North Carolina State University Athletics
The Rivers Report
10/22/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 22, 2002
The Field General: Philip Rivers is the national leader in passing efficiency this week (and has been for much of the season), while his passing yardage total (2,015) ranks 11th nationally. However, Rivers is leading a much more balanced offense than all but one of the quarterbacks that rank ahead of him in passing yardage.
NC State currently ranks 57th nationally in rushing with 157.8 yards per game. Only Marshall's Byron Leftwich boasts more passing yardage than Rivers and leads a team with a better national rushing rank.
Here's a look at where Rivers stands:
Quarterback, School, Pass Yds, Tm Rush Yds
Byron Leftwich, Marshall, 2,314, 56th/157.83
Philip Rivers, NC State, 2,015, 57th/157.75
Rivers Moves Into Top 10: With 364 passing yards in the win over Duke, junior quarterback Philip Rivers moved into the top-10 in ACC history in career passing yards. His 7,655 yards is the ninth-best total ever by an ACC player and is 2,185 yards shy of the league record held by Chris Weinke of Florida State (9,839 yards).
Rivers is also tied for fourth in ACC history in career passing touchdowns with 57. He needs just three TD throws to move ahead of former Wolfpack QB Jamie Barnette for the NC State record and third-place in league history.
Rivers' 364 yards versus Duke marked his ninth career 300+ passing game, which ties as the fourth-best mark in league history as well.
Rivers is Winningest Junior QB: Just eight games into his junior campaign, Philip Rivers has now won 23 games as a starting quarterback. That win total is the best 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 (7,655) and touchdown passes total (57) rank second among current juniors nationally.
Philip Rivers Among Junior Quarterbacks
Career Wins as a Starter
1. Philip Rivers, NC State 23-9
2. Casey Clausen, Tennessee 21-5
Career Passing TDs by Juniors
1. Luke McCown, Louisiana Tech, 59
2. Philip Rivers, NC State, 57
3. Jason Gesser, Washington St., 55
Jared Lorenzon. Kentucky, 55
Career Passing Yardage by Juniors
1. Luke McCown, La Tech, 7,734
2. Philip Rivers, NC State, 7,655
3. Jared Lorenzon, Kentucky, 7,405
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 16 touchdowns.
Rivers ranks 26th in the nation in total offense this week with 257 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 120 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 32 20+yard throws already this season.
Here's a look at Rivers' long-pass tallies for his career:
Yardage 2000 2001 2002 Totals 20-29 27 20 16 63 30-39 17 6 6 29 40-49 6 4 4 14 50+ 5 3 6 14 Totals 55 33 32 120Rushing Rivers: Not only has Philip Rivers been efficient passing the ball this season (he has led the nation for much of the season in passing efficiency), but he has found a new way to get the ball into the endzone: running it in himself. Rivers, who has never been described as "fleet of foot," has scored seven rushing touchdowns already this season, three more than the total from his freshmen and sophomore seasons combined. Rivers has now rushed for 41 yards this season.
