From this depressing season of football that originally had many fans believing we would be at least a bowl contender, we now see that this team is not what we hoped it would be. State, it’s time to put on your big boy pants and realize what a grave mistake was made in firing Tom O’Brien.

Do you know the last season that we went 0-6 in the ACC? I’ll give you a hint: It was the only season we went 0-6 in the ACC. 1959, according to GoPack.com.

1959 was a terrible season, and we only had one win that season. In fact, it is considered one of the worst seasons that we have ever had. And we are on the verge of having an even worse ACC record this season.

Our record has nothing to do with the difficulty of the opponents, home-away advantage or the fact that we have a lot of rookies playing. Because we have one of the easiest schedules in FBS division I football, we have eight home games out of 12, and if you’re on the field regardless of if you are a rookie or not, apparently you deserve so there is no excuse there. Our opponents, other than Clemson and Florida State, have not been outstanding, nor should we have lost against them. We have eight home games, and during this season we only leave North Carolina twice. Every team has had a season where many of its players were rookies, but there’s a reason for that — the rookies are obviously better or show more potential than the current players. There is absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t be at least 5-4 right now.

All I have heard all season is excuses by the fans and the staff. Realize something now, Pack: It can get better, but it won’t. 

As Andrew Schuett and Zach Tanner quoted head coach Dave Doeren in their story “Trifecta of interceptions doom Wolfpack in fourth quarter against Duke,” “We’re running the football effectively, it’s just the passing game right now that needs a boost.” 

This is completely false. Doeren has given our backs 400 chances to run the ball, and only given our receivers 311 chances. 

I did my research and fact-checked Doeren and anyone who still defends his style of coaching. I looked at the comparison between running and passing on GoPack.com. Now, if you have been to any of the football games this season you would probably say that Doeren runs the ball a lot, and in fact he does. We have run the ball 400 times for 1637 yards for an average per rush at 4.1 yards. We have passed the ball 311 for 2053 yards for an average per pass at 6.6 yards. 

Not only is our team running the ball a lot more than passing it, but we are also doing it less effectively. With 89 more chances running the ball than passing the ball our team has produced 416 less yards. And those 311 passes account for every single pass attempt even if it was out-of-bounds, incomplete, intercepted, blocked, et cetera. 

I am sick and tired of seeing our team — a team that could be 6-3 right now — at 3-6 with little hope to do better.

I know the old mantra is to let the head coach have some time to get his system in and get his players in, but there is one thing that Doeren has to realize: The team he has now was created under the O’Brien system. Sure, Doeren can push his ideals and mentality on the team, but we have wide receivers and linemen that were recruited for passing. 

I had put my hopes into this team, and I was sorely disappointed. I am not a person to back down from rooting just because of a loss or two (trust me — I’m a fan of the Jacksonville Jaguars), but I am a person who knows when his team is making the wrong decisions and is losing not because they don’t have the talent, but because the system they are in is failing. 

So maybe — just maybe — we might have a half decent record in four years after we will have suffered no bowl games, came last in the ACC, and become the butt of every football joke in North Carolina. But hell, I guess if the head coach is not O’Brien then everything will be great, right?

Gregory McClanahan

sophomore, physics