North Carolina State University Athletics
Pack and Terps Tangle in Huge ACC Game
11/8/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 8, 2002
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.-It was one of those football seasons that players and coaches usually spend their entire lives dreaming about. Nearly 12 months ago, Maryland capped an improbable run to the Atlantic Coast Conference title by rallying past NC State at Carter-Finley Stadium, 23-19. That game, just like Maryland's season, had the type of storybook qualities rarely seen in real life. One-year later, the Wolfpack would like to rewrite the script and wrestle the conference championship away from the Terps.
Saturday's clash between NC State (9-1, 4-1) and Maryland (7-2, 3-1) in College Park will be like a playoff game where the winner stays in the ACC title hunt and the loser pretty much falls out. The Wolfpack (13 in Coaches Poll/14 in AP) had its pride hurt and its unbeaten season ended last week in a disappointing loss to Georgia Tech. Maryland (No.25 in the Coaches Poll), meanwhile, may very well be playing better now that it did at any point during last year's remarkable 10-2 campaign. During their current six-game winning streak, the Terrapins' average margin of victory has been 35.2 points.
How have they done it? By getting down to the basics. In many ways, the basic formula for success in football has remained unchanged for decades: Teams that run the ball well and play great defense almost always win. Maryland has mastered both of those key areas. The Terps' have held their last six opponents to a paltry average of 9.5 points per game, while on offense, Maryland runners have averaged 242 rushing yards per game during that same stretch.
In other words, the Terrapins have been wearing down opposing defenses while giving their own defense plenty of R&R on the sidelines.
"They are going to run it and run it and run it, and sooner or later something is going to split," said Wolfpack head coach Chuck Amato. "They are committed to pounding the football, playing defense, and their kicking game. They have a phenomenal kicking game."
The kicking game, a phase of football that is near and dear to Amato's heart, has been a strength of both clubs. While Maryland's Steve Suter has already tied an NCAA Division-1-A record with four punt returns for touchdowns this season, NC State is the only team in the country with three kick off returns for scores.
"Steve is just having a phenomenal year," said Terps coach Ralph Friedgen. "[Returning punts] is something that really turns him on. He's looking to go all the way every time."
Assuming the two clubs cancel each other out in the kicking game, then the outcome could ultimately be determined by which team does the best job of stopping the run. NC State's inability to muster a consistent running game proved to be quite costly in last week's defeat to Tech. And while Wolfpack tailback T.A. McLendon is ranked as the league's third leading rusher (94.2 per game average), his counterpart on the Maryland side is No. 1. Senior Chris Downs, a senior who only carried the ball four times prior to this season, has come out of nowhere to average 119.8 rushing yards per contest.
Sound familiar? In 2002, an unknown tailback named Bruce Perry earned ACC Offensive Player of the Year honors after doing exactly the same thing. Perry, who has played very little because of injuries this fall, will likely be available this weekend. But then again, it really doesn't seem to matter who gets the ball in Friedgen's productive offense, even in a year when many of his offensive linemen have been forced to bounce around to different positions.
"We've had to move players around so much the kids have gotten used to it," said Friedgen, who has compiled an amazing 17-4 record in two years at his alma matter. "Because of the players' flexibility, it has made for a better offensive line. They're able to adapt to things. A lot of credit has to go to our players. They could have been looking for excuses, but instead they have bonded together and gotten the job done."
After a slow start, Maryland quarterback Scott McBrien has rebounded to put together a solid season. Currently the ACC's third leading passer behind Matt Schaub of Virginia and NC State's Philip Rivers, McBrien's number one assignment is simple: don't lose the game. It's a very similar approach that Friedgen took with Shaun Hill last season.
Obviously, a little more weight is placed on the shoulders of Rivers, who will be looking to find holes in a Maryland defense that's yielding just 203 passing yards per contest.
"Philip Rivers really is an outstanding player," Friedgen said. "I thought we did a good job last year; he got a lot of dinks and dunks on us, but that's going to happen. He's going to get that against every team he plays. He's unorthodox the way he throws, but he gets rid of the ball very quickly and it's very hard to get pressure on him. Therein lies the problem. He's a big, strong kid, so even when you do get pressure on him, it's not a guarantee you're going to take him down. What we really have to do a good job of is containing the runs after the catch."
Rivers will continue his assault on the NC State record books this weekend. The junior from Athens, Alabama needs just one touchdown pass to equal Jamie Barnette's school record of 59 in a career.
The NC State-Maryland series, which began in 1917, is extremely close with the Wolfpack holding a narrow 27-26-4 edge. Despite Terrapin wins the last two years, NC State has prevailed in seven of the last 10 meetings. Airtime for the Saturday's game on the Wolfpack Radio Network is 11:00 a.m.
