O'Brien not sure what he's in for

All week, Tom O'Brien has studied tapes of Boston College's first four games, and he is still uncertain of what he has seen.

"I'm not sure what they are doing," said O'Brien, whose North Carolina State Wolfpack host the Eagles tomorrow at noon. "They seem to be playing two quarterbacks. I'm not sure they have settled on what they are doing. The offense seems to be more of what [offensive coordinator] Steve Logan wants to do. A lot of what they did last year was for Matt [Ryan], which was smart to keep Matt in his comfort zone."

O'Brien, who spent 10 seasons as coach of the Eagles, says he looks at the tapes of BC and the Eagles' depth chart and sees familiar names. "I think 33 of the guys on their two-deep [depth chart] I recruited or had commitments from," said O'Brien, whose team is 2-3.

Yet O'Brien says time has helped provide a different outlook. "Last year was too close," he said. "It was the second game of the season [when we played BC], and I knew that team better than I knew my own. Now I know my guys. The feeling isn't the same."

O'Brien won't go as far as to say it's just another game. "There are a lot of people I still know [at BC]," he said. "But it certainly has a much different feel to it now that I've been here a year-plus."

As it has been for O'Brien since the day he arrived in Raleigh, N.C., injuries are a major problem. A year ago, the Wolfpack lost 13 starters for a total of 44 games. This year has been even worse. In the Wolfpack's first five games, 10 starters have missed a total of 36 games.

One starter O'Brien should have back for tomorrow's game is quarterback Russell Wilson, who has been injured twice, including with a concussion. Wilson has been replaced by Harrison Beck.

Less than perfect

After declaring Wednesday that everyone was healthy, BC coach Jeff Jagodzinski amended that yesterday when discussing cornerback DeLeon Gause, who suffered an ankle sprain in the first quarter against Georgia Tech Sept. 6 and has been sidelined since. "Gause will be an emergency only," said Jagodzinski. "He didn't practice well enough [Wednesday]. I thought he would come along." . . . BC will be looking for its first win in the state of North Carolina since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Eagles are 0-3 in North Carolina since 2005, including a 17-15 loss to N.C. State two years ago.