'Lost' Wolves Are Costing 'Pack

Why is N.C. State struggling so much this season? A big part of the reason might be what the Raleigh News & Observer is referring to as the Wolfpack's "lost recruiting class," players who signed in February 2006. This was former coach Chuck Amato's final recruiting class, and just 13 of the 20 players who committed to 'Pack are still with the program. Too much attention can be paid to individual recruits in football, where it's often to difficult to forecast just how good a high school prospect will be. But football recruiting is unquestionably about numbers, and a thin class, or in this case a class with a lot of attrition, is difficult to overcome.

Basketball, I think, is just the opposite. You can almost "miss" a year, so long as you do well in the years on either side, with at least one standout in each of those classes.

Finally, if you can't wait until tomorrow for scouting reports on the game, here's an early one from College Football News, predicting a Maryland victory to boot, plus another plucked by the Macon Telegraph.