ASU's Edwards expected to play Saturday

Unless he suffers an unexpected setback, Appalachian State quarterback Armanti Edwards is expected to play Saturday when the second-ranked Mountaineers host No. 16 McNeese State at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone.

"Armanti will be ready to play on Saturday," Appalachian State coach Jerry Moore said Tuesday.

Edwards missed the entire preseason and the Mountaineers' season-opening loss at East Carolina last Saturday while recovering from a lawnmowing accident that required 35 stitches in his right foot.

Moore said doctors cleared Edwards on Monday to return to practice and games.

"Three or four days ago, he didn't feel he could run on it," Moore said. "These next three or four days add that much more healing."

Moore said he didn't know if Edwards will start against McNeese State but didn't rule it out.

"If he can play and he's ready start, we'll start him," Moore said. "If not, I still think he's going to play."

-- Ron Green Jr

O'Brien supports preseason change

Every preseason, college football coaches and players drone on about how tired they are of scrimmaging against their teammates.

N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien has a solution for this yearly August malaise. O'Brien has joined Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer in calling for the NCAA to allow schools to schedule a preseason exhibition game against another school.

O'Brien said the issue was discussed at the latest American Football Coaches Association convention last winter. While preparing for the national marquee opener against Alabama last week, Beamer threw his weight behind the idea.

Now O'Brien is saying that either playing an exhibition game or being allowed to go practice against another team would be "a great idea" for college football teams.

"It will give you an indication of who and what you are against somebody else," O'Brien said. "Then when you open with a South Carolina or an Alabama like he did, you might be better prepared to take on the first game."

O'Brien said support for the idea might be the result of an influx of former NFL coaches in the college ranks. He said he wouldn't want to play four exhibition games as NFL teams do.

He said that when he played for the Marine Corps team in 1972, Carson-Newman and another school visited the Corps at Quantico for about a week.

"Each day you practiced against somebody different and you worked on your stuff," he said. "And it worked out pretty good."

The NFL isn't the only place where exhibition games are held. In college athletics' other marquee sport, men's basketball teams are allowed two exhibition games each season.

Some schools have taken to forgoing one of those exhibitions in order to meet an opponent for a secret, unpublicized scrimmage.

Football is more violent than basketball, and it might take only an injury or two to key players to make coaches dread exhibition games. But the way O'Brien sees it, getting a chance to work out the kinks against an opposing team without having a win or loss at stake would be worthwhile for college football teams.

Ken Tysiac

No lineup changes for Pack

N.C. State did not make any lineup changes after Thursday night's 7-3, season-opening loss to South Carolina, according to the depth chart released Monday.

Coach Tom O'Brien said at his weekly news conference Monday that he feels confident he has the right players at the right positions on the offensive line even though the Wolfpack gave up six sacks to the Gamecocks.

N.C. State plays host to Murray State at 6 p.m. Saturday.

O'Brien said losing left offensive tackle Jake Vermiglio to a calf injury early in the game hurt N.C. State. The Wolfpack moved left guard Julian Williams to tackle and played redshirt freshman Andrew Wallace at left guard.

N.C. State was penalized just four times in the game, and Wallace was called for three of them. His fouls wiped out a deep reception by Owen Spencer and a run for a first down by Toney Baker.

Citing the ACC’s injury policy, which calls for status updates on players only on Thursdays unless they are out for the season or have had surgery, O’Brien refused to discuss Vermiglio’s status for Saturday’s game. He also wouldn’t talk about cornerback DeAndre Morgan, a returning starter who didn’t play against the Gamecocks because of an ankle injury.

O’Brien tipped his hand a bit on running back Jamelle Eugene, who missed the late stages of Thursday’s game because of injury. O’Brien said freshman James Washington, who took Eugene’s place against South Carolina, will play in a backup role behind Toney Baker if Eugene is unable to practice this week.

Sophomore quarterback Russell Wilson was the subject of much of the hype entering N.C. State’s preseason opener against South Carolina.

