Tom O’Brien celebrated his birthday Monday and while addressing the press listed a Pack win as the only thing on his birthday wish list.  

“I want a victory,” O’Brien said. “I lost last year on my birthday.” 

After a close loss to Wake Forest last weekend where Russell Wilson’s NCAA record 379 pass streak came to an end, the Pack is looking to rebound with a victory over Duke. Redshirt graduate student defensive end Willie Young, who currently ranks third nationally in sacks, emphasized the importance of the game and conference play. 

“We have to win our conference games to get to the ACC title game, and that’s the most important thing right now,” Young said. “This is definitely a big game. From here on out, all our games are in the conference. It’s not going to get any easier. It’s buckle down and play ball.” 

According to Young, despite the importance of this game, the Wolfpack is still preparing similarly to previous weeks. 

“We’re getting ready the same way we prepare ourselves for anyone else,” Young said. “We come out here everyday, we’re not worried about what happened last week. We’re getting ready for Duke.” 

Both offensively and defensively, State will take this week of preparation to focus and try to rectify its mistakes from last week’s loss.  

“We’re still looking to have a successful season, and we’re still looking to do big things,” Young said. “So it’s going to be important for us to stay focused this whole week and correct our mistakes from last weekend, work on it and get better throughout the whole week.” 

Young added the mistakes are easily fixable and dependent on the will of the players.  

“The mistakes were guys being two or three yards off of where they were supposed to be, or missed tackles, and can easily be fixed,” Young said. “It’s about whether we want to.”  

And when asked if he wanted to pick up a victory Saturday, Young laughed and asked, “Do you really want me to answer that question?”   

The Pack hopes to continue its in-state success from last year this Saturday at Carter-Finley. Thaddeus Lewis, last year’s second-team All-ACC quarterback selection, leads the Blue Devils.

“It’s like a rival game, we have to show up to play Saturday,” Young said. “[Thaddeus Lewis] is going to have to make plays. We’re not going to make it easy, he’s going to have to prove that he’s the athlete that he is. And like I said, we’re in the conference. Things can go any way.”