North Carolina State University Athletics
The Rivers Report
10/15/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 15, 2002
Quote of the Week: "When Philip Rivers takes his last snap as a quarterback for the Wolfpack, what he will have done for this football program and for NC State university as a whole will be immeasureable..."NC State head coach Chuck Amato
In Elite Company: Philip Rivers is the national leader in passing efficiency this week (and has been for much of the season), while his passing yardage total (1,651) ranks 20th nationally. However, Rivers is leading a much more balanced offense than all but two of the quarterbacks that rank ahead of him in passing yardage.
NC State currently ranks 42nd nationally in rushing with 171.3 yards per game. Only Iowa State's Seneca Wallace and Marshall's Byron Leftwich boast more passing yardage than Rivers and lead teams with a better national rushing rank.
Movin' On Up: Philip Rivers' 170 yards and one touchdown in NC State's 34-17 win at North Carolina last weekend moved him within 11 yards of passing former Maryland standout Scott Milanovich for 10th place on the ACC's career passing list. Rivers currently ranks 11th with 7,291 yards passing and also ranks 11th on the league's total offense list with 7,215 yards.
Rivers is Winningest Junior QB: Just seven games into his junior campaign, Philip Rivers has now won 22 games as a starting quarterback. That win total passed Tennessee's Casey Clausen as the top mark in the nation by a junior.
Rivers had tallied more passing yards than any other player in ACC history upon completion of their sophomore campaign heading into 2002 (5,640). His current yardage total (7,291) and touchdown passes total (55) rank second among current juniors nationally.
Philip Rivers Among Junior Quarterbacks:
Career Wins as a Starter
1. Philip Rivers, NC State 22-9
Casey Clausen, Tennessee 21-5
Career Passing TDs by Juniors
1. Luke McCown, Louisiana Tech 58
2. Philip Rivers, NC State 55
Jason Gesser, Washington St. 55
4. Jared Lorenzon. Kentucky 53
Career Passing Yardage by Juniors
1. Luke McCown, La Tech 7,475
2. Philip Rivers, NC State 7,291
3. Jared Lorenzon, Kentucky 7,152
The Efficiency Expert: Wolfpack junior Philip Rivers has led the nation in passing efficiency for all but two weeks this season (he ranked third and second those two weeks). His current mark stands at 170.84 , which would be tied for second in ACC history if the season were to end today. He has thrown just five interceptions this season with 14 touchdowns.
Rivers ranks 36th in the nation in total offense this week with 240.9 yards per game, the second-best mark in the ACC. His numbers went down when the Pack rushed the ball 44 times for 258 yards in the win over North Carolina.
Rivers was his most efficient in the win at Navy on September 7, completing 10-of-15 passes, with half of those completions going for touchdowns. He tallied 309 yards and threw no interceptions.
The five touchdown strikes tied as the most in school history (Rivers also had five vs. Indiana in 2000 and Terry Harvey had five vs. Wake Forest in 1995). He also set an NC State single-game record for yards per completion (30.9) and yards per attempt (20.6). The previous marks were 23.91 and 11.33, respectively.The NCAA single-season passing efficiency record is 183.3 by Tulane's Shaun King.
Deep Rivers: Philip Rivers has now completed 115 career passes over 20 yards, 20% of his total completions. He showed an aptitude for the long ball during his freshman campaign, completing 55 passes that went for 20+ yards (he threw many of those to first-round draft pick Koren Robinson). Last year, he threw more mid-range passes, with only 33 going for long distance as tailback Ray Robinson was the Pack's leading receiver. This season, however, Rivers is throwing deep more often, with 27 20+yard throws already this season.
Here's a look at Rivers' long-pass tallies for his career:
Yard. 2000 2001 2002 Totals 20-29 27 20 15 62 30-39 17 6 5 28 40-49 6 4 3 13 50+ 5 3 4 12 Totals 55 33 27 115Rivers Candidate for Prestigious Award: The Walter Camp Football Foundation released a list of 25 preseason candidates for its 2002 Player of the Year award during the first week of the season, and the Pack's Philip Rivers was among the list of hopefuls. Rivers is also on the preseason Watch List for the Davey O'Brien Award.
