After an entire offseason of media members describing the Wolfpack’s opening leg of the football schedule as a “cupcake schedule,” the team has proven that anything can happen.
Following a tough conference-opening loss at the hands of Wake Forest, senior wide receiver T.J . Graham knows the Pack needs to take the Jaguars of South Alabama seriously.
“We need to prepare for them like they are a National Championship team,” Graham said. “We’re trying to win an ACC championship. So, we have to prepare like that and treat them like any other team.”
The Jaguars might not be contending for a BCS title any time in the near future, but the FCS powerhouse has won 19 straight games since its inception in 2009.
While the Jaguars are not in the same conference or the same division as the Demon Deacons, they do run a similar defense. The 3-4 scheme features only three defensive linemen and four linebackers as the front seven, which helped the Pack open up the passing game against the Deacons in the second half.
Unlike the Deacons, the Jaguars depend on their cornerbacks by using man-to-man defense, which Graham feels the team should be able to exploit throughout the game.
“They play a lot of man defense,” Graham said. “So we’re going to try to create mismatches and should be able to get open down the field.”
While Graham feels the Pack should be able to open up the passing game, he also understands the defensive schemes the Jaguars present might be challenging.
“Nothing’s going to be easy,” Graham said. “They are pretty fast and pretty physical. We’re going to have to work for it. They’re going to give us their best shot, so we’re just going to have to get after it and respond.”
The USA offense runs primarily through the two-headed back system of freshmen running backs Demetre Baker and Kendall Houston. The two backs have averaged over 5 yards per carry and 121 yards per game through the first two games played.
Another player to watch is Enrique Williams of the Jaguars. The 6-foot, 235-pound linebacker leads USA with 3.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble that he recovered. Williams is strong and agile, as he split time in high school as a running back and linebacker.
Though the Pack will be battling against the Jaguars on Saturday, senior wide receiver Tobias Palmer said his competition with Graham has helped him to get to a new level.
“[The competition] has helped us a lot,” Palmer said. “It’s brought something to this offense that the coaches have said they haven’t seen in a long time. We’re trying to continually get better and get more of a spark from the other guys on the offensive side of the ball as well.”
While the Pack left Winston-Salem with a loss this past weekend, N.C . State fans had some confidence in the passing game thanks to the arm of redshirt junior quarterback Mike Glennon , along with Palmer and Graham.
Both receivers hauled in touchdown receptions of over 60 yards, and Palmer said the speed of the defensive backs for the Jaguars might be a key to success for the Pack.
“We think we can take advantage of their corners,” Palmer said. “The way they play is not really a different style from what we practice here. We’ve just got to be physical, more focused and ready to play on Saturday.”
Though both Palmer and Graham seem to think the passing game might be the solution to earning a win over the Jaguars, Glennon is not so quick to pull the trigger on which way the offense should be run.
“I think we are really just going to take what the defense gives us,” Glennon said. “That has always been our philosophy. I don’t think there is ever the mindset going into the game that it’s going to specifically be a passing or running game predominantly. We’re just going to go out there and take what we can get.”
