The #goacc Moment of the Week (10/31/2016)

The weekly in-depth look at the best (worst?) moments in ACC schadenfreude.

Folks, I’m not going to lie it took me a lot of energy to even write this week after what happened Saturday. Still quite haven’t come to grips with the fact that the Pack lost to Boston College, but perhaps we can make things a tad better by making fun of things from the rest of the conference. Last week, we saw Louisville’s glow in the dark cleats used during a day game win over a pretty tough field. We’ve got another stacked field, plus quite possibly the most ridiculous #suregrin winner we’ve had in awhile and of course, some wrasslin’ wisdom. Let’s get down to the vote, which is your #goacc Moment of the Week? Vote below!

1. Jay Williams protecting the streets as Michelangelo.

(h/t @RealJayWilliams).

Keeping these city streets safe. #Turtlepower http://pic.twitter.com/nIkuwGUVUL

— Jay Williams (@RealJayWilliams) October 30, 2016

Gonna start this post off with a blistering hot take that Williams chose the wrong ninja turtle. Raphael was infinitely cooler, come on Jay.

2. Andy Richter destroyed two annoying Clemson fans at a bar.

(h/t @AndyRichter).

Just sitting at the hotel bar in NYC texting w my sister about the Cubs game. I may be a little disappointed about the score http://pic.twitter.com/cvVoNwjMg3

— Andy Richter (@AndyRichter) October 30, 2016

Seriously LOL at Clemson fans calling the World Series "regional."

3. State fan was reading a book at the game against BC.

(h/t @919VTHokie15).

Seriously who reads at a football game? #goacc #ncstate http://pic.twitter.com/T85WaK5tnJ

— Ryan Kane (@919VThokie15) October 29, 2016

Truthfully, I can’t blame this woman for wanting to read at the game what looks like a textbook of some kind given the post-it notes stuck in it. That was probably more enjoyable than watching that embarrassingly bad offensive performance. When Jaylen Samuels only has three passes thrown his way, you need to reevaluate your offensive game plan. Sorry, I’ll get off my soap box now.

4. Tim Duncan ethered Sean Elliot.

(h/t @SBNation).

Tim Duncan is spending his retirement razzing old teammates with text message jokes:https://t.co/dBpUjDLIjq http://pic.twitter.com/bT9PAKQlCF

— SB Nation (@SBNation) October 29, 2016

Good lord Tim, that was savage as hell. They should have Duncan on one of the next celebrity roasts they do on Comedy Central for burns like that.

5. ACC Basketball’s media day featured this incredible segment.

(h/t @ESPNU).

We know these @theACC players can play…but can they DANCE?

The #LittleExperts investigate! http://pic.twitter.com/mFncZdHJB8

— ESPNU (@ESPNU) October 28, 2016

I’m not sure if this is a new thing or I’ve just been living under a rock, but the Little Experts need to be a regular thing during basketball season this year. Definitely watch this one all the way through, particularly when they ask Joel Berry about his hair.

6. Apparently Drake is now an FSU fan.

(h/t @FSU_Football).

Happy Birthday to our biggest fan! @Drake http://pic.twitter.com/PIovYDf1ru

— FSU Football (@FSU_Football) October 24, 2016

Man, I’m not sure who is the biggest fan of more sports teams, Drake or Kenny Chesney.

7. One State fan had a chunk of the section all to themselves.

(h/t @wmgadd).

That's some serious B.O. #NCSUvsBC http://pic.twitter.com/BTJoiBaeuE

— Will Gadd (@wmgadd) October 29, 2016

Well, that would certainly explain it.

8. Christian Wilkins’ reaction to his coach’s haunted house is incredible.

(h/t @ClemsonFB).

Another successful Halloween Haunted House at Coach Caldwell's house!

Just ask Christian Wilkins... #ClemsonFamily http://pic.twitter.com/0ZksprmnEh

— Clemson Football (@ClemsonFB) October 28, 2016

I’m with you on that, Christian. Haunted houses are the worrrrrrrrrst. Also, #specialshoutout to whomever is dressed as Stone Cold Steve Austin in that last picture.

9. Virginia Tech forgot about I before E except after C.

(h/t @VT_Football).

RECORD BOOKS, MEET @IAF_1!#SCtop10 http://pic.twitter.com/nmdARWxw8N

— VT Football (@VT_Football) October 28, 2016

Hey Hokies, let me help you guys out here with a little English language lesson, courtesy of the Peanuts gang:

10. FSU fan gets hilarious revenge after trying to do the right thing.

(h/t @inBeastITrust).

FSU tailgate tonight saw a girl drop two tickets. I got her attention and she rudely said she had a bf. Guess whose seats Im in #CLEMVSFSU http://pic.twitter.com/pgWjhar5hc

— Mr. Beastly (@inbeastitrust) October 30, 2016

Okay, this is incredible. Not only did he try to return the tickets, but then he still got to use them as payback for her ridiculous attitude! Just amazing.

the #suregrin award.

Hoo boy, just when you thought the Cleveland Browns couldn’t embarrass themselves further...

This has to be a trending hashtag: #GPODAWUND http://pic.twitter.com/EwiXnDqEKT

— Mike Klauss (@thatmikeklauss) October 30, 2016

The Browns’ official hashtag will now forever be #GPODAWUND.

Also, just Google the Patriots-Bills game if you want to see some hilarious results for what happened during that game - I’m not linking it here because it’s a wee bit NSFW lol.

And now, for your moment of wrasslin’...

THE JIM ROSS BAH GAWD MOMENT OF THE WEEK!!

So I didn’t have time to get together any JR edits, but let’s jump back into the time machine to watch Ric Flair’s greatest promo:

See y’all next week!

Poll

Which is your #goacc Moment of the Week?

• Jay Williams protecting the streets as Michelangelo
• Andy Richter destroyed two annoying Clemson fans at a bar
• State fan was reading a book at the game against BC
• Tim Duncan ethered Sean Elliot
• ACC Basketball’s media day featured this incredible segment
• Apparently Drake is now an FSU fan
• One State fan had a chunk of the section all to themselves
• Christian Wilkins’ reaction to his coach’s haunted house is incredible
• Virginia Tech forgot about I before E except after C
• FSU fan gets hilarious revenge after trying to do the right thing

  0 votes | Results

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What we don't know about Richard Burr could fill a warehouse

Ned Barnett hoists Burr on his do-nothing petard:

We’re also not being told about how Burr plans to balance Americans’ right to privacy and government monitoring. Or where he stands on torture tactics that the presidential candidate he supports wants to bring back. Or what he wants done about prescription drug costs, gun violence, student debt or stagnant wages.

After 22 years in Washington as a member of the House and Senate, Burr wants his last election to turn on the North Carolina sex registry. Meanwhile he supports a presidential candidate accused by more than a dozen women of groping and kissing them against their will.

Burr has coasted back to Washington so many times I've lost count, which doesn't say much for the discernment of North Carolina's voting public. Or it says a lot, and it's not good.

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The morning after with Omega: Fire Doeren edition

I don't blame Canada.

Let's get two things straight. First, Boston College is not a "top 10" defense as Dave Doeren has stated ad nauseam. Second, the Clemson game was a fluke. Everything you saw before Clemson—baffling coaching decisions in the loss to East Carolina, for example—and since—getting blown out by Louisville and losing on homecoming to Boston College, for example—is the true measure of this team. The Pack are going backwards, they will not be a favorite in Vegas for a single game left on the schedule, and they are unlikely to take part in even the crappiest of bowls.

You might say, "BC's not a top ten defense? But...but...but everyone says so, especially State's coach!" To that argument I concede that the Eagles are allowing just 2.9 yards per rush, good for third in the country. But in total defense (20^th), scoring defense (34^th), and yards allowed per pass (66^th) they are not "top 10," and that's just using non-schedule adjusted counting stats. When we peel away at this onion, we see that Boston College's "best" win before Saturday was against UMass, a team that ranks 114^th in F/+ combined ratings out of 128 teams. Its lone other win against an FBS opponent came against Buffalo, which ranks dead last. BC also beat Wagner, a 4-4 FCS squad. Not sold on F/+ metrics? Howabout Jeff Sagarin's computer? It ranks all FBS and FCS teams. UMass comes in 141^st out of 253, behind a number of FCS teams, Buffalo ranks 183^rd, and Wagner comes in at 215^th. This is a nonconference schedule to make Seth Greenberg blush.

So, those counting stats referenced above are trash. Ignore them. Here's what Boston College has allowed against actual college football substances: 6.2 yards per play in a 49-0 loss to Virginia Tech, 8.3 yards per play in a 56-10 loss to Clemson, and 7.3 yards per play in a 28-20 loss to Syracuse. It's only "top 10" like performance against a P5 school came in Ireland against Georgia Tech way back on September 3^rd when BC held Tech to four yards per play (and still lost). Virginia Tech's output against the Eagles was three yards more per play than it averaged against UNC's vaunted defense; Clemson's performance was over two yards more per play than it averages against everyone else; Syracuse's outburst was its best game of the season from a yards per play standpoint.

