Wolfpack defense sinks Withers’ ‘flagship’

Ask a Wolfpack fan, any fan, which game is the most important each year to win? The response is an easy one: any game against UNC-Chapel Hill.

Saturday afternoon, coach Tom O’Brien did what only one other coach has done in program history – defeat the Heels five times in a row.

Former football coach Dick Sheridan took down UNC five straight years from 1988-92 and set the mark for excellence against the Pack’s rivals.

What makes O’Brien’s run against the Heels different? O’Brien capped his streak with the first shutout over the Heels since 1960 in the 13-0 win Saturday.

When asked to explain his dominance over the past five seasons against the Heels, O’Brien kept his explanation close to the chest.

“I don’t know if we’ve been dominant,” O’Brien said. “Three of the previous four games went right down to the last play. Other than the turnover game over there, 13 to nothing is probably the largest victory we’ve had.”

This rivalry has enough fuel to get fans, players and coaches excited before the kickoff, but that didn’t stop UNC interim coach Everett Withers from making offensive comments towards N.C . State as a whole.

Though O’Brien was a little more mild-mannered in his postgame interview, his players said that the comments from Withers and their coach’s response helped fire them up for this game.

“I give all the credit to [ UNC ] for firing us up for this game,” junior linebacker Terrell Manning said. “Anytime you have a coach come out and say something like [Withers] did, the team really rolls off of that.”

Redshirt junior quarterback Mike Glennon said O’Brien’s statements leading up to the game displayed his love for more than just the football program.

“He showed our team that he has our back and the University’s back,” he said. “He’s not even an alumni of our school and he took it pretty personally. I think it definitely added some fire for us and it was out of character for him so we understood how much it meant to him.

“We definitely took it to heart.”

Unlike in past games for the Pack, the defense was the story throughout the game. UNC couldn’t get the offense going against a stout front seven for the Pack led by senior middle linebacker Audie Cole and Manning.

Bryn Renner was sacked three times in the first half alone and was picked off by redshirt junior safety Earl Wolff at midfield. Cole’s sack was on the first drive of the game for the Heels and set the tone for the Pack defense, as he took Renner down 19 yards behind the line of scrimmage.

Cole said the performance by the defense was needed after a tough game against Florida State last weekend.

“This was a big one to have,” Cole said. “I think the defense showed what we could do today.”

While Cole was the story of the first half, Manning put the clamps on the UNC offense in the second half.

Manning had a sack in the third quarter for a loss of 12 yards that forced a punt and kept the ball in State territory. Then, in the waning moments of the game, Manning secured a shutout for the Pack with a tipped pass on a crossing pattern with UNC in the red zone.

Manning said he wanted to get the tipped pass for more than just himself or the shutout, but rather for his team.

“It was big for me, but I felt like it was crucial for everybody on my team,” Manning said. “Everybody was fired up and I guess I was just the one that did it.”

While Manning and Cole, along with several others, played shut down defense for the Pack, the other story of the game was one that doesn’t get as much attention – field position.

Freshman punter Wil Baumann pinned the North Carolina offense behind its own 10-yard line four times, the same amount of times that State started in UNC territory.

O’Brien said Baumann’s performance was crucial for the Pack, but that it’s just a continuation of his effectiveness against Florida State.

“You have to give [ Baumann ] a lot of credit,” O’Brien said. “Last week he played in a similar position and I think he did a great job. When you play, it’s not always offense versus defense. Field position certainly is part of it.”

When one reporter asked O’Brien about the importance of this game to him personally,  the response he gave was one of a coach not looking back, but forward.

“I’m already worried about Boston College,” O’Brien said. “That’s just the way I am. I never play this for me. My job is to make sure I do everything to get them prepared for the football game. With that being said, I’m certainly going to enjoy this one tonight.”

The Pack will be traveling up to Chestnut Hill, Mass. next Saturday to take on the Eagles at 12:30 p.m . Though State beat Boston College last year, 44-10, it has never beaten them at Alumni Stadium since O’Brien left the Eagles for the Pack.