North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State, North Carolina Clash At Kenan
10/13/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Tony Haynes
The football rivalry between NC State and North Carolina means different things to different people. The escalation of hyperbole this week has been unavoidable, yet for players like Wolfpack quarterback Philip Rivers, this is just another game.
When you grow up in a place like Athens, Alabama, the importance of the State-Carolina game doesn't exactly set off bells and whistles.
"It's certainly a bigger deal to those guys who have been in North Carolina all of their lives," Rivers said, "but I've been made aware of it. I know it's a little more riding on it just because it's a rivalry game, but I don't think it's any more important than any other game. It's another game on the conference schedule."
Forgive Rivers for his indifference and remember: this is a kid who was caught in the Alabama-Auburn crossfire most of his life.
Of course, Forest Hills native Eric Leak has a different view altogether. "We've got to beat them," said NC State's senior wide receiver. "If we lose every other game for the rest of the year, we cannot lose to them."
Even without the added incentive of the rivalry, this is a huge game for both teams. At 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the ACC, the Wolfpack has given the appearance of being an upper-division ACC team, and a win at Carolina would further establish that reputation.
Just 3-8 a year ago, the Tar Heels (3-2, 1-2) have seemingly recovered from the nightmare of '99. The offense, orchestrated by former Pack head coach Mike O'Cain, has been showing rapid improvement in recent games. And as is usually the case, Carolina features a handful of defensive players who will be playing on Sundays in a year or two.
"Their personnel is as good as anybody's in the country," said Wolfpack head coach Chuck Amato. "They always have great personnel there; I'm going to get a stiff neck looking up to them all day long. I've never seen so many tall people that can run, move and maneuver like they can."
Sophomore defensive end Julius Peppers and senior linebacker Brandon Spoon seem to be following in the footsteps of several former North Carolina defensive players who are now flourishing in the NFL.
After putting together a big season as a freshman, Peppers has become a marked man this year. But that hasn't prevented him from getting to the quarterback: through five games, he has five sacks.
The 6-2, 245 pound Spoon, who missed most all of last year with a torn biceps muscle, entered the 2000 season as the No. 3 rated inside linebacker by National Football League Scouting, Inc.
Many of the same players who stymied NC State in Carolina's 10-6 victory last year are back this season.
"They're good," Rivers said. "You look at them on film and you see that they're big and strong. They gave Georgia Tech a lot of problems. Had it not been for some blocked punts, they probably would have won that game. They've got some good down guys and they're going to give us a rush. It's going to be battle."
Of course, the unflappable Rivers has already seen a lot of pressure this season, but that hasn't stopped him from throwing 16 touchdown passes, a figure that ranks second in the nation. Rivers needs only three more touchdown passes to equal Jamie Barnette's school mark of 19 in a season. And at his current pace, the five time ACC Rookie of the Week would eclipse former Florida State quarterback Danny Kannell's ACC record of 32 touchdown passes in a single season.
"You've got to make sure that you put a lot of pressure on him so he can't sit there all day and have time to throw it downfield," said North Carolina head coach Carl Torbush. "The thing that's impressed me most about him is that he's been able to get rid of the ball quickly on the hot reads against the blitz. I've been impressed with his ability to improve and to understand where the weaknesses in a defense are. He's done a good job."
With Rivers pulling the trigger, the Wolfpack is ranked second in the nation in pass offense. But as it showed in its 42-28 loss to Georgia Tech two weeks ago, the UNC offense is also capable of putting up big numbers. In a losing cause against the Jackets, Carolina erupted for 477 yards of total offense. Multi-purpose quarterback Ronald Curry accounted for 400 of those yards by himself.
"He is a year older and that maturity is so important," Amato said. "You've got to keep him inside and you can't let him get out of the pocket. He throws the ball really well on the run so you've got to try to keep him penned in."
Having fully recovered from a torn Achilles tendon, Curry is making would-be tacklers look as silly as ever when he's trying to avoid a pass rush. Though their styles are completely different, the two quarterbacks could make this State-Carolina game one to remember.
"We've got to be able to strike when we need to because they have the same capabilities," Torbush said. "I would be shocked it this turned out to be a 10-9 ballgame. They have the ability to make big plays and I think we do to. This is going to be an interesting game because both defenses are really going to have to step up to meet the challenge, in my opinion."
Carolina leads the all-time series, 59-24-6 and has won seven straight over the Wolfpack. The winning streak the Tar Heels currently enjoy is the longest such string since UNC won seven in a row over the Pack between 1979-85. The Wolfpack's last win in the series came in 1992, when quarterback Terry Jordan led State to a 27-20 victory in Chapel Hill.
