Adams Understands What Is At Stake
Tony Adams is not a babe in the woods. He understands that a football season is long. There will be ebbs and flows.
Notre Dame was a low point for NC State this season. What lies ahead has the potential to be the highest of highs.
The Wolfpack has a lot at stake when Clemson comes to town Saturday. NC State has to overcome a tough loss if it wants to make its mark as a champion.
Meanwhile the Tigers provided a glimpse of how not to deal with a tough loss, both last season in a home defeat to Pittsburgh and so far in 2017 after coming up short at Syracuse.
Conversely, NC State needed time to recover from the dagger to the heart it received when the Tigers defeated the Wolfpack in overtime last season. No one in Raleigh is interested in repeating that experience.
Adams thinks the team is better equipped to deal with adversity.
“I think this team is a lot more mature than we were last year so being able to overcome is lot easier,” Adams said of NC State rebounding from the loss at Notre Dame. “Obviously a loss is a loss. It always hurts but we understand what we have at stake. We control our own destiny.
“That was a nonconference game, great team and we could have a lot more to play for if we had won it but it is what it is. All of our goals are still intact...but we have got to take it one game at a time. We understand that. We have always said be where our feet our and that’s where we are.”
Clemson represents an extension of the talented teams NC State has played as of late.
It is not just more of the same from the matchup late week at Notre Dame but the Tigers are defending national champions. Clemson is the best in the ACC unless someone can knock them off of the perch.
The Wolfpack are not slouches according to Adams. Playing the best on Saturday is also an extension of what NC State does throughout the week.
“We go against a high-caliber defense everyday so it is nothing to us,” Adams said. “Notre Dame played a really good game. Our hats are off to them but we didn’t do our best. We should have executed a lot more sound and more effectively.
“We get that look everyday. We have a wonderful defensive line. Even our scout team defensive line gives us a great look. Physicality is something that we like. It is something we are used to. It is just another day, another game.”
The balance between focusing on a big game while also acknowledging that is only one of 12 contests is real. It is a balance NC State has not always handled well.
Adams is hopeful this season will be different.
“I am a where my feet are-type of guy,” Adams said. “I know I said earlier ‘revenge’ but I just focus on the week. Coming into Clemson, I understand it is a big game and we pay a whole bunch of respect to them.
"It is all about the guys and how we attack each week and what we can do at the end of the season. Clemson is just in our way for what we want to do as a unit, be ACC Champions. We have been waiting for this game but every game is that type. To win those games you have to get after it."