Tonight’s NC State vs Georgia Tech is an important one for both teams. Obviously, for State and coach Chuch Amato, this game is a chance to get back on track and fight off the critics. The loss to UNC two weeks ago has set off daily arguments in the newspapers, on message boards and on sports radio about how far State has or has not climbed and whether or not Chuck Amato is doing a good job.
The News & Observer’s Caulton Tudor wrote an article today saying that State really hasn’t improved much on the field during Amato’s tenure. Now, I haven’t been to any State message boards today, but I can guarantee you that that article has the Wolfpack faithful in an uproar (yep, I checked and here they go – actually many think he was accurate.). First off, they seem to distrust the local media, the N&O in particular. Second, while the article is actually pretty fair, the headline (probably picked by someone other than Tudor) is a bit misleading. It reads “Amato era hasn’t improved Wolfpack.” If you actually read it though, you’ll see that that’s not a fair assessment of Tudor’s point. He makes it clear that in many ways, NC State has improved, mainly in facilities and recruiting. They’ve also had more wins over top-tier teams. What hasn’t improved much over the O’Cain and Sheridan days is the overall record, especially when you consider how many patsies State has scheduled over the past six seasons. Even the most ardent Amato supporter would have to concede that fact. The numbers don’t lie.
All that said, this game isn’t only critical for the Pack. Chan Gailey entered this season on nearly as hot a seat as Amato finds himself on now. Gailey cooled that off considerably by winning at Auburn and then beating North Carolina, a win that looks better each week. Unfortunately, nothing cools the fire of an excited fan base like a 51-7 drubbing. Lose a second game in a row and this season for Tech will look like a microcosm of Amato’s career – hot start, cool present.
So, yes this game is a big one. It won’t decide an ACC champion. It won’t even decide a division champion. But it will likely determine the direction of both teams’ seasons. And it might well determine the fate of one of the coaches. For sure, after a bad loss and a bye week, both teams will be going at it HARD. And the whole country gets to watch.