Which is state's best football team?

Which college football team will be the best in the state of North Carolina in 2009?

There are numerous reader comments on the "ECU sets challenge" post that hash, and rehash, that argument.

What will happen in '09? We don't know. What has happened from 2000 to '08? We do know. Those numbers say N.C. State has been the best team in the state of North Carolina ... so far.

State has won the most overall games (60), ACC games (32), bowl games (four) and has edged UNC and Wake Forest (5-4 against each) in their respective series. The Wolfpack has also had the most bowl appearances (six).

(Oh, I hear you, Yosef, App State's got three national titles but your boys are 1-2 against the ACC this decade with a 23-10 loss to N.C. State in '06, which was State's worst team of the decade).

Duke (surprise!) has the worst record of the five Bowl Subdivision programs in the state (and all of Division I-A for that matter) with a 14-90 mark. For the sake of meaningful comparison, Duke, has been taken out of the group-record discussion.

Some numbers, from the nine seasons starting in 2000 through 2008, to chew on:

Overall	W-L	Pct.
N.C. State	60-51	.541
Wake	56-53	.532
ECU	50-60	.455
UNC	45-63	.417

Notes: State, Wake and ECU have each had four losing seasons this decade. UNC has had five.

ACC	W-L	Pct.
N.C. State	32-40	.444
Wake	29-43	.403
UNC	28-44	.389

Notes: Wake Forest won the ACC Championship Game in '06. The ACC only recognizes the regular season (6-2) in their won-loss record. Duke is 4-68.

Bowls	W-L	Pct.
Wake	3-1	.750
N.C. State	4-2	.667
UNC	2-2	.500
ECU	2-3	.400

Notes: Wake Forest's only bowl loss was to Louisville in the '07 Orange Bowl — the only BCS bowl appearance of the group.

Head-to-head	State	UNC	Wake	ECU
N.C. State	—	5-4	5-4	3-1
UNC	4-5	—	3-4	2-1
Wake	4-5	4-3	—	5-0
ECU	1-3	1-2	0-5	—

Notes: Of the current coaches, Tom O'Brien (State) is 5-1 against the group, Jim Grobe (Wake) is 13-6, Skip Holtz (ECU) is 2-3 and Butch Davis (UNC) is 0-3.

-- J.P. Giglio

(News & Observer staff photo by Ethan Hyman)

ECU running out of tickets

ECU's season-ticket sales have surpassed 20,000 for the 2009 football season, the school announced Thursday.

Less than 2,000 season-ticket packages are available and there are no individual tickets for the Appalachian State game (Sept. 5) or Virginia Tech (Nov. 5). That means if you want to see either game, you have purchase season tickets (or the secondary market).

-- J.P. Giglio

ECU sets challenge

ECU could go 0-4 against its nonconference schedule. With App State, UNC, West Virginia and Virginia Tech there is no guaranteed win on the Pirates' schedule.

Almost every college football team plays at least one gimme (most play two). Not ECU.

Due to the geographic disadvantage of Conference-USA, and relative lack of strength as compared to a BCS league, under AD Terry Holland and coach Skip Holtz the Pirates have annually set up four nonconference challenges.

Does ECU play the toughest schedule in the country? No, and that's not the point of Sunday's college football column. As Holtz said: "There are a lot of people who play nobody and then beat their chest and go 'Look at us, we're 11-1,.' "

ECU doesn't do that and that's commendable, whether you're an ECU fan or not.

-- J.P. Giglio

Pack's Irving released from hospital

N.C. State linebacker Nate Irving was released from the hospital Friday, school sports information director Annabelle Myers said in an e-mail on Monday.

Irving had been taken to the WakeMed Trauma Center in Raleigh after suffering a fractured leg and a collapsed lung in a one-car wreck before dawn on June 28.

Myers said Irving planned to spend a few days at home in Wallace, N.C., before returning to campus. The school has yet to release a timetable for Irving's return to football.

According to police records, Irving was injured when he drove off the side of Interstate 40 at about 4:40 a.m. on June 28. His vehicle came to rest in a ditch after hitting two trees.

