner, though.

2023 will be his eighth season of college football.

You read that correctly.

Eighth.

How?

He began his college career playing in junior college before transferring to Rice.  Once getting to Rice in 2019 he was granted an extra year of eligibility.  Then 2020 came and didn’t count against the eligibility of any player nationally.

Rozner then missed all of 2021 with an injury which obviously didn’t count against his eligibility.  Add it all together and he’s entering his eighth year of playing college football.

Notre Dame plays at NC State on September 9.

Somewhere Van Wilder smiles and approves of the move.

[lawrence-related id=28649,64292,74046,73946]

College football in a hurricane: Notre Dame tries throwing 31 times in middle of literal hurricane

What is your pick for all-time most memorable “weather game” in Notre Dame history?

This week ESPN’s “College Gameday” travels to Clemson, South Carolina for a battle between a couple of unbeaten squads as the host Tigers take on North Carolina State.  Notre Dame is off for their bye this week but with the weather that is expected it’s seemingly fitting from a Fighting Irish fan’s perspective that these two are meeting up.

Hurricane Ian is making landfall on Wednesday on Florida’s gulf coast and with it is bringing an incredible amount of rain and dangerously high winds.  In all seriousness, far beyond the importance of a silly football game this weekend or from years ago now, all the best to those having to evacuate or ride this thing out.

Clemson playing host to North Carolina State on Saturday will be played in what should be a ridiculous amount of rain and probably wind, too.  With it being at Clemson it brings back memories for Notre Dame fans as in 2015, the unbeaten Fighting Irish and Tigers met in Clemson and played a classic while being poured on by the rains from Hurricane Joaquin.

We looked back at that memorable night with photos here.

For Notre Dame fans it also brings back memories of one of the ugliest games in Notre Dame football history, the 2016 game at North Carolina State as the rains from Hurricane Matthew took a toll on the east coast.

The game was only memorable for all the wrong reasons, especially for Notre Dame.  Brian Kelly’s questionable game plan that afternoon called for 31 passes (five of which resulted in sacks) in conditions that featured a constant downpour as well as wind gusts north of 50 miles per hour.

It’s no surprise that the teams combined to throw for less than 100 yards and the only touchdown came on a botched punt.

Said [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] after the 10-3 defeat, “I think it was pretty evident to me that we were in need of throwing the football when we did throw it. We just weren’t as effective as I thought we could be.”

That one is still mind-numbing six years after the fact.

Perhaps it would have been wise to have pushed that one back a few weeks.

Then again, would anyone really look back on this meeting had it been played in sunny conditions?

Enjoy some incredible photos below from perhaps the most infamous weather game in the long history of Notre Dame football.

NC State freshman Tommy White keeps hitting home runs to cheer you up during MLB’s lockout

Tommy Tanks just will not stop hitting home runs.

There’s not a ton of great baseball news out there right now.

On Feb. 28, the deadline self-imposed by MLB owners to complete a full 162-game season, the men responsible for taking care of the sport reportedly told players the league is willing to cancel a month’s worth of games. Rather than negotiate in good faith with their work force, those in power would see fit to rob the world of baseball at the highest level even longer.

During a time of year when bats should be cracking across Florida and Arizona, players like Bryce Harper are teasing joining other leagues until the owner-led lockout is over.

It’s bleak out there is what we’re saying.

But amid an MLB-less spring, there is one ray of sunshine beaming down in North Carolina that’s giving fans a reason to crane their necks towards college baseball.

His name is Tommy White. He’s a freshman at NC State. And all he does is launch mammoth home runs.

The 18-year-old out of IMG Academy in Florida stands 6’1, 220 lbs. and pairs all the energy his frame can muster with the type of hand-eye coordination that turns opposing pitchers into Little Leaguers.

Through eight games to begin his college career, White has nine home runs and 29 RBI in 34 at-bats—good for a .588 batting average.

Not only has he recorded a hit in every game he’s played this season, he’s registered multiple hits in all but one contest. Oh, and he’s already been walked five times—including twice intentionally.

That certainly seems better than the alternative for opponents, which looks a lot like this:

That last clip was, indeed, a grand slam—his second home run of the game. It’s at this point we should note that Tommy Tanks only has three strikeouts this year. Some simple math would indicate he’s three times as likely to hit a home run as he is to go down on strikes.

Sure, it’s February, and NC State’s competition will get stiffer than the likes of Evansville, High Point, Longwood and Quinnipiac soon enough, but try telling that to Wolfpack alums who already want to workout with White.

Turner is far from the only one noticing White, either. With pro baseball on hold, anyone trying to get their baseball fix in can’t stop watching him send pitches into orbit.

“I’ve never experienced a hot streak like this,” White told MLB.com’s Nick Trujilo back when he had just seven home runs. “I think I had maybe five home runs in high school my senior year, so it’s pretty cool to go on this streak. I’m not really focused on how many I hit, just focused on hard contact, focusing on the game and the wins.”

And the legend only continues to grow.

MLB Pipeline had White ranked 107 overall in the 2021 draft, grading him him with 50 hit and 55 power (on a scale of 20-80) while pretty much nailing his profile at the plate:

“The big, strong right-handed hitter is all about the bat. White, thick and barrel-chested, has the chance to hit, and with plenty of power. He never gets cheated at the plate and has power to all fields, but scouts also like his approach and the balance he shows at the plate, with a knack for consistently barreling up the baseball.”

Somehow, even that was underselling him.

MLB owners may take away a lot of joy from baseball fans this year, but Tommy White will do his best to restore as much as he can by himself.

