Welcome to the first ever edition of Wolfpack on the Web, Backing the Pack's new daily post about what's going on with the NC State Wolfpack around the internet. I, the new guy, will be your host for this segment. In today's linkage, we touch on several different topics surrounding the Wolfpack. First, we start with the university's decision to disassociate themselves with former football player Erik Leak, a view on State's game with the Indiana on a straight from Hoosier coach Tom Crean and also some predictions about where all of these ACC bowl eligible teams will be going come late December.
N.C. State disassociates former player Erik Leak--News and Observer
The News and Observer starts us out with a great article about the Erik Leak fiasco. With a university that has the reputation it has regarding it's clean record of NCAA violations, this is certainly a sad story. Long story short, the former Wolfpack football player provided current basketball star C.J. Leslie and former player Tracy Smith with improper benefits last year. With all that has been going on with Miami and Ohio State, it's just tough to even think of things like that happening here. As for Leak's punishment, AD Debbie Yow came down on him quite hard.
N.C. State has sent a disassociation letter to former Wolfpack football player Eric Leak for providing impermissible benefits to C.J. Leslie, a sophomore forward on the school's basketball team and to former N.C. State basketball player Tracy Smith.
Leak, 34, is also not allowed to rent a suite at the RBC Center or Carter-Finley Stadium through his Dunn-based business, E Squared Community Services. The disassociation is effective for 10 years, according to the letter.
Previewing Indiana at NC State--IU Hoosiers Athletic Website
With the ACC-Big 10 challenge getting under way last night, the Wolfpack will get a crack at the Big Ten as they host the Indiana Hoosiers Wednesday night at the RBC Center. The IU Athletic Website provides a complete transcript of Hoosier Coach Tom Crean's thoughts on facing the Wolfpack on Wednesday night. Here is what he had to say about the challenge NC State poses:
"Extremely. Every year. We're picked a certain place in the Big Ten and all of a sudden we're playing a team that's not picked anywhere near us. It's been that way since we got here. It was that way when we played Wake Forest when these guys were freshmen. It's been that way so we've just come to expect it. Indiana is a draw when it comes to television, I get that. But at the same time, they're right there. They were right there a year ago to being the kind of team, they had some excellent wins. But, it'll be a huge challenge. Their athleticism, their length, they can cover a lot of ground, they're very, very good inside and the one thing they maybe do as well as anything is offensive rebound. So it's a big challenge."
College Football Power Rankings: ACC--Athlon Sports
After an impressive come from behind win against the Maryland Terrapins, the State Football team will be bowl bound for a second consecutive year. Despite their impressive second half, State was only ranked ninth out of twelfth on Athlon Sports' weekly ACC Power Ranking. Here is what they had to say about the Pack:
One of Week 13's most bizarre games took place in Raleigh. The Wolfpack came out flat and trailed Maryland 41-14 with just over 11 minutes remaining in the third quarter. However, NC State scored 42 unanswered points, including a pick-six of Terrapin quarterback C.J. Brown for the exclamation point with a minute to go. The victory over Maryland was necessary for NC State to go bowling. With Miami's decision to not play in a bowl, the Wolfpack are likely headed to Charlotte to play in the Belk Bowl. Coach Tom O'Brien's job status has been the source of speculation, but getting bowl eligible and the victory over North Carolina a couple of weeks ago likely solidified his place for another year in Raleigh.