He was cited for careless and reckless driving, and the police report cited being tired or sleepy as a possible contributing factor in the crash.

Irving, who was expected to be one of the ACC's premier defenders this season, is a junior who redshirted as a freshman. He contemplated leaving school early for the NFL draft, but decided against it.

He led N.C. State with four interceptions last season and made 84 tackles despite missing about a third of the season because of injuries.

Ken Tysiac

N.C. State loses four players

Four players who were expected to be on N.C. State’s 2009 football roster will not be with the team, the school announced Thursday.

Coach Tom O’Brien announced that sophomore cornerback Dominique Ellis is transferring. Three players who signed with N.C. State in February – Tyson Chandler, Raynard Randolph and Bryan Underwood – will not enroll in the fall.

Ellis played in all 13 games last season. Although he played mainly on special teams, he was considered a promising prospect.

"I appreciate everything the N.C. State coaching staff has done for me and taught me," Ellis said in a statement released by the school. "I learned a lot from them, but at this time, I think that for personal reasons, it’s in my best interest to continue my career at another school."

Chandler is an offensive lineman who was one of the top prospects in New Jersey. Underwood was supposed to add speed at wide receiver, and Randolph plays defensive tackle.

- Ken Tysiac

Tar Heels: From shortage to surplus?

North Carolina's Tar Heels have gone from a shortage of football scholarships to a surplus.

Kicker Jay Wooten has decided to transfer and three recruits will enroll in prep school. The Tar Heels were once 11 scholarships over the limit of 85 but now are one under that limit and could have a bigger surplus for coach Butch Davis.

Wooten, who made 4-of-6 field-goal attempts and 11 extra points as a redshirt freshman, shared the kicking responsibilities with Casey Barth in 2008. The school announced he was leaving the program on Monday, giving them 26 available scholarships.

Recruits Justin Dixon, J.R. Rhodes and Johnnie Farms are expected to enroll at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., which means what was once a recruiting class of 29 is down to 23.

Twenty of the recruits who signed in February are enrolled in summer school, a UNC spokesman said Monday.

Three players -- CB D.J. Bunn, TE Prizell Brown and LB Hawatha Bell -- have not yet enrolled, but could in August.

The NCAA allows a maximum of 25 players to enroll in one class but does not limit the number of players who can be signed.

The recruiting class

Not coming
1. S Angelo Hadley (released from LOI)
2. WR Ray-Ray Davis (junior college)
3. QB Donavan Tate (professional baseball)
4. LB Justin Dixon (prep school)
5. RB J.R. Rhodes (prep school)
6. OL Johnnie Farms (prep school)

Enrolled
1. QB Bryn Renner
2. WR Joshua Adams
3. WR Erik Highsmith
4. WR Joshua McKie
5. WR Jheranie Boyd
6. RB Hunter Furr
7. G Brennan Williams
8. T David Collins
9. T Travis Bond
10. DE Donte Moss
11. DT Jared McAdoo
12. LB Kevin Reddick
13. LB Shane Mularkey
14. CB Josh Hunter
15. CB Gene Robinson
16. CB Terry Shankle
17. S Curtis Campbell
18. DB Mywan Jackson
19. ATH A.J. Blue
20. P C.J. Feagles

Not yet enrolled
21. CB D.J. Bunn
22. TE Prizell Brown
23. LB Hawatha Bell

The departed

2008 seniors
1. WR Cooter Arnold
2. G Bryon Bishop
3. P Terrence Brown
4. G Calvin Darity
5. WR Brooks Foster
6. S Trimane Goddard
7. S Jabir Jones
8. LB Mark Paschal
9. TE Richard Quinn
10. T Garrett Reynolds
11. WR Brandon Tate
12. LB Chase Rice

Early to NFL
13. WR Hakeem Nicks

Graduated with eligibility remaining
14. QB Cam Sexton
15. RB Richie Rich
16. WR Kenton Thornton
17. TE B.J. Phillips
18. G Aaron Stahl

Transfer
19. K Jay Wooten

Medical hardship
20. T Zack Handerson
21. G Mike Dykes
22. G Morgan Randall

Dismissed
23. WR Anthony Parker-Boyd
24. CB Tavorris Jolly
25. DE Darius Powell
26. LB Kenny Harris

-- J.P. Giglio

Irving's surgery successful

N.C. State linebacker Nate Irving's surgery was successful and went as expected on Sunday after he suffered a broken leg and collapsed lung in a car crash early Sunday morning, school sports information director Annabelle Myers said Monday morning.

