Wolfpack stars hope to bounce back
Friday's opener against Tennessee was anything but a shining moment for the two most recognizable faces on NC State's football team: fifth-year senior quarterback Mike Glennon and junior cornerback David Amerson.
Glennon completed 27 of 46 passes for 288 yards, one touchdown and a career-high four interceptions. Amerson had eight tackles, six of them solo, and a pass breakup, but he was on the wrong end of two long touchdown passes in the first half that helped the Vols build an early 22-7 lead.
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Earlier this week, Wolfpack head coach Tom O'Brien emphasized that both players needed to have amnesia when it came to that game. Both players insisted that they have already moved on.
"Really when you walk off the field you got to look over it, you got to move on to your next opponent," Amerson said. "I'm not going to lie, I thought about it that night and everything, but the next day it's a new opponent. I can't dwell on the past."
Glennon added that State is adopting a mantra of taking games "one week at a time."
"Obviously with all the hard work we put in it was a tough loss," Glennon said. "You never want to lose a game especially when you put a lot of work into it, but we know we have to move forward. It's a new week, and a fresh start, and that's the way we're looking at it."
The Tennessee loss was not devoid of positives. Glennon noted that when he watched the game film, "there were definitely signs of really good football."
"There were just too many mistakes which you cannot afford to have against a team like that," he concluded. "There were signs of some very good things, and some times where we executed very well."
Amerson has noted a "different intensity" in practice this week as the Pack prepares to travel to Connecticut for a noon kickoff Saturday. He also added that State has battled through adversity before, especially last season.
"I'm definitely eager to get back out there, just bounce back, not only for myself but for my teammates," Amerson stated.
Saturday could be an important game for Amerson and the defense. Connecticut's defense not only shut out Massachusetts in the Huskies' season-opening 37-0 win last Thursday, they held the Minutemen to just three first downs and 59 yards of total offense.
Glennon can see why when he examined Connecticut on film.
"They're very active," Glennon noted. "They seem like they've played a lot of football. They know what they're doing. They fly around the football.
"They are good at getting after the quarterback. They're just very active. They all seem to have high motors. It seems like they are everywhere sometimes. They are very well coached, very well disciplined and come after you."