VMI coach not deterred by underdog status. What he said about NC State game
Numbers don’t favor the Virginia Military Institute. The few predictions available understandably favor N.C. State. ESPN gives the Wolfpack a 99.0% chance of winning. VMI, however, is not deterred.
The Keydets, from the Southern Conference, come to Raleigh this Saturday in another FCS-FBS matchup. They don’t have the size, depth or speed advantage that the Pack will have. Many have written them off already.
First-year VMI head coach Danny Rocco gets it, but he also believes that any team can lose. Rocco’s coaching resume spans nearly 40 years, with multiple assistant stops in the ACC and head coaching gigs at FCS programs. He would know.
“I’ve won games as a head coach that no one thought we had any business winning, and I’ve lost games as a head coach that I feel like nobody thought we had any business losing,” Rocco said. “I think it’s people that don’t respect the game that can’t see through the reality that the game is about competition and being able to execute and play together as a team.
“In a given moment, on any given day, it’s possible for a lesser talented team – or team that is an obvious underdog in a football game – to be able to rise up and perform at a level that gives them an opportunity to secure victory.”
Rocco said football requires all 11 players to be in sync and committed to their goals each week. That’s why the longtime coach said there’s always hope and a chance, even when the odds aren’t favorable.
Even if VMI doesn’t win and the numbers are correct, the team wants to be competitive. Unlike N.C. State, there aren’t any external expectations on the Keydets.
They want to start fast and build confidence. The team hopes to see improvement from its slower starts in Weeks 1 and 2. Rocco wants his team to fight. Players people haven’t seen before should get some snaps in an attempt to build depth on the roster.
Rocco admitted the FCS-FBS games can be tough. There is a financial aspect to it, since the smaller teams use the money from the host institutions to fund their own programs.
Still, it provides an opportunity that players at smaller programs don’t usually get; from the competition and game day environment.
“The student-athlete is very highly motivated to play in these games in this atmosphere, and I think it’s one of the big reasons that I will continue to be very supportive of that one-off every year,” Rocco said.
N.C. State hosts VMI at 2 p.m. Saturday, with the Walk of Champions set for 11:30 a.m. Gates open at noon.