Irving suffered injuries that were serious but not life threatening in a one-vehicle crash on Interstate 40 while returning to campus from his home in Wallace, N.C., northwest of Wilmington.

Myers said coach Tom O'Brien visited Irving at the Wake Med Trauma Center on Sunday and said Irving feels extremely fortunate to be alive after the crash.

According to a state highway patrol report, Irving ran off the road at 4:40 a.m. near the 314-mile marker in western Johnston County. He was cited for careless and reckless driving, and being tired or sleepy may have contributed to the crash, according to the police report.

Irving is a junior who was expected to be one of the top linebackers in the ACC this season. Myers said Irving's playing status for the 2009 season has not yet been determined.

Ken Tysiac

Thigpen: No question about leaving UNC

Football coach Butch Davis is trying to turn North Carolina into more than a "basketball school."

Apparently former linebackers coach — and Tar Heel player — Tommy Thigpen couldn't wait.

In case you missed the lively discussion at the Tar Pit, Thigpen, who left Chapel Hill to coach the secondary at Auburn after last season, told the Opelika-Auburn News there was no hesitation about leaving his alma mater for the Tigers.

“[I’ve been] watching that crowd respond on gamedays from watching highlight tape,” Thigpen told the paper. “I can’t imagine what it’s actually going to be like in August.”

He continues: “I wanted to be at a place where football was the issue."

And probably where the paycheck is an issue, too. Thigpen made $148,000 last season. Seven of Auburn's assistants had paychecks that ranged between $180,000 and $370,000.

-- Robbi Pickeral

Thumb healed, ego bruised for Heels' Yates

T.J. Yates knew what was next after he injured his thumb playing ultimate frisbee. The UNC quarterback was going to hear some jokes from his teammates at his expense.

"That's their job," Yates said.

The sprained thumb has healed and the jokes are over, for now, for Yates who jammed the thumb on his right hand (his throwing hand) trying to catch a frisbee during a UNC team activity on April 22.

Yates said after a six-week rehab, he's 100 percent and back to throwing the football and working out with his teammates. He's also doing his best to avoid any future non-football related accidents. Injuries have followed Yates at UNC. He broke a bone in his left ankle in 2008 and missed six games. He had surgery on his right shoulder following the '07 season.

Yates, who enters his third season as the Tar Heels' starting quarterback in '09, bristled at the suggestion that he is injury-prone.

"I wouldn't say that," said Yates, who threw for 1,168 yards and 11 touchdowns in '08. "I've caught some bad luck. Other than the ankle, I haven't missed any games so it hasn't affected me too much."

For the record, linebacker Kennedy Tinsley was vying for the flying disc the same time Yates was, not that Yates is blaming Tinsley or anyone else for the minor setback.

"It was a freak accident," Yates said. "I think because of the position I play, any little thing can get blow out of proportion. It was no big deal."

-- J.P. Giglio

BC goes Weinke route

In need of quarterback help, Boston College took a page from Florida State's playbook. The Eagles added Dave Shinskie, a 25-year-old former baseball prospect, on Tuesday.

The Eagles lost probable starter Dominique Davis (transfer) last week. Enter Shinskie, who spent the past six seasons playing minor-league baseball.

FSU netted a national title and Heisman Trophy from its senior citizen quarterback, Chris Weinke. Like Weinke, Shinskie was a two-sport prep star who chose baseball over football out of high school.

Shinskie, 25, is expected to compete with Codi Boek and Justin Tuggle for the starting QB spot. Scout.com rated Shinskie, 6-4 and 215 pounds, a three-star recruit in the class of 2003. Shinskie said he also considered Rutgers and Pitt before signing with BC.

-- J.P. Giglio