Another Wolfpack Comeback Beats Minnesota, 38-30
12/28/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
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By Tony Haynes
MIAMI, Fla. - Leading NC State 24-0 midway through the second quarter in the MicronPC.com Bowl, Minnesota thought it had the Wolfpack down and out. In actuality, the exact opposite was true.
The Pack, which had recorded comeback victories over Arkansas State, Indiana, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest during the regular season, saved its best for last, rallying to beat the Golden Gophers 38-30.
Bowl MVP Philip Rivers capped a remarkable freshman season by completing 24-of-39 passes for 310 yards and two touchdowns. Rivers did most of his damage in the second half-passing for 246 yards after intermission. As usual, Rivers' favorite target was big-play wide receiver Koren Robinson, who made seven grabs for 157 yards and one score.
"It didn't look too good when it was 24-0," admitted Wolfpack coach Chuck Amato. "But we came in at halftime and reminded them that we were down 21-3 at Indiana, another Big Ten team."
And just as it had done in recording a 41-38 victory the Hoosiers, the Pack (8-4) found a way.
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After spotting Minnesota (6-6) the 24-point lead with just over seven minutes to play in the opening half, NC State went on to score 25 unanswered points. The rally started late in the half when Rivers hit tight end Andy Vanderveer with a two yard touchdown pass with exactly two minutes left in the second quarter. Rivers then connected with tailback Ray Robinson on a two-point conversion to make it 24-8, Minnesota at the half.
A big game-turning play occurred early in the third period when NC State cornerback Brian Williams blocked a Gophers' punt to give the Pack possession at the Minnesota 19.
"That was real big," safety Adrian Wilson said of Williams' block. "We'd been working on it for two weeks and it finally worked for us. We knew if we won the kicking game, we'd win the game. And we did."
It took NC State virtually no time to capitalize on the blocked punt. One play later, Koren Robinson took a hand-off from Rivers on a reverse and jetted his way down the right sideline for a 19-yard score. The Wolfpack then came back with yet another two-point conversion on a Rivers to Eric Leak pass. Just like that, NC State trailed by only eight at 24-16.
After Kent Passingham's 37-yard field goal had pulled the Pack within three points, NC State grabbed the lead for the first time all night when Ray Robinson bulled his way in from the three. The key play in the 73-yard drive was a 30-yard pass from Rivers to Leak. Although another two-point try failed, NC State had a 25-24 lead and all of the momentum.
"It's amazing how many times you preach to your players that it's a 60 minute game and all of a sudden the momentum switches and things go the other way," said Minnesota coach Glen Mason. "Our team was hurt tremendously by penalties and mistakes, and the blocked punt was the key to the game. It got the crowd and their players back into the game. Rivers and (Koren) Robinson made great plays when the game was on the line."
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But even after seeing a 24-point lead evaporate, Minnesota wasn't dead. Led by the running of sturdy tailback Tellis Redmon, who set a MicronPC.com Bowl record by rushing for 246 yards on 42 carries, the Gophers managed to retake the lead at 27-25 on a 23-yard field goal by Dan Nystrom with 11:57 left in the game.
But just 56 seconds later, NC State was back in the end zone and back on top. The Wolfpack took over at the Minnesota 48 yard line after a personal foul penalty had forced the Gophers to kickoff from their own 20. The Pack covered those 48 yards in just four plays as Rivers hit Robinson from 23-yards out on a the now patented fade pattern to put NC State back out in front 31-27. The margin stayed at four as yet another two-point attempt failed.
A Nystrom field goal with 6:46 left pulled the Gophers within one. The stage was now set for a nail-biting finish. In other words, it was NC State's type of game.
And with just over three minutes to play, an NC State defense which had been shredded by Redmon all night, finally made a huge play. Minnesota quarterback Travis Cole, attempting a quarterback draw, had the ball stripped out of his hands by Wolfpack defensive tackle Ricky Fowler. Linebacker Corey Lyons' recovery left the Pack with first and goal from the eight. And when Ray Robinson darted into the end zone on the very next play, NC State was up 38-30 with 3:16 left.
Forced to abandon its overpowering running game, the Gophers went backwards on their last drive of the game. Back to back quarterback sacks by NC State were followed by senior linebacker Clayton White's interception that sealed it. A Wolfpack defense that had yielded 24 points in the first half gave up only two field goals in the second stanza.
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After the game, several NC State players admitted that Amato's halftime 'pep talk' struck a chord.
"He got after us real good," Wilson said. "He just told us that they were testing our manhood by running the ball down our throat. That got everybody riled up."
Said Koren Robinson: "We came in at halftime and coach Amato really touched us. We saw that it was really hurting him that we were down. We came together as a team and went back out there and laid everything on the line."
The Wolfpack somehow won despite being outgained by Minnesota 502 yards to 419. With Redmon doing most of the damage, the Gophers finished the game with 300 yards on the ground.
But NC State had Rivers, Robinson and the knowledge that it had come back so many times before. And in the end, that's all that mattered.