Boston College is not a top 10 defense. In fact, Boston College is arguably a below average P5 defense. Every ACC team other than Georgia Tech in an opener that BC had months to prepare for and your beloved NC State Wolfpack have had their way with them.

So, why all this talk about them? It's important to dispel the myth that yesterday's performance can be explained away by saying, "Oh, well we lost to a top 10 defense. The sky is not falling. Phew." The sky is falling, folks; perhaps running for cover from that falling sky is why the stadium was gleaming like Kenan Memorial with all of the empty seats. The sky is falling; perhaps that's why North Carolina affiliates dumped the game in the fourth quarter in favor of Florida-Georgia coverage. The sky is falling; the Wolfpack had -14 yards rushing at the half, managed just 14 first downs, got outgained by 50 yards against a team that hadn't won a conference game in 12 tries, lost a TD due to the inability to line up correctly (again), and choked away a chance to tie the game at the end with first and goal at the three.

Do Doeren and Eli Drinkwitz get a pass because they're breaking in a new quarterback and three new offensive linemen? Eight games into the season, I don't think so. I am ready to concede that firing Matt Canada was a terrible mistake made by a desperate man who is in over his head. Canada's offense ran for 4.2 yards per snap at Boston College last year, the most the Eagles allowed in any game by half a yard, in a dominating win for the Pack that came after Shadrach Thornton was dismissed and Matt Dayes was out for the year. And last year's BC defense was legitimately pretty good. Despite all the attrition at running back, Canada's offense was the sixth best rushing attack in the nation a year ago, according to S&P+, and 32^nd best overall. He's done a little better at Pitt (29^th), and that number should rise when this week's games are factored in after the Panthers averaged 8.3 yards per snap against Virginia Tech.

The Doeren hire was a gamble, though it was one I applauded. Let's face it; established P5 coaches are not knocking our door down for the job, so tabbing an up and comer with a thin résumé and hoping it panned out was the best route. It didn't. His team's continued lack of discipline, his decision to jettison the OC of what had been a successful offense in favor of another guy with an extremely thin résumé, and his continued in-game mismanagement, show that he can't elevate this program to even a consistent eight-game winner, much less an ACC contender.

Take, as yet another example of game mismanagement, Doeren's decision to go for it on 4^th and two with just a few ticks on the clock at the end of the first half rather than try a 47-yard field goal. Even if you pick up the first down, you're ultimately still trotting out the kicker for a long attempt. If you don't pick it up, you never get the chance to tie the game. BC is just going to take a knee if you do miss the field goal. Sure, Kyle Bambard has been brutal, but he does have a career long of 48. Make it and you knot the score, grab the momentum, and boost the kid's confidence rather than giving him a vote of no confidence by leaving him on the sideline. There was absolutely no potential of reward for that gamble.

There is no potential for reward in the gamble that was Dave Doeren, who is likely to be 7-25 against the ACC by year's end. His second season, buoyed by a laughable non-conference schedule like BC's, was his peak, not a rung on a ladder to football relevance. He is responsible, as he noted in his presser, for what the Pack "put on film" Saturday. And the consequence should be his job.

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Misdirected anger in rural NC is Trump's bread and butter

Ignoring the truth is the way to stay faithful:

“I went to buy a shirt one time and it said ‘Made in Vietnam,’ ” he says. “I thought it looked good, but I threw it on the floor.” But what about the line of Trump clothes – including ties, suits and dress shirts – made in places like China, Bangladesh, Mexico and Vietnam?

“I’ve heard that he’s invested overseas. But he says he’s going to bring all those businesses back,” says Jones. “Now, they can tell you anything. You don’t know if they’ll do it. ... But I don’t have much use for Hillary. And you’ve got to trust somebody.”

A lot of people in this town (including the nitwit above) complained about losing textile jobs, but when Trump contributes to that problem, he's merely "invested overseas." Frankly, many (most?) of these people support Trump because of his bigotry, but they're too ashamed to admit that, so they have to create another reason to "want" him. They also have to create conspiracy theories to excuse his behavior:

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Sunday News: Money laundering, by any other name

REPUBLICANS FUNNELED CORPORATE CONTRIBUTIONS TO NC GOP, DEMS CHARGE (WRAL-TV) — A national Republican organization appears to have funneled as much as $1.5 million in corporate contributions to the N.C. Republican Party in an effort to circumvent state limits on the individual contributions and the ban on corporate donations, according to a complaint filed by N.C. Democrats with the State Board of Elections. The RGA in turn put $13 million into RGA Right Direction, a super PAC that it controls and for which it is the sole funder. It is that super PAC that has donated $1.5 million this year, including $500,000 on Oct. 25, to the North Carolina Republican Party.
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NC State loses to Boston College in football

Feel free to expand.

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Will Ferrell, Roy Cooper, Mike Pence, and Pat McCrory were visiting tailgates at NC State, because election season

it’ll all be over soon, thank goodness

Well, I guess you can say this much for politics: there’s pretty much no other way to somehow get Will Ferrell to show up at Carter-Finley Stadium. North Carolina has evolved into a massive battleground state over the last decade, which means when it’s election season, there’s gonna be a lot of stunts here you wouldn’t otherwise see.

Case in point today: Will Ferrell and Roy Cooper wandering NC State’s tailgating lots together, while Mike Pence and Pat McCrory do the same. Here is evidence of the absurdity:

Will Ferrell just showed up at the NC State tailgate in Raleigh wearing a 'Nasty Woman' shirt: https://t.co/HKODwhUMoM http://pic.twitter.com/G8ThBUZBEl

— ABC11 EyewitnessNews (@ABC11_WTVD) October 29, 2016

My family and I met Will Ferrell today at NC State http://pic.twitter.com/FmLSM39Tj9

— Tremain Kidd (@nokiddinaround) October 29, 2016

Little kid exchanging lines from 'Step Brothers' with Will Ferrell. This is hilarious! #DidWeJustBecomeBestFriends http://pic.twitter.com/VZuGqErq6P

— David Grzybowski (@DavidGrzyTV) October 29, 2016

It's Saturday in October so that means college football & politics: @mike_pence & @PatMcCroryNC at the NC State game http://pic.twitter.com/a3XMkGmKeY

— Elizabeth Landers (@ElizLanders) October 29, 2016

Mike Pence figuring how to do the NC State Wolfpack http://pic.twitter.com/go39zonjWB

— Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) October 29, 2016

Man: "Who are you all pulling for today?"
(NC State v Boston College)
Pence laughs, points to MAGA hat, says, "Red." http://pic.twitter.com/Ogi1FghHNI

— Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) October 29, 2016

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Kneeling band members reveal bigotry and hatred at ECU

More than enough shame to go around:

After a public records request, the News & Observer reviewed more than 450 pages of emails to and from Staton following the Oct. 1 game in Greenville. More than a dozen band members knelt during the playing of the national anthem, joining in a national wave of protests against police shootings of African-Americans. The ECU protest elicited a chorus of boos from fans in the stadium, and the band had to have a police escort from the game after members were spat on and pelted with trash.

Who would do that? Seriously, who would spit on somebody else at a public event? Who would consider that a proper way to show your disagreement with somebody else's behavior? I tell you who would do that, the same people who would label another as a "thug" simply based on the color of that person's skin. This sounds like something that would have happened during the 50's and 60's desegregation era, not fifty years later. And leave it to the biggest bigots of all to use their family money to pressure the University:

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Saturday News: Failed or succeeded?

COURT: DMV FAILED TO REGISTER VOTERS PROPERLY (WRAL-TV) -- A federal judge has ordered state elections officials to count provisional ballots cast in the upcoming election from people who tried to register to vote at the state Division of Motor Vehicles but whose names don't appear on voter rolls. The average for 2013 and 2014 represented a nearly 60 percent drop off in registrations. In 2014, 13,403 voter registrations were processed by these agencies, down from 42,988 in 2011.
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College football schedule, Week 9: TV channels and kickoff times

three cheers for football yay

This week we’ve got some matchups that looked like they’d be pretty good before the season started but aren’t (Michigan-Michigan State, Georgia-Florida) and some surprisingly compelling games like Washington-Utah.

In the bad breaks category this weekend we have Virginia, which is Louisville’s crossover “rival,” which is to say the Cavs get to lose to Louisville every year. That’s a tough situation. Then again, Virginia does get to play in the Coastal Division. You know what, I retract all sympathy.

Elsewhere in that division, Virginia Tech took a big step toward securing an ACC title game appearance by winning at Pittsburgh on Thursday night. The Hokies are 4-1 with Duke, Georgia Tech, and UVA remaining, and they hold the head-to-head tiebreakers on UNC, which is the only other one-loss teams in the division. NC State may not have to play spoiler in Chapel Hill this year, and I would be okay with that. (We’re still gonna win that game anyway.)

