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The Lowdown 2006 Schedule Coach: Chuck Amato (7th season, 46-28) 2005 record: 7-5 (Beat South Florida in Meineke Car Care Bowl) ACC finish: 3-5 (t-4th Atlantic) 2005 I-A offensive rankings: Rushing: 83rd (124.4 ypg) Passing: 92nd (190.2 ypg) 2005 I-A defensive rankings: Rushing: 14th (107.2 ypg) Passing: 26th (191.5 ypg) Date Opponent Sept. 2 Appalachian State Sept. 9 Akron Sept. 16 at Southern Miss Sept. 23 Boston College Oct. 5 Florida State Oct. 14 Wake Forest Oct. 21 at Maryland Oct. 28 at Virginia Nov. 4 Georgia Tech Nov. 11 at Clemson Nov. 18 at North Carolina Nov. 25 East Carolina Depth Chart: Offense 5 returning starters in red Ps. No. Player Yr. No. Player Yr. WR 1 John Dunlap Jr. 2 Darrell Blackman Jr. WR 13 Lamart Barrett Sr. 88 Geron James Fr. LT 78 James Newby Sr. 54 Merci Falaise Sr. LG 69 Kalani Heppe Jr. 60 Meares Green So. C 64 Leroy Harris Sr. 72 Luke Lathan Jr. RG 76 Curtis Crouch So. 61 Julian Williams Fr. RT 79 Jon Holt Sr. 68 Garrett Kline Jr. TE 83 Anthony Hill Jr. 89 Octavius Darby So. QB 9 Marcus Stone Jr. 19 Daniel Evans So. FB 37 John Kane So. 4 Pat Bedics Jr. TB 24 Andre Brown So. 22 Toney Baker So. Depth Chart: Defense 6 returning starters in red Ps. No. Player Yr. No. Player Yr. DE 97 Willie Young Fr. 41 Martrel Brown Jr. DT 92 DeMario Pressley Jr. 70 Teddy Larsen Fr. DT 72 Tank Tyler Sr. 93 John Bedics So. DE 55 John Amanchukwu Sr. 98 Littleton Wright Jr. SLB 29 LeRue Rumph Jr. 20 Reggie Davis Sr. MLB 42 Pat Lowery Sr. 95 James Martin Jr. WLB 5 Ernest Jones Jr. 11 Guerlin Dervil Jr. CB 8 Jimmie Sutton Jr. 24 Phillip Holloman Jr. CB 3 A.J. Davis Sr. 6 Levin Neal So. ROV 19 Garland Heath Sr. 7 DaJuan Morgan So. FS 25 Miguel Scott Jr. 14 J.C. Neal So. Special Teams Ps. No. Player Yr. Ps. No. Player Yr. K 12 John Deraney Sr. P 12 John Deraney Sr. KR 2 Darrell Blackman Jr. PR 2 Darrell Blackman Jr.

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Chuck Amato is a hard coach to evaluate. Since coming to North Carolina State in January 2000, he's led his teams to five bowl games and won four of them. He has more wins in his first six years than any other Wolfpack coach. He's delivered what is arguably the greatest single season in N.C. State history. He's recruited better (on paper) than any other Wolfpack coach. And he's been the driving force for the greatest building boom in the school's history.

So why was Amato booed at his own stadium at one point last season?

The problem is that for all his success, Amato has come up short in a number of areas. He's never finished better than fourth in the ACC. His best year was in 2002, raising expectations that his recent teams haven't been able to match. Assistant coaches have come and gone, and so have a number of promising players. Worst of all, he's lost two in a row to rival North Carolina, despite having what was believed to be better overall talent than the Tar Heels.

Taken together, the two sides of Amato's tenure explain why there are so many questions about his program heading into his seventh year. N.C. State may be the most volatile team -- and program -- in the ACC. The talent is there to make the 'Pack a legitimate contender for the ACC championship -- N.C. State has beaten the eventual ACC champion in each of the last two seasons -- or it could land in the ACC basement. Amato has to prove he can sustain a high level of performance over the course of a full season -- or at the very least against UNC.

OFFENSE

Philip Rivers, who started every game in Chuck Amato's first four seasons, was the best quarterback in school (and perhaps ACC) history. But since his departure, Amato has struggled to find even a capable replacement.

Midway through last season, he stopped trying to find another Rivers and changed the focus of his offense from the passing game to the running game. The Wolfpack coach unleashed freshman tailbacks Andre Brown and Toney Baker, a pair of powerful yet mobile runners. They combined for 1,213 rushing yards at almost five yards per carry and salvaged what had been shaping up as a dismal season.

They'll be the focus of this season's offense as sophomores. Quarterback Marcus Stone, 5-1 as a starter in 2005, will be asked only to avoid mistakes and provide just enough of a passing threat to prevent opponents from stacking the box to defend the run.

Stone has an inexperienced collection of receivers. The 'Pack is counting on John Dunlap, a big Floridian who finally appears healthy after suffering an ACL tear before last season, and converted tailback Darrell Blackman to blossom into quality wideouts.

Amato has the luxury of a solid offensive line, anchored by all-star candidate Leroy Harris at center and a budding young star at guard in 344-pounder Curtis Crouch.

DEFENSE

No team in college football lost as much up front as N.C. State as three defensive linemen moved on to the NFL.

Amato still has a fine pair of defensive tackles in veterans DeMario Pressley and Tank Tyler. His problem is replacing the best pair of defensive ends in school history -- Mario Williams and Manny Lawson, who combined for 25 sacks and 43.5 tackles for a loss last season. Willie Young, a former MVP of the Florida-Louisiana All-Star game, shows a lot of promise at one starting spot, but he's never played a down of college football.

Amato also has to rebuild his linebacking corps after the unexpected decision of All-ACC backer Stephen Tulloch to pass up his final year of eligibility. Converted safety LeRue Rumph is the only proven returnee, although career backup Pat Lowery has been solid when called on in the past. One solution may be the conversion of former tailback starter Reggie Davis to outside linebacker.

There are no such concerns in the secondary, where three starters and a host of experienced young backups make this the deepest, most talented position on the team. Garland Heath and Miguel Scott form one of the best safety tandems in the ACC.

SPECIALISTS

The kicking game is a strength. John Deraney is one of the best all-around kickers in college football -- a senior who punts, kicks off, never misses an extra point and was a Groza semifinalist. Darrell Blackman is an All-ACC kick returner.

FINAL ANALYSIS

Amato's seventh NC State team will feature a powerful running game and a suspect passing game. His defense is overpowering in the secondary and riddled with question marks up front. N.C. State has enough talent to return to a bowl game. But this team will have to develop a consistency that's been lacking to avoid a last-place finish in the Atlantic Division.