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Joey Johnston's Sidelines: Wolfpack Struggles

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 20, 2008

Since Nov. 17, 2007, North Carolina State has run 208 plays against Division I-A competition without scoring an offensive touchdown (not counting this season's 34-24 victory against Division I-AA William & Mary).

Since Jamelle Eugene's third-quarter touchdown last season against Wake Forest, the Wolfpack offense has:

•Rushed 98 times.

•Attempted 110 passes.

•Punted 21 times.

•Lost three fumbles.

•Thrown six interceptions.

All without finding the end zone.

It doesn't figure to get easier today when national darling East Carolina comes to town. Next Saturday, the USF Bulls visit N.C. State.

Difficult Stretch

With the previously scheduled Sept. 13 Arkansas-Texas game moved to next Saturday because of Hurricane Ike, the Razorbacks face one of the most difficult four-game stretches (without a bye week) in program history:

Today - No. 9 Alabama

Next Saturday - at No. 7 Texas

Oct. 4 - No. 4 Florida

Oct. 11 - at No. 10 Auburn

And Bobby Petrino thought the NFL life was difficult.

Big One In ACC

North Carolina CB Kendric Burney calls it "step one to getting to Tampa."

That might be overstating the case. The Tar Heels (2-0) have a long way to go to reach the Dec. 6 ACC Championship Game at Raymond James Stadium. But UNC's league opener today against Virginia Tech (2-1, 1-0) is clearly the biggest game in the two-season tenure of Coach Butch Davis.

If UNC can topple the Hokies, it would take early control of the ACC Coastal Division (with a trip to Miami set for next Saturday).

The Tiger Bowl

Tonight's annual LSU-Auburn showdown, where the game's winner has captured the SEC West in five of the last seven years, has developed into perhaps the league's showcase event. LSU leads the all-time series 22-19-1 (20 of them were decided by a touchdown or less). In recent years, the games have become so memorable, they have acquired nicknames:

Year	Winner	Nickname	Comment
1988	LSU 7-6	The Earthquake Game	Crowd noise on LSU's late TD measured on school seismograph
1994	Auburn 30-26	The Interception Game	Unbeaten Auburn scores on three fourth-quarter interceptions
1995	LSU 12-6	The White Jersey Game	Charged-up LSU wears home whites for first time in 13 years
1996	LSU 19-15	The Night The Barn Burned	Auburn Sports Arena caught on fire outside stadium
1997	Auburn 31-28	The Comeback	Dameyune Craig leads 10-play, 80-yard drive in last three minutes
2004	Auburn 10-9	The Extra-Point Game	Auburn converts second-chance PAT after personal foul
2005	LSU 20-17 (OT)	The Field-Goal Game	Auburn's John Vaughn misses five field-goal attempts
2006	Auburn 7-3	The No-Call Game	Auburn's fourth-quarter pass interference call waved off by officials
2007	LSU 30-24	The Catch	LSU's Demetrius Byrd catches 24-yard TD pass with one second left

Boomer Sooner

With Bob Stoops reaching the milestone last week, Oklahoma became the first school in NCAA history to have four coaches with 100 career victories:

Coach	OU record	Seasons
Barry Switzer	157-29-4	1973-88
Bud Wilkinson	145-29-4	1947-63
Bennie Owen	122-54-16	1905-26
Bob Stoops	100-22	1999-

Words From Wooden

The UCLA Bruins opened with an emotional come-from-behind overtime victory against Tennessee.

Then UCLA followed with a 59-0 loss at BYU.

First-year Bruins coach Rick Neuheisel, who faces Arizona in today's Pac-10 opener, opened his news conference this week by reading from a handwritten letter, sent by former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden.

"You have to have the self-control to forget about it. Losing is only temporary and not all-encompassing."

Wooden wrote that there would be peaks and valleys.

"I just didn't realize it would be in the first two weeks," Neuheisel said.

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