Full Saturday slate:

Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016
Matchup	Time (ET)	TV / Streaming
(2) Michigan at Michigan State	12:00 p.m.	ESPN / WatchESPN
(5) Louisville at Virginia	12:00 p.m.	ABC/ESPN2 (RM) / WatchESPN
(10) West Virginia at Oklahoma State	12:00 p.m.	FOX / FS Go
(24) Penn State at Purdue	12:00 p.m.	ABC/ESPN2 (RM) / WatchESPN
Duke at Georgia Tech	12:00 p.m.	RSN / ACCNExtra
Kansas State at Iowa State	12:00 p.m.	FSN / FS Go
Kent State at Central Michigan	12:00 p.m.	CBSSN / CBSSports.com
Kentucky at Missouri	12:00 p.m.	SECN / WatchESPN
Minnesota at Illinois	12:00 p.m.	BTN / BTN2Go
UCF at Houston	12:00 p.m.	ESPNU / WatchESPN
UConn at East Carolina	12:00 p.m.	ESPNEWS / WatchESPN
Wagner at UMass	12:00 p.m.	ASN/NESN / ESPN3
Boston College at NC State	12:30 p.m.	ACCN / ACCNExtra
(4) Washington at (17) Utah	3:30 p.m.	FS1 / FS Go
(8) Baylor at Texas	3:30 p.m.	ABC / ESPN3
(14) Florida vs. Georgia (in Jacksonville, FL)	3:30 p.m.	CBS / CBSSports.com
Army at Wake Forest	3:30 p.m.	RSN / ACCNExtra
Cincinnati at Temple	3:30 p.m.	CBSSN / CBSSports.com
Maryland at Indiana	3:30 p.m.	ESPNU / WatchESPN
Miami (FL) at Notre Dame	3:30 p.m.	NBC / NBCSports.com
Miami (OH) at Eastern Michigan	3:30 p.m.	ASN / ESPN3
Northwestern at (6) Ohio State	3:30 p.m.	ESPN / WatchESPN
Samford at Mississippi State	3:30 p.m.	SECN / WatchESPN
Texas Tech at TCU	3:30 p.m.	ESPN2 / WatchESPN
Western Kentucky at Florida Atlantic	3:30 p.m.	ASN/MASN
SMU at Tulane	4:00 p.m.	ESPNEWS / WatchESPN
Arizona State at Oregon	5:00 p.m.	Pac-12N / Pac-12.com
Georgia State at South Alabama	5:00 p.m.	ESPN3
(7) Nebraska at (11) Wisconsin	7:00 p.m.	ESPN / WatchESPN
(13) Boise State at Wyoming	7:00 p.m.	CBSSN / CBSSports.com
Kansas at (16) Oklahoma	7:00 p.m.	FS1 / FS Go
Marshall at Southern Miss	7:00 p.m.	ASN/MASN
Middle Tennessee at FIU	7:00 p.m.	ESPN3
North Texas at UTSA	7:00 p.m.	KMYS-CW 35
Rice at Louisiana Tech	7:00 p.m.	CampusInsiders
ULM at Arkansas State	7:00 p.m.	ESPN3
(15) Auburn at Ole Miss	7:15 p.m.	SECN / WatchESPN
(18) Tennessee at South Carolina	7:15 p.m.	ESPN2 / WatchESPN
New Mexico State at (9) Texas A&M	7:30 p.m.	ESPNU / WatchESPN
(3) Clemson at (12) Florida State	8:00 p.m.	ABC / ESPN3
Old Dominion at UTEP	8:00 p.m.	CUSA.TV
Tulsa at Memphis	8:00 p.m.	ESPNEWS / WatchESPN
UNLV at San Jose State	10:30 p.m.	CBSSN / CBSSports.com
Washington State at Oregon State	10:45 p.m.	ESPN2 / WatchESPN
Stanford at Arizona	11:00 p.m.	FS1 / FS Go
New Mexico at Hawaii	12:00 a.m.	Oceanic PPV

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Boston College vs. NC State: How to watch, kickoff time, TV channel, online streaming, odds, and more

Here’s everything you’ll need to catch the game.

NC State returns to Carter-Finley for the first time since its win over Notre Dame in the midst of Hurricane Matthew. In the weeks since, State’s grounds crew has been hard at work re-seeding the field and getting it back into playing condition.

The field should be no worse for wear on Saturday, which is probably bad news for Boston College, which could use some random terrible weather, y’know, pretty much every week. At least its offense wouldn’t look so bad by comparison.

In pristine weather conditions, the Eagles’ odds are not so good. NC State is favored by more than two touchdowns to win this game, which would be the Wolfpack’s fifth win of the season. If State can take care of business, I think we can begin to safely assume the team will get to bowl eligibility this year.

Boston College vs. NC State

Kickoff: 12:30 p.m. ET

TV: ACC Network (list of affiliates)

Internet streaming: ESPN3/ACC Network Extra (these are the same thing, basically)

Odds: NC State -15.5

Radio: Wolfpack Sports Network

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Be on the lookout for poll trolls in NC

Boston College vs. NC State: Predict the score

Let’s get some points and such.

Will one team score more points than the other team? What will they eat for breakfast? Will anyone be wearing shoes? Is your old friend Jeff from high school going to be there? These questions and more will be answered come 12:30 p.m. on Saturday when NC State and Boston College meet for a traditional oblong pigskin exchange.

The bruised and battered pitch of Carter-Finley Stadium has been restored back into good condition after the Hurricane Matthew game, and while part of me will miss seeing football played in a lake, I know in my heart that Boston College will always play like it is in a lake, so that helps.

Place your bets on the score below. (You do not need to submit an email address to make a score prediction.)

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Good news for the NC GOP?

Early voting seems to indicate that GOP claims that they’re ready for GOTV are true. While Democrats have seen a drop in the number of in-person early voters since 2012, Republicans are seeing an increase. According to Dr. Michael Bitzer, Republicans have shown up at 7% more than 2012, while Democrats are down 8%. Certainly, […]
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Friday News: Milking Matthew for points

MCCRORY TO CALL SPECIAL SESSION TO DEAL WITH HURRICANE ISSUES (Fayetteville Observer) -- Gov. Pat McCrory said Thursday that he expects to call a special session of the General Assembly to ask for disaster relief funding and to offer a decision on school make-up days. McCrory said he hopes his staff will give him a recommendation in the near future on a date for the special session, "So we can go back to the legislature and specifically request how much money we need and how that money should be used," he said. McCrory has asked school systems not to schedule make-up days. He hopes a special session will clarify requirements for schools.
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NC State featured on FOX baseball drama ‘Pitch’

The Pack hit network TV this week.

FOX’s ‘Pitch’ is the story of fictional pitcher Ginny Baker, the first female player in Major League Baseball history. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn that she is from North Carolina, and went to NC State. The Wolfpack got a lengthy bit of exposure during this scene on Thursday night’s episode:

http://pic.twitter.com/yGagMgeFOT

— Steven (@akulawolf) October 28, 2016

It’s difficult to be certain, but I’m sure we won that College World Series. This is television, I can imagine what I want, bub.

Baker’s character, played by Kylie Bunbury, goes on to become a member of the San Diego Padres.

Elliott Avent should take complete credit for this. NC State made this fictional pitcher what she is today for the Padres, and you’ll never be able to take that away from us. Heck, he might as well lobby for a producer credit on the show, it only seems fair.

There’s always next season, unless it gets cancelled, in which case we’ll have to come together and establish our own baseball drama.

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NC State makes unfortunate cameo during Apple’s MacBook Pro event

OH THANKS A BUNCH, APPLE.

Every now and again Apple has a big to-do wherein they discuss the latest with the phones and the typing and the computers and such. I’ve never paid them much attention, because I do not find Apple products nearly as interesting as a lot of people.

So it was another normal Apple event on Thursday, you know, me just scrolling past every mention of it on Twitter, WHEN SUDDENLY

Apple's Live Event today featured last weekend's blowouts of NC State and Arkansas (as a h/t to CEO Tim Cook): http://pic.twitter.com/UVdBAoRr2B

— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) October 27, 2016

Oh for the love of ... [heavy sigh] ... why did you have to go there, presenter lady, for the love of god where was the need***? Siri could have bailed us out, at least. A simple response of “what’s Louisville?” or “why not a good book that’s not about football in the least?” would have sufficed.

But no, let us cut straight to a Ryan Finley interception pass for all the world to see. You say this is an example of technological advancement, madam, well I say it is the hideous perversion of technology.

Worst of it is, knowing the rivalry that’s ongoing, Microsoft’s next PowerPoint-fueled product presentation led by some super-pleated eggnog is now certain to feature Gio Bernard’s punt return.

(*** Yes, I know Apple CEO Tim Cook is an alumnus of both Duke and Auburn, which explains the game choices here.)

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Have you voted yet?