Even though Wilson failed to direct the Wolfpack to a touchdown in a 7-3 loss Thursday night, the demands for improvement are largely being directed at his supporting cast.

O'Brien said the offensive line didn’t protect Wilson well, as he was sacked six times. O’Brien also expressed frustration at five dropped passes.

Three of Wilson’s final four throws could have been caught – two of them in the end zone.
"We can’t be dropping five balls against a defense like that,” O’Brien said. “And the other thing that cost us on offense is two penalties that took away, 50, 60 yards of gain for us.”

Ken Tysiac

Sexton hurt in Catawba game

Former UNC quarterback Cameron Sexton, now the starter at Division II Catawba, has been taken to the hospital for X-rays on his right ankle, a Catawba spokesman said.

Sexton, a part-time starter for the Tar Heels last season, was hurt on the third play of Catawba's game against Fayetteville State -- on a late hit, and his first pass of the game.

-- Robbi Pickeral

Live blog: Appalachian State at East Carolina

GREENVILLE, N.C. East Carolina finally found a way to stop third-team Appalachian State quarterback Travaris Cadet and held on to win 29-24 on Saturday at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

Defensive end Scotty Robinson sacked Cadet on second down, and Cadet threw too high for Coco Hillary at the East Carolina 40-yard line on fourth down with 16 seconds remaining.

The Pirates led 29-7 early in the fourth quarter before Cadet came off the sideline to lead Appalachian State to 17 straight points.

Jason Vitaris kicked a 43-yard field goal for Appalachian State, cutting East Carolina's lead to 29-24 with 3:24 remaining.

Earlier...

Cortez Gilbert's interception of Patrick Pinkney has given Appalachian State the ball at midfield trailing East Carolina 29-21 with 6:34 remaining.

The Pirates had led 29-7 early in the fourth quarter.

Earlier...

Incredibly, Appalachian State is within one score after trailing by 22 points early in the fourth quarter at East Carolina even without Armanti Edwards.

Sophomore third-team quarterback Travaris Cadet has led the Mountaineers to two straight touchdown drives to cut the deficit to 29-21 with 8:41 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Cadet's 1-yard scoring run capped a 62-yard drive.

Earlier...

Travaris Cadet, a sophomore from Miami who's Appalachian State's third-team quarterback, gave the Mountaineers a lift on his first drive.

Cadet engineered a 12-play, 55-yard drive that included a 4-yard pass on fourth-and-1. Devon Moore capped the drive with a 2-yard scoring run, and Appalachian State trailed East Carolina 29-14 with 13:47 remaining in the third quarter.

Earlier...

It's never a good sign when your punter is kicking the ball backward, away from the line of scrimmage.

That's all Appalachian State's Sam Martin could do after he couldn't secure a high snap in the end zone midway through the third quarter. Martin booted the ball out of the back of the end zone for a safety that stretched East Carolina's lead to 29-7.

It was the Pirates' first safety since 2002, a span of 78 games.

Earlier...

For a moment, it appeared that Appalachian State was going to make a game of it.

But East Carolina's Nick Johnson intercepted DeAndre Presley's pass after an interception by Jared Reine gave the Mountaineers the ball down 17 points.

The Pirates drove for a 25-yard Ben Hartman field goal and a 27-7 halftime lead.

Earlier...

Appalachian State showed up after all.

After going more than 18 minutes without a first down, the Mountaineers drove 71 yards in 11 plays for a 3-yard touchdown run by quarterback DeAndre Presley, cutting East Carolina's lead to 24-7 with 8:12 remaining in the second quarter.

Earlier...

A year after edging the best of the ACC (Virginia Tech) in its season opener, East Carolina is crushing the best of the FCS.

Dominique Lindsay's 21-yard touchdown run with 13:21 remaining in the second quarter made the score 24-0 in the Pirates' favor over Appalachian State.

Earlier...

The rout is on, and SEC transfers are the ones doing the damage for East Carolina.

Alabama transfer Reyn Willis caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Pinkney with 4:31 remaining in the first quarter to increase the Pirates' lead to 17-0 over Appalachian State.

