A Heartbreak

Going into Saturdays game hopes were high for almost every Wolfpack fan in the country. A chance to be a part of the ACC championship game the following Saturday night  right down the road in Charlotte was on the line. A quick start by the Pack was what everyone was hoping for and is what everyone got. Following a rushing and throwing touchdown by Russell Wilson North Carolina State was up 14-0 in the first quarter. At this point all I could see was the Pack winning the ACC and being a part of a BCS bowl game. This assumption was a huge mistake. These fourteen points were answered by 31 straight points by the Maryland Terrapins. The Pack found themselves down 31-17 late in the fourth quarter due to sloppy offensive play, bad coaching, and lazy defense. These are things we have not seen all year long until now when it mattered most. How could a team playing for so much give up so much on the final game of the season. It was a terrible lose that will be remembered forever as what could of been. The final score was 38-31 and the Pack found themselves in fourth place in the ACC as they traveled back to Raleigh.
Although the Wolfpack failed to gain a berth into the ACC championship they still find themselves at 8-4 with a chance to gain a bid into a respectable bowl game. The ACC has seven bowl spots including the BCS Orange Bowl in Miami which now the Pack can not qualify for because only the ACC champion may take place in this bowl. The next best bowl is the Chick-Fil-A bowl which is a potential bowl for the Pack but will most likely go to the looser of the ACC title game. My prediction for the Wolfpack is to end up in the Champs sports bowl against Notre Dame.
Being in the Orange bowl would be great for the program and the school but being in the Champs Sports bowl in Orlando Florida against a high profile school such as Notre Dame would be a good step up from where the Wolfpack were last year not having a bowl game at all.

Look for another post next Sunday when bowls are decided.