Choices

Yep

No

Tried but couldn't

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Friday fracking video

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Boston College vs. NC State: Five matchups to watch

What to watch out for in this weekend’s matchup for the Wolfpack

The North Carolina State Wolfpack laid an egg against the Louisville Cardinals in a 54-13 defeat last weekend. This performance was especially disheartening after their near-upset of the Clemson Tigers two Saturdays ago.

The Boston College Eagles are looking to snap a 12-game Atlantic Coast Conference losing streak as they’re mired in last place in the Atlantic Division. The winner of this week’s game regains some success that was achieved in the early part of the season.

Here are five matchups to watch in the NC State/Boston College game:

BC QB Towles vs. NC State Defense

The Eagles’ quarterback situation has been far from perfect, Kentucky transfer Patrick Towles is suffering through a very frustrating season as he has thrown for only 942 yards with seven TDs and four interceptions. The biggest criticism of Towles has been that he rushes through his progressions on passing downs. Towles is trying to complete a pass into too small of a window, instead of waiting a second longer to see if a receiver separates himself from a defender.

Wolfpack RB Dayes vs. The Eagles Defense

It’s important for the Wolfpack that running back Matthew Dayes become an offensive catalyst because it discourages the Eagles from using a nine-in-the-box alignment at the line of scrimmage. Dayes make defenders miss or simply runs over them as 51 percent of his rushing yards have come after contact. If Dayes cannot effectively run the football, then NC State will have a more difficult time winning.

The Eagles Front Four vs. The Wolfpack Offensive Line

The BC defense is the pride of the team, despite being outscored 133-30 in their last three conference games. Currently, the Eagles are ranked fourth in the nation defensively, and defensive end Harold Landry is making a name for himself as an impact player. Their defensive scheme bears more responsibility on the linemen to control the line of scrimmage and put pressure in the backfield. DT Truman Gutapfel must attract a double-team, which allows Landry to use an inside stunt to sack the quarterback or shutdown the running game.

NC State QB Ryan Finley vs. BC Defense

NC State quarterback Ryan Finley has fitted nicely into a difficult situation; the Boise State graduate transfer is fourth nationally in completion (72.4) percentage. The key for the Wolfpack defeating BC is if Finley can get the ball out quickly into the flat or near the sidelines. The Eagles defensive secondary is very aware that NC State loves to throw screens and other short passes, but they disguise their coverages very well, which makes it tough for opposing quarterbacks to identify the hot route that attacks the weak spot in the defense. NC State will counter by spacing out the slot defenders, which should open the middle of the field. If center screens aren’t available, don’t be surprised if Finley attacks the corners to the outside on deep routes.

Addazio’s Goals vs. Clubhouse Doubts

Boston College head coach Steve Addazio continually battles the psyche of his roster to focus better on improving and finishing the 2016 campaign strong. He understands that defeating NC State is the type of signature victory that puts his snakebitten program back on the road to respectability. BC will also be Louisville’s final tuneup before their much anticipated game against Houston on November 17th. The struggle for Addazio has been trying to convince the entire locker room to buy into his philosophy that one game doesn’t define a career or season. He firmly believes the hardships from this year will be beneficial in 2017.

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The twisted mind of NC's premier vote suppressor

Jay DeLancy takes conspiracy theory to the next level:

So the average person should realize that, No. 1, this is not about racism. This is about honest elections. Yes, there is an impact on access to the polls. But it’s not barriers, it’s not Jim Crow. It’s equally applied law and so dismiss the idea of racism and ask yourself, “Why is it that people are screaming so loudly about this?” In the words of Shakespeare, “The lady doth protest too much methinks,” and so that has been something that really motivated us. That fact that people are protesting so much makes me go, “There’s something here.” We don’t even know what it is. We should probably be afraid, but instead we just feel empowered. People encourage us all the time and we hope people will give us an equal listen and make up their own minds on this.

First of all, it's been proven in a court of law, after reams of evidence were presented, that Republicans intentionally targeted African-American voters with their voter suppression tactics. That prejudicial cat is out of the bag, and it ain't going back in. Second, you never tried to present your ideas to the general public in an effort to "convince them" of the veracity of your claims, you took part in the backroom plotting to get this horrifically anti-democratic law passed. And you tried to bully anybody, including the Wake County Board of Elections, who dared to question your McCarthy-ish approach to voting. Now you want to be reasonable? Oh, hell no. Take your tinfoil hat and your shattered dreams of relevance and crawl back under that rock you came from. And here's one of the best examples of projecting I've ever seen:

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Richard Burr’s Politics of Fear

To the surprise of few, Richard Burr’s “moderation” turns out to be a mask. Faced with his first real political threat, he has chosen the way of decades of demagogues. Not for him are bipartisanship and affable pragmatism. No: In Burrworld, fear-mongering appears to be the coin of the realm. True, the NRSC never made […]
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Living in a porcine nightmare: When CAFOs are next-door neighbors

Thursday News: Forward together, not one step back

THE BATTLE FOR NORTH CAROLINA (The Atlantic) -- In 2016, the battle over race and culture that raged with Jim Crow in 1901 still dominates political and social life in North Carolina. Bitter and unyielding contests across multiple issues have placed the state at the center of national debates about race, civil rights, violence, and elections. In the span of a year, an anti-transgender bill sparked rallies and a fierce debate over civil rights, flames licked the streets of a resegregated Charlotte during protests over a police shooting, and a collection of new laws have been enacted—and promptly challenged in court. But the most contentious and sustained rift has been in the arena of voting rights, and it is there where George Henry White’s (a black N.C. congressman victimized by Jim Crow) famous words resound the loudest.
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Mark Gottfried says NCAA could make a ruling on Omer Yurtseven’s eligibility in the next week

Maybe possibly.

There still isn’t much to update on the eligibility situations of Omer Yurtseven and Ted Kapita, unfortunately. The best Mark Gottfried could offer at ACC media day on Wednesday was a potential timetable for a decision on Yurtseven.

NC State head coach Mark Gottfried told media that Wolfpack maybe hears from NCAA within a week on Omer Yurtseven (emphasis on maybe).

— The Wolfpacker (@TheWolfpacker) October 26, 2016

That’s frustrating enough, but Gottfried wouldn’t even venture a guess on a timetable for Kapita, which implies that his situation is more complicated.

Getting a decision out of the NCAA on Yurtseven in the next week would at least give the Wolfpack some advance notice before the start of the regular season, though as with all things NCAA, it’s difficult to guess what that timing would mean. A decision before the start of the season doesn’t necessarily mean Yurtseven will escape penalty. It’d really be nice to get all of this over with, though, one way or another.

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Let’s take a deeper look at Boston College: a Q&A with BC Interruption

Sights and sounds from NC State’s day at ACC Operation Basketball

Interviews, interviews, interviews, and a little levity here and there.

Media day is always a whirlwind involving countless interviews for TV, radio, and print outlets. Plus the ACC’s media arm, not to mention our ESPN overlords. Here’s a taste of what Dennis Smith, Abdul-Malik Abu, and Mark Gottfried went through today.

Two fine young men back at it @malikabu_ @dennis4smith http://pic.twitter.com/LoJ34MHzfK

— ACC Men's Basketball (@accmbb) October 26, 2016

NC State freshman Dennis Smith is one of the most popular players at #ACCMediaDay http://pic.twitter.com/m6swGiGy6f

— Mike Waters (@MikeWatersSYR) October 26, 2016

Dennis Smith just exudes bada**. Kid has got IT.

— Mark Armstrong (@ArmstrongABC11) October 26, 2016

Dennis Smith on whether he was born with 'it' or had to develop that vibe http://pic.twitter.com/R7SCoRkzE8

— Mark Armstrong (@ArmstrongABC11) October 26, 2016

Dennis Smith Jr. is really impressive in this setting. See a lot of older guys who don't handle it as well as he did.

— Mandy Mitchell (@MandyWRAL) October 26, 2016

Malik Abu discovered the turbo button on NBA Jam & Dennis Smith is not amused. http://pic.twitter.com/uXAMnrrcWG

— Joe Ovies (@joeovies) October 26, 2016

LIVE on #Periscope: Live Q & A with @PackMensBball head coach Mark Gottfried #ACCMediaDay https://t.co/SG5bQ8Rl0M

— ESPNU (@ESPNU) October 26, 2016

Dennis Smith said UNC fan J. Cole will be a NC State fan this season.

— The Wolfpacker (@TheWolfpacker) October 26, 2016

The morning was just practice. Now @Dennis4Smith is getting the really tough questions. http://pic.twitter.com/owTLAK4Yqe

— NC State Men's Bball (@PackMensBball) October 26, 2016

Pax crushed it today w/#LittleExperts! Just wait til you see @dennis4smith try to teach him to dunk &dab! #GoPack @PackMensBball http://pic.twitter.com/E59TvAtpHj

— B MILLZ (@bmillz09) October 26, 2016

These guys did a great job representing @NCState & #WPN today. They've earned their nap. http://pic.twitter.com/MTQldNLKHW

— NC State Men's Bball (@PackMensBball) October 26, 2016

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Dennis Smith Jr.: ‘I never run from a challenge. I never back down from adversity.’