Kentucky transfer Brandon Jackson ran 39 yards for East Carolina's first touchdown.

Earlier...

Kicker Ben Hartman, who missed much of the preseason with a hip injury, is back for East Carolina.

Hartman, who's expected to be one of the top place-kickers in the nation this season, kicked a 26-yard field goal to increase the Pirates' lead to 10-0 with 10:05 remaining in the first quarter against Appalachian State.

Key play on the drive was a 41-yard run by Dominique Lindsay. Earlier...

Brandon Jackson won't ever forget his first carry at East Carolina.

Jackson, a Kentucky transfer who once was one of the top recruits out of Oregon ran 39 yards over right tackle for a touchdown to give the Pirates a 7-0 lead over Appalachian State with just 1:31 expired in the game.

Ken Tysiac

Edwards apparently out for ASU

REENVILLE, N.C. - Appalachian State starting quarterback Armanti Edwards apparently won't play in this afternoon's season opener at East Carolina.

Edwards is wearing his jersey but not a helmet, shoulder pads or turf shoes as Appalachian State warms up for the game, which kicks off at noon. He was listed as doubtful for the game after needing 35 stitches to close an injury suffered in a lawn mowing accident.

Sophomore DeAndre Presley is replacing Edwards as the starter.

Ken Tysiac

Heels' Jones out 2-3 weeks

Dwight Jones, a highly recruited sophomore who's a key player in North Carolina's inexperienced wide receiving corps, is expected back from a knee injury before the end of the month.

North Carolina announced Friday that Jones is expected to be out for 2-3 weeks. He had successful arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Friday at UNC Hospitals.

Jones, who played in three games last season, was listed as a starter before the injury.

Ken Tysiac

Eugene, Wilson's mobility are concerns for Pack

After months of anticipation followed by a disappointing evening Thursday, N.C. State fans have to live with the fact that they won’t feel better about their team until at least Sept. 26, when the Wolfpack plays host to Pittsburgh.

South Carolina’s 7-3 victory at Carter-Finley Stadium exposed soft spots in the N.C. State lineup, most noticeably on the offensive line and at wide receiver. The next two opponents, Murray State and Gardner-Webb, will be so overmatched that it will be difficult to gauge whether the Wolfpack has improved in those areas until Pitt comes to town.

As N.C. State’s fans hunker down for a long stretch of meaningless football, here are some leftover points from Thursday night’s game:

- Running back Jamelle Eugene’s time on the trainer’s table was a bad sign. Eugene was banged up at times last season and missed spring practice because of injury.

That’s a huge concern, especially after Toney Baker didn’t seem to show the burst he supposedly flashed during the preseason. The only promising sign was a brief appearance by freshman James Washington, who apparently is too talented to redshirt.

His 12-yard gain in the fourth quarter might have been the best run all night for the Wolfpack.

- The most debated point among fans until the Pitt game might be the reason for Russell Wilson’s failure to break free for long rushing gains.

Has Wilson lost a step because of the knee injury he suffered in the Papajohns.com Bowl? Is the brace he’s wearing slowing him down? Are the Gamecock defenders just extremely fast? Or is Wilson spending more time looking downfield for second and third receivers to come open rather than scrambling into open spaces?

It may be some combination of all four.

- Washington and cornerback Rashard Smith illustrated right off the bat that although O’Brien’s 2009 recruiting class wasn’t highly touted, there’s some excellent young talent there.

Smith made four tackles, including a sack, as he played the nickel back position. He also electrified the crowd with a 31-yard punt return in the fourth quarter.

Asa Watson, who’s the No. 3 tight end, is the only other first-year freshman who played. He worked on the punt return team.

Despite those contributions, the freshman class is unlikely to immediately produce help where N.C. State needs it the most – on the offensive line.

If you’re into recruiting rankings, Watson was a four-star recruit, Washington a three-star recruit and Smith a two-star recruit according to scout.com.

- N.C. State’s fans appear to have acquitted themselves well in a potentially combustible situation.

ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews was making her first broadcasting appearance since a surreptitiously filmed nude video of her appeared on the Internet. There was a fair amount of attention paid to Andrews in her return.

An AOL.com columnist even followed her around all evening and blogged about it. If even one out-of-control fan had held up a tasteless sign or behaved inappropriately toward Andrews, N.C. State would have come off looking foolish on national TV.

But it appears as though the fans showed some class and didn’t bother Andrews.

Ken Tysiac

Spurrier to be more involved in USC offense

It sounds as if South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier is going to take a more hands-on approach to his offense as the Gamecocks prepare to face Georgia next week.

Spurrier was delighted by his team’s defense in its 7-3 victory over N.C. State but he didn’t like much about the Gamecocks’ offense, which scored its only touchdown on a 14-yard drive after a Wolfpack turnover.

“I’m going to get more involved,” Spurrier said Thursday night.

Spurrier doesn’t have an offensive coordinator. His son, Steve Jr., is the designated passing coordinator while Eric Wolford is the running game coordinator.

Neither element of the offense distinguished itself against N.C. State. The Gamecocks ran for 108 yards (Brian Maddox had a team-high 66 yards) while they passed for 148 yards.

Quarterback Stephen Garcia completed 13 of 22 passes with one interception. He was sacked three times and earned what sounded like an incomplete grade from Spurrier.

“I hope Stephen can hit some more guys,” Spurrier said. “I hope he can stay in the pocket, not run out of the pocket so quickly. We have to coach him up better.

“Stephen can scramble and get open but we have to get him throwing it better. But he’s capable.”

Spurrier said he was bothered by the Gamecocks’ reliance on the shotgun formation because it prevented Garcia from calling audibles. Spurrier said there were times his team ran plays he knew wouldn’t work but couldn’t adjust.

“We need to mix it up a little better,” Spurrier said.

-- Ron Green Jr.

South Carolina stymies N.C. State

RALEIGH - It wasn't as bad as last year but the result is the same for N.C. State.

South Carolina's defense held up an early touchdown to hand N.C. State a 7-3 loss in the season-opener on Thursday at Carter-Finley Stadium.

The Gamecocks' speed on defense stifled Wolfpack quarterback Russell Wilson, who was ineffective and a step slow to elude South Carolina's edge rush.

N.C. State fumbled on its first snap on offense, at its own 14-yard line, which led to a 1-yard touchdown run by Brian Maddox with 9:10 left in the first quarter.

It was the game's only touchdown.

State, trailing 7-3, had a chance to pull ahead late in the fourth but Jay Smith dropped a would-be 32-yard touchdown pass in the end zone.

South Carolina forced a turnover on downs and bled out the clock for its second consecutive season-opening win over the Wolfpack. The Gamecocks won last year's game 34-0 in Columbia.

On State's first possession of the game, Toney Baker fumbled on his first carry since the 2007 opener, which gave South Carolina the ball at its own 14-yard line.

Four plays later, the Gamecocks turned the miscue into a 7-0 lead. Brian Maddox rushed 1-yard for the touchdown at 9:10 in the first quarter.

After State was stopped on the next series, Devin Taylor blocked a Jeff Ruiz punt to give South Carolina the ball at the 38-yard line.

South Carolina has had its own litany of errors. The Gamecocks muffed a snap, missed a 27-yard field and had a touchdown called back because of a penalty.

After Taylor's blocked field goal, South Carolina quarterback Steven Garcia hit Tori Gurley for a touchdown but it was called back for pass interference. The Gamecocks ended up punting on the series.

State later dodged a bullet when Stephen Flint bobbled a snap on a 31-yard field goal attempt, leaving South Carolina with the lone touchdown.

When USC did execute a successful snap, Spencer Lanning missed a 27-yard field goal in the third quarter.

After a Michael Lemon interception, State put together its first drive of the game — which was aided by an overturned fumble — which ended with a 43-yard field goal by Josh Czajkowski with 55.8 seconds left in the third.

-- J.P. Giglio