Coach Tom O'Brien of N.C. State is growing more concerned about his team's tackling problems after breakdowns occurred again in last Saturday's loss to Duke.

O'Brien wants better production in practice this week before a game at Boston College on Saturday in order to snap a two-game losing streak that has dropped State's overall record to 3-3.

"It's about time we stood up and became accountable for ourselves and start tackling people and getting off the field," O'Brien said.

Most upsetting for O'Brien was N.C. State's inability to stop Duke on crucial third-down plays in the 49-28 loss. One bothersome play for O'Brien came when a 2-yard pass against a blitz turned into a 12-yard gain and kept alive Duke's first touchdown drive.

An N.C. State cornerback was close enough to the receiver to have stopped the play in O'Brien's judgment and force a punt. Duke converted 13 of 19 third-down plays.

The game was at least the third this season where tackling has been an issue for N.C. State. The coaching staff counted more than 20 missed tackles in a loss to South Carolina and in a win against Pittsburgh.

Clem Johnson, N.C. State's field safety, said the defensive backs and the other players on the defense need a firmer grasp of where to be on plays. Part of the solution to Johnson is for the players to spend more time studying game tape and asking questions of the coaching staff.

"This whole year it seems like we've been kind of inconsistent when it comes to tackling," Johnson said. "In my opinion, tackling is just a 'want.' If you want to tackle, you're going to go out there and tackle.

"I think guys had high expectations for the season and just really expected to kind of have things given to them. We really need to start earning respect and going out there and proving that we can tackle and can get the job done."

The fundamental shortcoming is perplexing O'Brien. Tackling is worked on extensively on Sundays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

The problem isn't readily apparent in practice. It usually shows up in games only.

No major changes will be made in the secondary after Duke's Thaddeus Lewis passed for 459 yards and five touchdowns in completing 40 of 50 attempts. Rashard Smith, a freshman, will return as the starter at the boundary corner position in place of Justin Byers after overcoming an injury that knocked him out of the lineup.

"Certainly, when you're in position, you've got to be able to get a guy on the ground," O'Brien said. "Whether we don't have the right guys who can do that, we're going to find out.

We've finally got the secondary aligned the way we want to.

"We'll see if we're better. If they're not, certainly we're going to have to go recruit guys. We've got some guys redshirted. I'd rather not (play) them this year. I think the future's bright, but the future is in Boston on Saturday."

Jamelle Eugene, a running back, and Johnson do not foresee confidence issues arising this week. Eugene is convinced the season can turn around in the final six games. Both players are encouraged in knowing that O'Brien's first two N.C. State teams finished strong in the seasons' second halves.

Eugene fears that N.C. State's image has been damaged by losing to Duke, which has struggled for 20 seasons to field competitive teams. Johnson heard the evidence on

Saturday from disgruntled fans as the N.C. State players walked off the field.

"We heard a lot of fans at the end of the game just saying certain things," Johnson said. "It wasn't pretty. That's how it goes when things are down. People tend to kind of hop off the boat."

Johnson said with a laugh that he couldn't recall and couldn't repeat what he heard.

"It hard to kind of ignore them, but we've got too much to focus on right now," he said.