NC State picked to finish 6th in ACC by media; Dennis Smith Jr. is preseason Rookie of the Year

The Pack gets a pretty solid vote of confidence from the media.

NC State has been picked to finish sixth in the ACC by the league’s media members on Wednesday afternoon. Not surprisingly, Duke is the overwhelming No. 1 choice, followed by UNC, Virginia, Louisville, and Syracuse to round out the top five.

Dennis Smith Jr. earned a preseason first-team All-ACC nod, garnering the most votes of any freshman player, which also made him the preseason pick for ACC Rookie of the Year.

Here are the full voting results, via TheACC.com’s release:

ACC Operation Basketball 2016-17 Preseason Poll

(First-place votes in parenthesis)

Team & Points

1. Duke (85) - 1359

2. North Carolina (6) - 1239

3. Virginia - 1125

4. Louisville - 1034

5. Syracuse - 905

6. NC State - 772

7. Notre Dame - 716

8. Florida State - 705

9. Miami - 650

10. Virginia Tech - 645

11. Clemson - 623

12. Pitt - 511

13. Wake Forest - 309

14. Georgia Tech - 199

15. Boston College – 128

2016-17 Preseason All-ACC Team

(votes in parenthesis)

First Team

Grayson Allen, Duke (87)

Jaron Blossomgame, Clemson (70)

Joel Berry II, North Carolina (45)

London Perrantes, Virginia (36)

Dennis Smith, Jr., NC State (34)

Second Team

Justin Jackson, North Carolina (22)

Jayson Tatum, Duke (21)

Tyler Lydon, Syracuse (20)

Dwayne Bacon, Florida State (16)

Michael Young, Pitt (14)

ACC Preseason Player of the Year

Grayson Allen, Duke (70)

Jaron Blossomgame, Clemson (7)

London Perrantes, Virginia (5)

Joel Berry II, North Carolina (5)

Dennis Smith, Jr., NC State (2)

Andrew White, Syracuse (1)

Davon Reed, Miami (1)

ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year

Dennis Smith, Jr., NC State (51)

Jayson Tatum, Duke (20)

Harry Giles, Duke (10)

Tyus Battle, Syracuse (5)

VJ King, Louisville (2)

Jonathan Isaac, Florida State (2)

Josh Okogie, Georgia Tech (1)

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NYT is all-in for Deborah Ross

Do-nothing Burr's days just might be numbered:

The contrast between the two candidates could not be sharper. Mr. Burr is a quiet party wheel horse whose career in the House and the Senate has been supported by significant campaign donations from the fossil fuel and nuclear energy industries. He was appointed to Donald Trump’s national security advisory panel, but, like many Republican incumbents, he has been hemming and hawing about Mr. Trump’s demoralizing candidacy. “I take him at his word,” the senator said rather meekly after Mr. Trump denied that he had ever committed the sexual assaults on women that he bragged about in the “Access Hollywood” tape. Mr. Burr has been trying to convince voters that Hillary Clinton’s “lack of judgment” is worse than Mr. Trump’s.

I'm tempted to rephrase the above description to a "horse's ass," but Burr really has followed Liddy Dole's footsteps as a fundraising machine for the GOP. He has (at last count) twelve different campaign accounts registered with the FEC, which goes a long way in explaining why so much money comes his way during elections. Not just because he's a reliable "No" vote on so many needed government regulations, but also (maybe more important to them) because he has laid the infrastructure for corporate domination in Washington. He's the money man, and they can't grease the wheels without him. Representing the people? There's no time for that, because the money must flow.

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NC State’s basketball practices have been rough, apparently

Trim your fingernails, kids.

Abdul-Malik Abu showed up to ACC media day on Wednesday sporting one nasty-lookin’ scar that he says he got from Ted Kapita in practice. What kind of super-human fingernails do this, man?!

This is known as the "Ted Kapita scar." Omer Yurtseven also a club member. http://pic.twitter.com/oH6HWgBuuR

— The Wolfpacker (@TheWolfpacker) October 26, 2016

Whew buddy, that had to smart. Maybe Ted Kapita is actually Wolverine.

Abu says Yurtseven has a similar Kapita scar from his shoulder down his arm. Kapita was made to trim his nails.

— Mark Armstrong (@ArmstrongABC11) October 26, 2016

Better watch out, ACC, because Ted’s gonna “lose” his nail clippers when league play rolls around.

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The payoff for betting on a wave

My first election working in politics was 1994. I was helping on a state senate campaign in rural North Carolina. We had put together a good organization and had a small direct mail program. We were feeling good about our chances when the wave on Election Day knocked us out. Democrats across the country were […]
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ACC basketball media day live stream

Malik Abu, Dennis Smith, and Mark Gottfried chat with the media today.

It’s ACC hoops media day in Charlotte, and as usual the league will be streaming each school’s interviews live. You can watch the stream below. NC State sent Dennis Smith Jr. and Abdul-Malik Abu as its player reps this year, and they’re set to hit the stage at about 10:20 a.m.

Mark Gottfried will be up around 3:45 p.m. Full interview schedule here.

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Meet the 2016 Boston College Eagles, who are still not good at football

The Eagles’ struggles on the offensive side continue to submarine seasons.

Another year, another football season with Boston College as the ACC’s most imbalanced team. Not in playcalling or tendency, but in the sheer degree of difference in quality between offense and defense. The Eagles had one of the nation’s top two or three defenses in 2015, and one of the worst handful of offenses.

The picture hasn’t changed much. BC’s offense is slightly better in some ways, its defense is slightly worse in some ways, but still this is a team of extremes. Head coach Steve Addazio continues to search for ways to end his program’s ongoing streak of futility in league play with no answers readily apparent.

There was some belief heading into the season that BC was in for some kind of turnaround—after all, it’s not like that offense could possibly be worse, right? The Eagles were even picked 5th in the Atlantic Division, ahead of Wake Forest and Syracuse. Here in late October, with the Eagles at 0-4 in the ACC, that faith seems badly misplaced.

Boston College	S&P+ national rank	Yds/Play (national rank)	Yds/Rush (national rank)	Yds/Pass Att. (national rank)
2015 Offense	124	4.4 (124)	3.9 (96)	5.4 (121)
2016 Offense	123	4.8 (123)	3.9 (98)	6.4 (109)

(Note: There are 128 FBS teams.)

In an effort to improve his team’s dismal passing attack, Addazio brought in graduate transfer quarterback Patrick Towles, who spent two seasons as a starter at Kentucky. Now, he wasn’t any good at Kentucky, mind you, but “not any good” is nonetheless a lot better than the dreary performance artists he had on hand. (Their masterpiece IMO was the game where they performed as though they had no arms.)

Towles was one reason why some bounce-back for BC was anticipated, and he has helped BC to some marginal improvements, but nothing really significant, and nothing that’s changed losses to wins.

In ACC games this season, BC is averaging 11 points per game, 4.0 yards per play, and 4.3 yards per passing attempt. In 2015, BC’s averages in those categories were 9.1, 3.8, and 5.0.

When they brought Towles in, I’m sure the Eagles were anticipating a bump in at least one area: completion percentage. Towles completed 56-57 percent of his throws while a starter at UK in 2014 and 2015, which ain’t great, but again, the bar labeled IMPROVEMENT at BC in this area is installed below sea level. (Had to dig a trench. Took a lot of work.)

Perhaps through no fault of his own—it is difficult to thrive in the conditions that exist currently at BC—Towles has come no where close to replicating that number, and in fact is completing less than half his throws. That’s still an improvement!

He’s the best option they have, and if he can’t go this weekend, BC will be reaching once more into the Void Of Who The Hell Knows Who This Guy Is Or What He Might Do. That has yet to end well. But then, what has?

The Eagles are woefully inefficient whether they’re throwing or passing. They rank 100th or worst on 1st downs, 2nd downs, and 3rd downs. And they are still desperately trying to pretend like they don’t need a quarterback, electing to run the ball on 70.1% of standard downs, well above the national average of 59.9%.

BC even runs the ball on passing downs 47.3% of the time. The national average is 34.7%.

Every week it’s like Boston College steps into a starship simulator and tries to take down the Kobayashi Maru. The phasers don’t work, the photon torpedoes ain’t doin’ shit, and the shields, man, the damn shields are tired from having to do all the work around here and have a few bones to pick with the phasers and photon torpedoes.

I mean, running the ball 70% of the time on standard downs—how do you characterize that? Is it madness? Incredibly sober accounting? A pure give-no-cares approach? BC may simply call plays using a board game spinner with play suggestions annotated with some variation of “this probably won’t work,” the expletives increasing in both number and degree with each subsequent entry.

Boston College	S&P+ national rank	Yds/Play (national rank)	Yds/Rush (national rank)	Yds/Pass Att. (national rank)
2015 Defense	3	4.1 (1)	2.4 (1)	6.2 (19)
2016 Defense	16	4.9 (19)	3.0 (7)	7.3 (66)

Boston College’s defense is well above average again. The Eagles have been exceptionally efficient on running plays, and its defensive line is one of the most disruptive in the country.

