NC State
Clemson
Wolfpack Holds off Clemson, 17-15
10/16/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct 16, 2003
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.--A crowd of 53,800 fans came to Carter-Finley Stadium Thursday night expecting to see an offensive shootout between two of the top offenses in the Atlantic Coast Conference. But what Clemson and NC State gave them was a hard-fought, hard-hitting defensive battle that wasn't decided until the final moments. In the end, the Wolfpack (5-3, 2-2) prevailed 17-15, but only after the Tigers (4-3, 2-2) misfired on a two-point conversion attempt that would have tied it late in the fourth quarter. The lead then held up when Pack cornerback Dovonte Edwards intercepted a tipped pass to end Clemson's last scoring threat.
And while Thursday night games have been delightful for Chuck Amato coached teams at NC State, they have been absolutely frightful for Tommy Bowden's Tigers. Under Bowden, Clemson fell to 0-4 on Thursday nights. The Pack, meanwhile, improved to 4-0 on Thursday, including a pair of back-to-back triumphs over Clemson.
Throwing for two touchdowns, NC State quarterback Philip Rivers tied Chris Weinke's all-time ACC record for career touchdown passes with 79. By hitting 20-of-34 for 213 yards, the senior also moved into fifth place on the all-time NCAA passing yardage list.
"This was a great win for us," said a relieved Amato afterwards. "Who would have thought that these two offenses would meet and the final scored would only be 17-15? Both teams did a great job, and it's a shame that someone had to lose."
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We stepped up and made some big plays at the end.
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Coming in, NC State led the ACC in total offense and passing offense. Clemson was third in those two categories. But on this night, the two defenses dictated the tempo, unwilling to give an inch, especially near the goal line.
Three Clemson trips into the red zone in the second and fourth quarters produced only three Aaron Hunt field goals, the last of which left the Tigers trailing 17-9 with 10:04 remaining. But with the NC State offense unable to pad the lead, Clemson finally found its way into the end zone late in the fourth period when fullback Chad Jasmin bulled his way in from five-yards out with 6:01 left. Following an NC State timeout, the Tigers looked for a two-point conversion that would have tied it. Operating out of the shotgun, quarterback Charlie Whitehurst, who was 23-of-37 for 196 yards, fired low to receiver Tony Elliott crossing in the back of the end zone. The ball hit Elliott's hands before rolling away, thus preserving the Pack's two-point lead.
But the NC State defense had to dodge another bullet when Clemson got the ball back at its own 47 with 4:49 remaining. That's when Wolfpack linebacker Pat Thomas took over. On second down, he sacked Whitehurst for a seven-yard loss back to the 40. On the very next play, Thomas dropped into zone coverage and made a diving tip of a pass that was intercepted by Edwards at the NC State 44.
Clemson would never get the ball back, thanks to a pass interference penalty that would give NC State a first down and an opportunity to run out the clock. On third and four from the 50, Rivers fired to receiver Brian Clark down the right sideline. Attempting to come back to the football, Clark was interfered with just before the ball arrived, drawing a pair of penalty flags. From there, time ran out on the Tigers who had to burn all of their timeouts.
Employing an aggressive defensive strategy all night, NC State sent a variety of blitzes at Whitehurst, who rarely had a chance to stand in the pocket for very long. Two of the more active players in the Wolfpack's blitz schemes were freshman linebacker Stephen Tulloch and safety Garland Heath.
"I think we did a good job of putting pressure on their quarterback," said Amato. "We were going to take some chances but we wanted to push him out of the pocket. We didn't give up the big play and we played to win."
Neither team made many big plays on offense and third down conversions would prove to be crucial. With Rivers steady at the controls, NC State managed to convert 11-of-17 third downs. Clemson, meanwhile, was dreadful, going just 1-of-12 for the game on third down.
"We came out and played solid defense for the game," said Wolfpack safety Andre Maddux. "They pressed us a little bit in the fourth quarter, but we responded well. When the game ended, we won, which is the most important thing to us."
NC State took and early 7-0 lead in the opening period when Rivers found tailback T.A. McLendon on a four-yard swing pass. For McLendon, it was his 23rd career touchdown, but his first as a receiver. The sophomore's injuries persisted throughout the night as he was constantly coming on and off the field with a sore left knee.
"His knee locked up on him and the doctor did a good job of getting it unlocked," Amato said. "He wanted to go back out there so we let him. He went out and kept playing, and did a good job."
On the ground, McLendon finished with a hard-earned total of 60 yards.
With NC State up just 7-6 at halftime, Rivers gave the Pack a working margin when he dropped a perfect pass into the hands of receiver Richard Washington from 37 yards out with 10:18 left in the third. Right before the snap, Clemson gave the cagey Rivers a free play by jumping offside.
"We worked hard all game," Rivers said. "We came out tonight wanting to win the game and that's what we did. The offense took over when we needed to. We had some nice drives that ate up some clock and put us in the position to win. Our defense really impressed me and did a good job of holding them at key points."
For Clemson, it was a night of missed opportunities in the red zone that would prove costly in a close game. The Tigers also had their share of untimely penalties and dropped passes.
"The biggest thing for us was the dropped balls," said Bowden. "I thought we played hard and played hard for 60 minutes. We just needed to play smarter, with fewer dropped passes and with fewer penalties."
It wasn't really what anyone would have expected.
