North Carolina State University Athletics
The Rivers Report
10/7/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 7, 2002
This week, CBS Sportsline's Dennis Dodd tabs NC State's Philip Rivers as the "Best Player" in the ACC.
Back in Front: Philip Rivers has regained the national lead in passing efficiency with a 177.36 mark after ranking third and second the last two weeks. He has thrown just five interceptions this season with 13 touchdowns.
Rivers ranks 24th in the nation in total offense this week with 253.5 yards per game, the second-best mark in the ACC. 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.
Putting Up Points: Philip Rivers is also tied for fifth nationally in points responsible for, with an average of 18 per game. His total offense mark of 253.5 is the nation's 24th-best mark this week.
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 (1,481) ranks 16th 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 55th nationally in rushing with 156.8 yards per game. With the exception of four players (Iowa State's Seneca Wallace -1,653 passing yards/ team rushing rank: 52nd, 162.5; Marshall's Byron Leftwich - 1,592 passing yards/team rushing rank: 60th, 152 yards per game; Florida's Rex Grossman - 1,634 passing yards/team rushing rank: 64th, 147 yards per game: Washington State's Jason Gesser - 1,597 passing yards/team rushing rank: 73rd, 134 yards per game), the other quarterbacks who rank ahead of Rivers in passing yards play on teams ranked 94th or lower in rushing yardage.
Rivers is Winningest Junior QB: Just six games into his junior campaign, Philip Rivers has now won 21 games as a starting quarterback. That win total ties 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 (7,121) and touchdown passes total (54) rank second among current juniors nationally.
Philip Rivers Among Junior Quarterbacks
Career Wins as a Starter
1. Philip Rivers, NC State 21-9 Casey Clausen, Tennessee 21-4Career Passing TDs by Juniors
1. Luke McCown, Louisiana Tech 58 2. Philip Rivers, NC State 54 3. Jared Lorenzon. Kentucky 52 4. Jason Gesser, Washington St. 52Career Passing Yardage by Juniors
1. Luke McCown, La Tech 7,475 2. Philip Rivers, NC State 7,121 3. Jared Lorenzon, Kentucky 6,958The Efficiency Expert: Wolfpack junior Philip Rivers has regained the national lead in passing efficiency with a 177.36 mark after ranking third and second the last two weeks. He has thrown just five interceptions this season with 13 touchdowns. Rivers ranks 24th in the nation in total offense this week with 253.5 yards per game, the second-best mark in the ACC.
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.
Deep Rivers: Philip Rivers has now completed 113 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 25 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 14 61 30-39 17 6 4 27 40-49 6 4 3 13 50+ 5 3 4 12 Totals 55 33 25 113Rushing 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 five rushing touchdowns already this season, one more than the total from his freshmen and sophomore seasons combined.
Rivers has now rushed for 40 yards this season. His 26 yards on the ground versus New Mexico was a career best and the games versus the Lobos and East Tennessee State marked only the second time in his career that he has gained positive yardage in back-to-back games.
Rivers 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.