And you do not want to get stuck in a lot of passing downs against this group. BC ranks second in passing downs success rate, allowing successful plays in those situations only 16% of the time. It also ranks third in sack rate on passing downs. (A passing down is 2nd-and-8+, 3rd-and-5+, 4th-and-5+. Everything else is a standard down.)

But when the Eagles do inevitably break down, often they do so spectacularly—when opponents piece together successful plays, they tend to be more successful than your typical successful play, if that makes sense. There’s a baseline for everything, folks! (See: IsoPPP)

And they’re riding an alarming trend lately: Clemson averaged 8.3 yards per play against them, and last weekend Syracuse posted better than 7.0 yards per play. They’ve allowed 6+ YPP to three of their four ACC opponents, after allowing only one team to hit that mark in 2015. Only two ACC opponents even cracked 5.0 YPP against BC in 2015 (NCSU, Clemson).

It’s hard to imagine BC’s defense remaining that vulnerable-looking through the rest of league play, but the results to date point to a unit that’s a bit easier to scheme, even if its front seven remains tough as hell.

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VIDEO: Let’s Not Have A Civil War, Please

Donald Trump’s refusal to say whether he’ll concede if he loses has surfaced some pretty terrible possibilities for our country. Donald’s demagogic attempt to delegitimize democracy by claiming the election is rigged is sparking fears that a Trump loss could lead to violence or worse. Take this headline in the Washington Post: Trump supporters are […]
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Boston College starting quarterback Patrick Towles recovering from hamstring injury

BC’s situation is not improving.

Boston College is not only bad, it’s not catching much good fortune. The team’s best running back has missed time recently, and starting quarterback Patrick Towles suffered a hamstring injury against Syracuse this past weekend that could prevent him from playing against NC State. Officially, he’s day-to-day, per the Boston Globe.

BC’s quarterback situation is dire—Towles, a graduate transfer from Kentucky, was supposed to provide some protection from the complete lack of experience behind him. He’s done that, though not much more—he’s completing less than half his passes on the season.

But the alternative to Towles is sophomore Darius Wade, who so far has displayed an impressive ability to complete exactly half of his attempts, and not much else. Behind Wade is a kid BC is trying to redshirt.

It’s difficult to put BC’s recent quarterback/offense problems into the proper perspective. Last year, BC had what was easily one of the best 10 defenses in the country and went winless in league play. That probably says enough.

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Tale of two Skvarlas: A great opportunity becomes nothing important

He's not the sharpest tool in the shed:

“It hasn’t moved the needle one iota,” Skvarla told the Observer Monday during a visit to Charter Communications’ training center in Matthews. “PayPal wasn’t even a grain of sand on the beach,” he said. “It was 400 call center jobs over five years. Much too much is being made of PayPal.”

When the state announced PayPal was coming to Charlotte in March, however, the commerce department painted the move as a big win for the state. “North Carolina’s technology-savvy workforce will provide the perfect fuel for PayPal’s continued growth,” Skvarla said in a news release at the time. “This company’s global reputation for innovation and customer service makes it a strong fit for our state’s business-friendly community.”

The laughable contradiction aside, you have to wonder what the Charter Communications folks were thinking when Skvarla started spewing this vindictive nonsense. Are we going to be next? Especially considering Charter is laying off 258 employees in Charlotte next month after its purchase of Time Warner Cable, those employees are likely a little sensitive about a state government leader scoffing about job losses. Which won't move Skvarla's logic needle one iota, since that gauge is apparently broken.

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Tuesday News: Tossing Burr

RATING CHANGE: N.C. SENATE RACE MOVES TO TOSSUP (Roll Call) -- Months ago, Republicans boasted about the amount of opposition research available on North Carolina Democrat Deborah Ross. But with just two weeks to go before Election Day, she has a legitimate shot at defeating GOP Sen. Richard M. Burr. This looks like it will be a close race and it’s hard to continue to give Burr an advantage, particularly as Donald Trump lags behind Hillary Clinton at the top of the ballot, which explains why Ross is now trying to tie him to Trump in her latest ads.
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Tuesday Twitter roundup

Voter turnout numbers encouraging:

Even with far less sites than first five days in 2012, NC early vote now 577,566 versus 568,865 same 2012 period (3/3) #ncpol https://t.co/u5PCENflrV

— Gerry Cohen (@gercohen) October 25, 2016

Unfortunately, this also means Republicans will be chirping, "See, even with only one site open, it didn't deter voters." And of course we'll never know how many more votes would have been cast if there had been multiple sites open the 1st seven days of voting. We do know most of those voters had to stand in line for 1-2 hours, which is unacceptable. And it's certain they will ignore this:

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BTP The Podcast Vol. 9: Basketball Hype Edition

A lot of basketball, a lot of ignoring football.

Did you want to listen to a whole podcast about football after what happened on Saturday? Of course you didn’t. So we spent a while talking about all sorts of basketball things, from the new Reynolds, to Primetime With The Pack, to recruiting, and the roster. Joining Will I this week is noted BTP hoops insider Newclass, who had a lot of good stuff to share.

It is still very much June in this podcast. Until we briefly talk about football at the end. But you can skip that part if you feel like it.

We’re two and a half weeks from the regular-season opener against Georgia Southern and a little over a week from the first exhibition game. We’re almost there, ya’ll, almost there.

(Tunes: “Faithbreaker,” by The Love Language, from Ruby Red; “Christmas Time Is Here,” by Vince Guaraldi, from A Charlie Brown Christmas; “Silver Spring,” by Speedy Ortiz, from Sports.)

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NC GOP swings and misses against Andrew Barnhill

Calling this ham-handed would be a gross understatement:

In its ad, the GOP used a screen shot from First Baptist Church in Wilmington to claim that "the Church he claims to pastor doesn't even list him on their website." But Barnhill, who is running against incumbent Sen. Michael Lee, R-New Hanover, has said he is a former pastor of First Baptist Church in Whiteville -- not in Wilmington.

The Whiteville church's current pastor, Rev. Ryan Clore, confirmed Monday that Barnhill served as a pastor at the church. "Andrew is a good man. He is certainly no liar," Clore said. "He was a very good pastor for this church."

But of course, instead of apologizing, the NC GOP doubles-down on its jackassedness by demanding Andrew provide proof, because apparently the current pastor (mentioned above) is not to be trusted either:

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Cat Barber waived by Philadelphia 76ers

Barber likely will transition to the Sixers’ D-League team.

Cat Barber was a longshot to make the Philadelphia 76ers final roster, and on Monday he got the bad news, as he and four other players were cut. Monday was the deadline for teams to get their rosters down to 15 players.

Barber would have had a better shot at nabbing that last roster spot were it not for more untimely injury setbacks that limited the amount he could play during the preseason. When he finally did get back, he played sparingly. Barber scored 11 points and dished three assists over two games. Luck hasn’t exactly been on his side since he declared for the NBA Draft.

Barber picked up $50,000 in guaranteed money for his training camp stint, and now figures to be assigned to Philadelphia’s D-League team. Which isn’t the worst thing in the world—if he can make a strong impression there, who knows, maybe we’ll still end up seeing him in a 76ers uniform at some point during this season.

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The #goacc Moment of the Week (10/24/2016)

The weekly in-depth look at the best (worst?) moments in ACC schadenfreude.

Bit of a scheduling change to announce, as we’re going to start posting our weekly analysis of all things #goacc on Mondays! Last time we met, we saw Leonard Hamilton’s crazy suit win pretty comfortably. Coach Ham is back again this week (more on this shortly), as well as some other hilarious entries. We’ve also got a ridiculous #suregrin winner (this seriously might be the worst ever), some absolutely incredible photoshops, and we’ll close as always with some wisdom from the world of wrasslin’. Let’s get right to it, folks - which is your #goacc Moment of the Week? Vote below!

1. Leonard Hamilton wants to keep the crazy outfit momentum going, apparently.

(h/t @chip_patterson).

i know it's football season but FSU fans you gotta let me know when Coach Ham does stuff like this https://t.co/lqmlyJMiww http://pic.twitter.com/h27ZFRwTUo

— Chip Patterson (@Chip_Patterson) October 21, 2016

Is he auditioning for the reboot of the Playa Haters Ball from Chappelle’s show?

2. Louisville wore glow in the dark cleats for a noon kickoff.

(h/t @UofLFootball).

Tomorrow we will Glow. #L1C4, #Unearthed, #teamadidas http://pic.twitter.com/HHFe9PsPC9

— LouisvilleFootball (@UofLFootball) October 22, 2016

I’m sure this was an Adidas mandated thing, but can’t common sense prevail on this one?

3. Poor Kyle Bambard.

(h/t @ewilson32).

@MarkEnnis http://pic.twitter.com/gRpHQ6GAZO

— Eric Wilson (@ewilson32) October 22, 2016

What exactly happened here? Was that on the holder? Whatever the case may be, that’s likely not going to help Bambard’s confidence.