[mm-video type=video id=01fx100wj4aa9h76th0n playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fx100wj4aa9h76th0n/01fx100wj4aa9h76th0n-170f6a224fbf57157bff0507a1ac2d96.jpg]

[listicle id=1852461]

More heartbreak for N.C. State

The heartbreak N.C. State has suffered this year due to COVID-19 just got worse. Earlier in the year the Wolfpack was unable to finish the championship series in the College World Series. Tuesday, just hours before the Holiday Bowl UCLA pulled out …

The heartbreak N.C. State has suffered this year due to COVID-19 just got worse.  Earlier in the year the Wolfpack was unable to finish the championship series in the College World Series.

Tuesday, just hours before the Holiday Bowl UCLA pulled out of the game so the game was cancelled.

Notre Dame Football’s TBT Tonight – 2017 NC State

If baseball returning isn’t your thing then enjoy a huge win from Notre Dame’s 2017 football season tonight on the ND Athletics Youtube page

If you’re one of the few in the nation that hasn’t gotten tired of watching old games yet then it’s a good night for you to check out Notre Dame’s Thursday Night Watch Party.

That’s not meant as a knock at the premise whatsoever, it’s been fun to tune in and watch parts of old games with their YouTube setup the last few months.  It’s just that tonight I’m really happy live, meaningful baseball is finally back.

But if baseball isn’t your thing then Notre Dame Athletics again has you covered as they’ll be replaying the 2017 win over North Carolina State.

As you may recall, Notre Dame entered the contest ranked in the top-ten while the Wolfpack weren’t half shabby themselves as they were ranked in the top 15 nationally.

Josh Adams had a long touchdown run that afternoon when “33 Trucking” was a Heisman campaign and a sophomore defensive back named Julian Love essentially ended the Wolfpack hopes of victory with a pick-six.

The win moved Notre Dame to 7-1 and at the time, had them thinking College Football Playoff for the first time in program history.

If you’re interested in re-watching tonight or at some point down the road, use the link right here and relive some of one of the best afternoons from a fun 2017.

Florida Gators football schedules home-and-home with North Carolina State

The Florida Gators and North Carolina State Wolfpack announced via Twitter a future home-and-home series on Thursday between the two schools

The Florida Gators and North Carolina State Wolfpack announced a future home-and-home series on Thursday.

Both schools shared the news on their official Twitter accounts.

The series will begin in 2026 with the Gators making the trip to Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, and the Wolfpack traveling to Gainesville in 2032 to complete the two-game set.

These two programs have met 14 times before, with the last meeting coming in the Gator Bowl on New Year’s Eve in 1992. Florida won that contest, 27-10, and holds a 9-4-1 all-time advantage.

A member of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s (ACC) Atlantic Division, North Carolina State is coached by Dave Doeren, who is entering his eighth season at the helm.

After leading the Wolfpack to five-straight bowl appearances from 2014-18, the program limped to a 4-8 record a year ago. Doeren’s squad is scheduled to begin the 2020 campaign on September 2 with a road divisional clash against the Louisville Cardinals, followed by hosting a Southeastern Conference (SEC) opponent, the Mississippi State Bulldogs, in their home-opener on September 12.

Set to begin the third year of his tenure, Dan Mullen’s Gators are slated to host the Eastern Washington Eagles in their season-opener on September 5.

In addition to their annual rivalry with the Florida State Seminoles, Florida has one other ACC foe on their upcoming non-conference schedule, a home-and-home with the Miami Hurricanes in 2024-25.

[lawrence-related id=17779,17765,17743,17741]

Watch: New Notre Dame Corner’s Career Highlights

Notre Dame added a new cornerback in grad-transfer Nick McCloud on Monday. See McCloud’s best highlights from North Carolina State here.

North Carolina State graduate transfer Nick McCloud announced his commitment to Notre Dame on Monday.  McCloud joins a secondary that will be going through an overhaul entering the 2021 season.

So what is Notre Dame getting in McCloud?  We could write about him all day.  In fact, Mike Chen already did after McCloud announced his commitment to Notre Dame earlier today.  When you’re done checking that out you can also check out McCloud’s highlight tape during his time at North Carolina State below.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5hG3raHB4Q&w=560&h=315]

The former three-star recruit to North Carolina State had 105 tackles and three interceptions during his time with the Wolfpack.  McCloud played in just two games last season as the captain suffered a knee injury early on in the year.

The commitment of McCloud is the second big win for new defensive backs coach Mike Mickens in the past week as the Irish also landed a commitment from Philip Ryley from Florida.

Top DT prospects for the Steelers in the 2020 NFL Draft

Who will replace Javon Hargrave? These defensive tackles are projected to be available second-to-mid rounds

With the departure of defensive tackle Javon Hargrave via free agency, expect the Pittsburgh Steelers to select his replacement in the second-to-mid rounds.

Here are the top DTs projected to be available:

Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

Raekwon Davis | Alabama

Height: 6-6          Weight: 316

As a reserve in his freshman year, Davis contributed four tackles and one sack. He became a playmaker as a sophomore by posting 69 tackles, 10 for loss, and a team-high 8.5 sacks in 14 games (six starts), which earned him first-team All-SEC honors. During Alabama’s title run that year, Davis had 10 tackles, two sacks, and an INT in the team’s two playoff wins. His production dropped off his junior and senior seasons.

Davis compiled 67 solo tackles, 108 assists, 19.5 TFL, 11.5 sacks, one INT, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery during his career at Alabama.

Davis is a versatile run defender who can play DT or NT versus the run. With excellent strength and power, he is tough to move off the ball. He completely controls his run lane in either 1-gap or 2-gap situations. The more Davis played his last two seasons, his effectiveness as a pass-rusher diminished; he was better when he was fresh and played fewer reps.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7