Wolfpack will be without QB Wilson vs. USF

USF's game Saturday at N.C. State just got a little bit easier, as Wolfpack coach Tom O'Brien said Monday that freshman quarterback Russell Wilson, the ACC Offensive Player of the Week, will not play against the Bulls because of an unspecified injury.

What's more, linebacker Nate Irving, N.C. State's leading tackler, will miss the game with a lower leg injury, O'Brien said. With Wilson not playing, the Wolfpack will turn to former Clearwater Countryside and Nebraska quarterback Harrison Beck, who started four games last year and has played off the bench this season. Here's the full story at Gopack.com.

Comments

[Packfan2003]

The Wolfpack are gonna tear up USF. Keep thinking that you are so much better than the Pack. Even with injured starters in all skill positions, we will still win.

[Bulliever]

I thought our defense looked good at the FIU game...And our offense was not that bad either (we were able to move the ball)....we had a few bad offensive calls and we did coughed up the ball 4 times in the red zone...Had we converted 2 of those fumbles to touch downs and the other 2 to field goals...that would be 20 points...We would have had 37 points and we would not be freakin' out...FIU definitely was prepared for us...they played us like it was their Bowl Game...

We should be ready....

But, I do have some questions about the play calling regarding the offense...Gregory worries me!

I am thinking he should have a new title...Offending Coordinator.

[Reality]

or even consistency.........or is consistancy some new misspelling that I am unaware of? I saw your '' so I have to ask.

[TampaAEguy]

Reality - that is EXACTLY why we get negative after we play down to one of the "scrubs." One loss to a scrub can ruin a season and a ranking. And sometimes it can even snowball. Just look at last year. We have the talent. We just need the motivation. The key word is 'consistancy.'

[Reality]

If we do not beat NCSU by at least 30, I will be disappointed. We are SOOOO much better than they are, and with the motivation, it will be a beat down, you heard it here FIRST!

You guys get so negative after we play down to these scrub teams, and don;t realize that we only get up for the big games.

The sad part is we will probably lose one of these scrub games, due to the lack of desire to show up every game!

[Jordan]

I believe, repeat, believe that he played quite a bit in the South Carolina game. If I am correct, he didnt look to special.

Oregon's starting QB and backup QB were out during the bowl game. We played against their third stringer, who we had no tape on and turned out to be surprisingly good. I smell a rat with NCST too, but our D better prepare for either situation. We're too good to lose this one! Go Bulls!!

[Ken]

The reserve QB used to start, the article says. No doubt he's pretty good and has a lot to prove. I don't expect any noticeable letdown from that. We'll have to play our best to win--for real.

[USF95]

It's not like NC State is ranked or will get ranked anytime soon. O'Brien could truly be concerned about an injury to his redshirt freshman QB. He may be able to play with the injury this week but could risk further injury if he plays. Why would you risk losing your starting QB for the year over a non-conference game. We need this victory for our ranking and for the Big East. NC State would like to win but this is not a critical game for them. If I was in O'Brien's shoes then I would rest him this week to get him 100% healthy for conference play.

[Jordan]

Oregon also had a kid named Stewart, who is currently fighting for the starting job on the Carolina Panthers.

[Don Corleone]

Oregon was missing their starting QB, but they had 4 weeks to prepare.

[boiled]

I believe Oregon was missing their starting QB too.

[SailingBull]

Smoke and mirrors, heh? They slap us with a silly jab to distract us, then spin this story about their QB being "hurt".

Bulls better be ready for this kid to play.

[Rat Fink]

Agree. Definately BS. He will play.

[Don Corleone]

EW, I smell a rat too. I watched large parts of the NCSU v. ECU, and I noticed nothing wrong with Wilson. In college, there are no injury report stipulations, so Wilson can “miraculously” come off the bench to spark his team ala Willis Reed.

[EW]

I'm wondering if this is just propaganda to make USF prepare for both QBs. What's the chance of that?

[Jerome]

Everyone please calm down about the sleepwalking display we put on at FIU. Anyone who truly follows the Bulls knows that they lay a stinkbomb once or twice a year when their opponent doesn't get them fired up. NC State will certainly have our attention this week. They are responsible for our only shutout in program history along with the nasty quote from their coach. Remember, we sleep walked through our game against Elon last year before we played at Auburn. That game turned out okay. I just think our team lacks some self-motivation sometimes against weaker opponents.

[Sailingbull]

Greg,

Any news on the other injuries sustained Saturday night? That was a pretty scary hit to the defense.

[Mike Lakeland]

We had better get rid of the FIU hangover, or we will be 4-1 a week from now.

NC State is NOT to be taken as lightly as FIU.

[Falko]

If the Bulls play like they did against FIU it won't matter who is injured or not, we will lose. I'm not getting my hopes up over a few injuries on their team.

[Windbane]

Cool, thanks MiggyBull.

Greg, is there any news on Erskin's return to practice? Is he going to play this week or next when we start conference play?

[RR]

I would find it VERY difficult to post anything complimentary about the Bulls after this past Saturday.

With a good game this Saturday, that could change.

Last Saturday's performance is lingering like a mouthful of rotten anchovies right now.

[USF95]

I watched Beck a few times last year and he was absolutely awful. However, with that said we can't play like we did last week against FIU or this will be a loss. NC State is not very good but they are a lot better than FIU and this will be in front of 50,000 plus NC State fans. USF better come ready to play or they will lose this game. The whole Big East is riding USF this year. We can't afford to lose this game for not only USF but for the Big East.

[MiggyBull]

Windbane: I already sent an e-mail to the author, who graciously admitted the mistake in that very quote and pledged to correct it.

[Windbane]

Can someone explain this quote? "South Florida comes to Carter-Finley with the highest ranking in school history." Now, I doubt it's the highest ranking ever to pay at NC State, and it's not even USF's highest ranking this season...very odd...that's in the article that Greg linked about NC State's injuries.

[Mike]

I'm sorry for making light of the injury to NCSU's Nate Irving, but THANK YOU. This guy would wreak havoc on our offense if he played. Nate Irving is a beast.

[Reality]

Harrison is one of the most overrated QB's ever, and that is why Callahan is gone. His mom is probably the reason that he was pumped up to be so great.

Go Tornadoes!

[Evan]

Well, that 109th ranked total offense will be even worse. If that's even possible. Even with a lackluster performance against FIU our defense is still ranked 12th. Our 19th ranked offense should have another great performance against a weak ACC school. Thanks Coach for the motivation.

Maybe Mike Ford got the rust off. He looked SLOW. Any news on that?? Was he still hurt or just out of shape?

[Stephen Blackehart]

Obviously there's a reason Wilson was starting over Beck, and with good results, but lets not overlook that part about Beck being formerly of Nebraska. If he was recruited there, presumably under Callahan, I'm guessing he's not bad. All we need is for the Bulls to begin chalking this up as a W before the game is played. We can see from the UCF and FIU games how we perform when we prepare with hubris.