4. Commentator in UNC-UVA game has some thoughts on Dr. Dre songs.

(h/t @theBenSwain).

Can we talk about this? #goacc https://t.co/i36rkSPyQ1

— Ben Swain (@TheBenSwain) October 22, 2016

Yeahhhhhhh......No. Just no, guy. Stop that right now.

5. Bronco Mendenhall called UNC "UConn."

(h/t @bigdarr76).

@lebrownlow @WTF_JMF @Bill_Kenerly @JimMWeber @TurnerWalston http://pic.twitter.com/R4iaBFe9zp

— Bill Darragh (@Bigdarr76) October 23, 2016

Probably the closest UConn will ever get to being in the ACC, AMIRITE?!

6. Hey, what’s Frank Beamer up to right now?

(h/t @VT_Football).

Apparently Coach Beamer has taken up art in his spare time!

@ESPNCFB #Hokies http://pic.twitter.com/GsKsv0S0wo

— VT Football (@VT_Football) October 20, 2016

Oh you know, just making Hokie themed pumpkins! Look at that craftsmanship!

7. Hauschka had a chance to win it for the Seahawks annnnnnd nope.

(h/t @HeavensHawkeye).

The Seattle Arizona game recap in one gif#SEAvsAZ #SNF http://pic.twitter.com/NnQUckhc5w

— Heavens! (@HeavensHawkeye) October 24, 2016

Seriously, who put this hex on NC State kickers? Stop this right now.

8. Syracuse used Ken Bone on their play calling placard.

(h/t @connordcorcoran).

@NunesMagician can we talk about this, what does ken bone mean to the defense? http://pic.twitter.com/MGs6aq4Ipy

— Connor Corcoran (@connordcorcoran) October 16, 2016

Let’s see - that’s Ken Bone, Danaerys Targaryen, Connor McGregor and something else I can’t tell. Whatever that is, that’s a hell of a play call.

the #suregrin award.

Look, we all rip on Darren Rovell for having the most soulless tweets of anyone on planet Earth. Well, during the third presidential debate, he took it to a new low:

i feel bad for our country. But this is tremendous content.

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) October 20, 2016

"Tremendous content?" For the love of God man do you ever turn it off? Not everything has to be about content and branding! Just log off and delete your account.

The best photoshops of the week!

We’ll first start with a tremendous entry from @The_Jameson, who astutely noted that CNN Political commentator Jeffrey Lord looks like Andrew Jackson:

Can y'all tell any difference? #debatenight http://pic.twitter.com/CYXaBnZqgB

— Jameson (@the_Jameson) October 20, 2016

I mean, that is just ridiculous. Totally spot on. However, he wasn’t done there, and photoshopped Lauren Brownlow’s worst nightmare into the Great ACC Debate:

@WRALSportsFan @lebrownlow @joeovies http://pic.twitter.com/3PuDMbaxvE

— Jameson (@the_Jameson) October 20, 2016

Seriously, fire every Billiken into the sun. Finally, let’s all laugh at the Big 12 again:

http://pic.twitter.com/1Fyz8AtR06

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) October 17, 2016

And now, for your moment of wrasslin’...

THE JIM ROSS BAH GAWD MOMENT OF THE WEEK!!

Hoo boy this is a good one. In case you didn’t see it, Leonard Fournette absolutely bulldozed an Ole Miss player, and of course it got the Jim Ross treatment.

FOURNETTE TRUCKED HIM BAH GAWD https://t.co/sO0Wy5l313 https://t.co/kRJyTEIRXT

— SB Nation (@SBNation) October 23, 2016

See y’all next week!

Poll

Which is your #goacc Moment of the Week?

• Leonard Hamilton wants to keep the crazy outfit momentum going, apparently
• Louisville wore glow in the dark cleats for a noon kickoff
• Poor Kyle Bambard
• Commentator in UNC-UVA game has some thoughts on Dr. Dre songs
• Bronco Mendenhall called UNC "UConn"
• Hey, what’s Frank Beamer up to right now?
• Hauschka had a chance to win it for the Seahawks annnnnnd nope
• Syracuse used Ken Bone on their play calling placard

  88 votes | Results

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NC State opens as 15.5-point favorite over Boston College

That’s more like it!

NC State returns home this weekend badly in need of a victory to get itself back on track, and fortunately there waiting for the Wolfpack will be Boston College, which is off to an 0-4 start in the ACC. The Pack opened as a 15.5-point favorite to beat the Eagles, per Vegas Insider.

Steve Addazio’s program and tenure at BC are in flames right now, with little hope for recovery in the near term. The Eagles still have very little worth mention going on offensively, and the defense hasn’t been nearly as formidable as it was in 2015. Losing defensive coordinator Don Brown to Michigan might have been the development that cost Addazio his job. (Well, that and his utter inability to find a competent quarterback.)

Boston College is 3-4 with games against Louisville and FSU still to come, so it’s pretty much a must-win week for the Eagles if they want to even think about a bowl game. But it wouldn’t surprise me if their hearts weren’t in it this week, especially if NC State picks up a lead early.

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On the importance of your vote

Kirk Ross gets to the meat of the matter:

If you’re having trouble mustering that belief in self-governing and are still determined to withhold your vote, consider for a minute that you might not be voting for just you. Because you’re not. One person, one vote doesn’t translate to “my vote.” It means a lot more than that.

Of course you vote for yourself, but you also vote for everyone who can’t. In Orange County that includes the roughly 30,000 people under 18, six thousand of whom are age 5 or younger. It includes students from abroad studying at the university, people in prison, those too ill to vote, the undocumented and the dreamers and everyone you know who died this year who would have stepped up.

Over the years, I've always considered those who engage in the system and cast votes to be responsible. But in recent years, I've come to consider those who don't vote to be not just disengaged from the system and aloof, but patently irresponsible for their lack of concern. That may be an effect of immersing myself daily in political issues and exploring the long-term consequences of poor leadership, but I can't help it. Once you know, you can't un-know. So the challenge is (and always has been), getting those other people to know.

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Monday News: Dynamic duo coming to Winston-Salem

HILLARY CLINTON, MICHELLE OBAMA PLAN WINSTON-SALEM RALLY (Winston-Salem Journal) -- With less than two weeks until Election Day, Hillary Clinton and ace supporter, First Lady Michelle Obama, will campaign together Thursday at Wake Forest University at a rally to encourage early voting. The appearance, their first joint campaign stop this election season, will be from 2 to 4 p.m., at Hearn Plaza, an outdoor space in the center of campus. Doors will open at 11:30 a.m.
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Robin Hayes’ deplorable hyperbole

Robin Hayes’ case for supporting the Republican Party in the election is one big mess. His hyperbole is over the top and his chief rationale for voting for Trump is sham. Hayes calls the election the “republic’s last stand.” First, if anybody threatens the future of the republic, it’s clearly Donald Trump. He’s the only […]
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NC State checks in at No. 36 in preseason Pomeroy Ratings

That ranking suggests the Pack is on its way back to the NCAAs.

There are 12 ACC teams in the top 51 of the preseason Pomeroy Ratings, including NC State, which is ranked 36th to begin the season. Duke’s collection of NBA all-star prospects is ranked first in the ACC and first overall, not surprisingly.

ACC in the Pomeroy Ratings (projected ACC record)

1.) Duke (14-4)
5.) UNC (13-5)
7.) UVA (12-6)
9.) Louisville (12-6)
12.) Syracuse (11-7)
23.) Clemson (10-8)
24.) Miami (9-9)
36.) NC State (9-9)
39.) Virginia Tech (9-9)
40.) Florida State (8-10)
50.) Notre Dame (9-9)
51.) Pittsburgh (8-10)
76.) Wake Forest (6-12)
107.) Georgia Tech (4-14)
154.) Boston College (3-15)

There are plenty of similarities between Pomeroy’s projections and SI’s projections—both have the same top five, both have 12 teams winning at least eight league games. Sports Illustrated’s system is a little higher on the Wolfpack, projecting it to win 10 ACC games and finish sixth.

The preseason Pomeroy Ratings also come with projections for each team’s offensive and defensive efficiency. NC State’s offense is expected to improve a few slots, up from 31st last year to 28th, while the defense is expected to leap from 150th to 54th. (The Pomeroy Ratings were optimistic about State’s defense at this time least year, too.)

Some stray observations:

— My initial impression is that KenPom is too pessimistic about State’s offense, which I bet will be top 20 at least, and too optimistic about the defense, which probably won’t rate as high as 54th but shouldn’t be the dumpster fire it was last season

— State is favored to win every single one of its currently known non-conference games (two Paradise Jam opponents are TBD). Creighton, a potential opponent in that touranment, is ranked 32nd. St. Joe’s, another possible foe, is 90th. The only top-100 KenPom opponent set in stone for NC State is Illinois (70). The Pack needs that Creighton game to happen.

— Duke’s defense is expected to go from 86th in 2016 to 18th this season, which I suppose is possible, but with all those freshmen playing, I’m gonna have to see that before I believe it.

— If you like good offense, the ACC is the league for you: 12 teams are projected to have top-35 offenses. Only eight are projected to have top-35 defenses.

— Duke has the nation’s top offense, while UVA has the nation’s top defense. Don’t think those projections are going to surprise many people.

— Alert the authorities, a Brad Brownell offense is actually expected to be good. The highest Clemson has ever finished in adjusted offensive efficiency under Brownell is 45th—last year. Prior to that, no finish above 69th.

— The Clemson projection may feel a bit high, but I like it. Brownell’s done a nice job there the last few seasons, and he’s got another sure-fire NBA player to lead his team. Defense has generally not been the source of Clemson’s problems under Brownell.

— Poor ol’ Boston College has a sub-50% win probability in every single ACC game. Its best chance to end the losing streak, in the eyes of KenPom: a Jan. 31 home game against Wake Forest (43% chance of victory). More than likely the Eagles will nab a few wins this season, as the projections allude to, but whew, man, they realistically could be the underdog in all 18.

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Why yes, a shirtless Mark Gottfried did make his Primetime With The Pack entrance in a boxing getup

The Gott Man is rarely short on surprises.

NC State held its annual Primetime With The Pack event on Friday (you know, the yearly not-quite-Midnight-Madness dealio), and as usual Mark Gottfried found a unique way to make an entrance. In the past, he’s come flying in from the rafters, but this year he set the standard by which all future efforts will be measured.

Behold, the Clasher from Crestline, the Bruiser from ‘Bama, the Rabble-Rouser from Raleigh, Maaaaaaaark Gottfrieeeeeeed.

.@Mark_Gottfried wins best entrance. Hands down http://pic.twitter.com/IGguB42szE

— NC State Men's Bball (@PackMensBball) October 22, 2016

(NC State had professional boxer Deontay Wilder on hand to talk about winning and such—he’s done a lot of winning and such, apparently—to the basketball team, hence the boxing theme.)

That sure beats Roy Williams’ “Late Night With Roy” entrance, which every year is just him wearing tacky pants, holding a nine iron and looking ruefully at a shot he hooked into the milkshake of a little girl in the upper deck. Coach K’s entrance at Duke’s event involves so much hair spray you can actually see the aerosol creating a hole in the ozone layer directly above his head. At Wake Forest, Danny Manning has the Deacon mascot grip his head and “bowl” him on to midcourt. It’s all amazing stuff.

But all of it pales next to an entrance that Mark Gottfried puts together.

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Duelling Chairs: Keever and Hayes square off in the OpEd column

So many analogies to choose from, but Rocky and Bullwinkle keep coming to mind:

Even if we set aside the tremendous damage HB2 has done to our economy and our reputation, McCrory’s claims of a “Carolina Comeback” ring hollow. Most of the state’s economic gains have flowed to those at the very top, thanks to McCrory’s tax cuts for the wealthy and tax hikes on the rest of us. McCrory has raised taxes on the middle class in 67 different ways – you can see each of them at PatTaxedThat.com.

Our choices are clear: Will we continue to move forward? Will we work together to build a greater North Carolina and a stronger United States? Or will we let ourselves be divided by fear, bigotry and hatred?

While Patsy may have dedicated a little too much column space to hammering on HB2 when there are so many other Republican-backed policies that have plagued our state, her position is well-reasoned and factual. Can't say the same for Robin Hayes, who predictably throws reason and reality to the wind:

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Sunday News: Yes Donald, they vote

EARLY VOTING SHOWS UPSURGE OF WOMEN (Politico) -- In three crucial battlegrounds — North Carolina, Florida and Georgia — women are casting early ballots in disproportionate numbers. And in North Carolina, a must-win state for Trump with detailed early voting data available, it’s clear that Democratic women have been particularly motivated to turn out or turn ballots in. In North Carolina, 87,000 Democratic women have already moved to cast early ballots compared with just 60,000 Republican women, according to data shared with POLITICO by J. Michael Bitzer, an expert on North Carolina’s early vote at Catawba College. Men in the state, meanwhile, are closely divided: 50,000 Republicans and 52,000 Democrats have voted.
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The morning after with Omega: Louisville edition

Hello there, reality. Thank you for the slap in the face.

After NC State weathered the storm, quite literally, to beat Notre Dame and followed that up with what should've been a win in Death Valley in the team's best performance under Dave Doeren, I swilled the Kool-Aid by the bucket. The offense has taken a slight step back without Jacoby Brisett, but Ryan Finley has been a capable game manager and the run game remains strong. The defense, always the Achilles' heel under Doeren and Dave Huxtable, is where the real improvement seemed to have come. The Pack entered yesterday's debacle at Louisville with the 13^th best defense in the nation according to S&P+. After the near miss in Death Valley, we had reason to believe that this was a top 25 program headed for an eight or nine win season. But this morning after, it appears the Notre Dame game was a weather-aided fluke and that the Clemson performance was an outlier.

We're probably better than who we thought we were after East Carolina, but we're not nearly as good as we thought we were a week ago. And so it goes.

Time to grasp at straws for the good bullets in our weekly good, bad, and ugly.

The Good:

• We won the second half! Sure, this is completely without meaning when you spot a team a 44-0 lead at intermission, but at least there wasn't a total ankle-grabbing quit. The Cards, if you remember, actually beat Florida State by a greater margin.
• When Louisville failed to score in the third quarter, it was just the second time all season they were held without points for a period. They've scored in 26 of their 28 quarters this fall.
• The run defense, even on Lamar Jackson, was actually pretty solid. The Cards came in averaging over 7.25 yards per rush, over two more per carry than any team in the ACC and the most in the nation, but they were held to a paltry 3.7 yards per carry against the Pack.
• The season-low 163 yards State allowed on the ground were 109 fewer than the least allowed to Louisville previously this year. (That alone boggles the mind.) The Cards previous low on a per-carry basis was five yards per tote against Clemson before being held to a new season-low 3.7 against the Pack.
• State managed to sack the elusive Jackson three times, a truly exceptional feat, and totaled six tackles for a loss.
• Matt Dayes was cleared to return to the game after his injury but was held out; that was probably the wise decision with the game out of reach. Dayes not being expected to miss any time going forward is probably the most good to come out of yesterday's bloodletting.

The Bad:

• There really wasn't anything bad. It was beyond bad. So, let's get to the ugly.

The Ugly:

• Finley's first pass was an intercepted duck into double coverage. Both Louisville defenders had a better shot at it than the intended receiver. If anyone had a Clemson hangover, it was Finley. His confidence looks shaken.
• The offensive shitshow in the early going included this nugget: eight of State's first 11 plays went for no gain or negative yardage.
• The offensive shitshow in the early going included this nugget: State had -1 total yards in the first quarter.
• The offensive shitshow in the first half included this nugget: INT, punt, punt, punt, punt, INT, INT, punt, half. That's quite a "drive" chart.
• Meanwhile, Jackson had thrown for over 300 yards by intermission.
• The big play bugaboo is back. Jackson was bottled up on the ground with the exception of his 36-yard TD to open the scoring, but four Louisville receivers had a catch of 30 yards or more, including Jaylen Smith's 74-yard TD. That's 378 and 390 yards allowed through the air in back-to-back weeks. Obviously the competition have been Heisman QBs, but this doesn't look like the performance of a truly improved defense. And Jackson might've thrown for 500 if he hadn't been bored.
• I could go on. But I don't want to.

In defense of the defense, it was made more difficult to try to combat the Cards' speed by an offense that couldn't manage a first down until deep into the second quarter. Short fields. No breaks. Speed. Petrino. It's going to get ugly despite your best efforts against his team if the offense can't burn some clock.

This game was probably over a week ago when Kyle Bambard's kick sailed wide right, and it certainly didn't help to have Tony Adams banged up and Will Richardson out with an illness. The Pack run behind those two most often. The Pack ran for just 14 yards Saturday.

The gauntlet is over. State mercifully returns home to take on Steve Addazio's dudes next Saturday. Let's get healthy and be ready to play.

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Matt Dayes injury: NC State RB held out despite being cleared to return again Louisville

Matt Dayes is fine, everybody.

NC State running back Matt Dayes missed the majority of his team’s blowout loss to Louisville on Saturday, but not because he suffered a significant injury. Dayes was cleared to return after enduring a helmet-to-helmet hit early in the second quarter but did not play again, as the Wolfpack were already well behind.

That was a smart move by the coaching staff, because Dayes simply was not going to make an ounce of difference in the outcome of this game. There was no reason to risk further injury—especially with a kid who’d taken a shot to the head—when the majority of the rest of the contest amounted to garbage time.

It was a disappointing performance for Dayes and the NC State offense, but sometimes you have to grit your teeth and take the long view, and both Dayes and State still have a lot that they can accomplish over the final five regular season games.

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