North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Takes the Road to Duke
10/24/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 24, 2003
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.-For the NC State football team, Saturday's bus ride from the Murphy Football Center to Duke's Wallace Wade Stadium will be relatively short. Even the surroundings during the 1 p.m. game should be fairly friendly given the possibility that the Wolfpack (5-3, 2-2) will likely have as many or even more fans in the stands than the home team. Yet given those circumstances, it will still be a road game for a Pack team that hasn't won an official road game since it blasted Clemson in Death Valley 12 months ago.
Outside of last January's Gator Bowl, which was played at a neutral site, NC State has come up empty in its last five games away from Carter-Finley Stadium, including all three this season.
Is there a common thread that runs through all three of this year's losses? You bet. In defeats at Wake Forest, Ohio State and Georgia Tech, the Wolfpack found itself trying to play catch-up all afternoon after falling behind early in all three games.
"I think it has something to do with emotion," said Wolfpack receiver Tramain Hall. "When you play on the road, you've got to get started early. We tend to jump on them late, like the third and fourth quarter. Coach Amato talks about going out there and jumping on them early and getting a head start so it will carry over into the third and fourth quarter. It has me baffled why we start so late."
But his players have done anything but heed head coach Chuck Amato's advice. In its 38 24 loss at Wake Forest on September 6, the Wolfpack found itself trailing 28-10 at the half. The very next week at Ohio State, the Pack was down 24-7 at one juncture before rallying to send the game into overtime. And at Georgia Tech earlier this month, NC State was never able to recover from a 22-10 halftime deficit.
"I think it's been kind of frustrating not to have won an away game yet," said redshirt freshman defensive tackle John McCargo. "I think in all three of our away games we've had a lot of foolish penalties. If we just play smart and keep the penalties down, we can come away with a win."
And a road win this Saturday against the struggling Blue Devils would certainly keep the Wolfpack in the running for a high finish in the ACC standings. Following Georgia Tech's 7-3 victory over Maryland on Thursday night, NC State is now one of six teams tied in the loss column with two conference defeats. With a 5-0 league mark heading into its home game with Wake Forest on Saturday, Florida State is sitting in the catbird seat. But after that, it's still anybody's guess which team will emerge as the best bet to capture second place, a spot that could also be accompanied by an attractive bowl bid.
For all the problems, pitfalls and injuries that have sabotaged NC State's hopes for a championship and BCS bid this season, all has not been lost. The Wolfpack has, after all, managed to keep its head above water by capturing four of its last five games.
"We lost some games we shouldn't have lost, but everybody in this era of college football is losing to teams they shouldn't lose to," Hall said. "We're bouncing back and we're working hard. Hopefully we can win the rest of our games. You remember those teams that finish strong."
In Duke (2-5, 0-4), the Wolfpack will be facing a program that is just a few days removed from a rare midseason coaching change. Less than 24 hours after last Saturday's 42-13 loss to Wake Forest, Duke Athletics Director Joe Alleva had seen enough. On Sunday morning, he fired Carl Franks and replaced him on an interim basis with defensive coordinator Ted Roof. Although the immediate aftermath of that decision certainly took the Blue Devils by surprise, Amato is working under the assumption that the fiery Roof will have his beleaguered team ready to play. And if recent history repeats itself, Duke will be at its best when its sees NC State's red and white uniforms.
"If you look at the past scores of the last 15 or 20 years, that's enough concern to know that Duke University gets up for North Carolina State University every time we play," Amato said. "With what happened, I'm sure the players are going to be cranked up for the new coach and with the old coach leaving. That's a normal thing. We've talked about that all week."
Dating back to 1987, which was Steve Spurrier's first of three years as Duke's head coach, 10 of the 16 games that have been played between the Blue Devils and Wolfpack have been decided by a touchdown or less. Last season in Raleigh, NC State barely escaped with a 24-22 win, and only after Duke missed a 65-yard field goal attempt on the last play of the game. The majority of starters who helped the Blue Devils compete on even terms in that game a year ago will be on the field again on Saturday.
"We're all creatures of habit and we all look back on our past experiences to determine a lot about how we feel," said Roof, who will be making his head coaching debut on Saturday. "I hope what happened last year means something. But at the same time, NC State is a better football team. They're getting more speed on the field and they spread the field and make you defend every yard of it. They present some problems for us. We'll just get lined up, play hard and see what happens."
NC State quarterback Philip Rivers, who passed for 364 yards and two touchdowns last year against Duke, needs 361 more passing yards to become the first player in ACC history to throw for 3,000 or more yards in a season three times. With his next touchdown pass, the senior signal caller will grab sole possession of his 8th ACC career record, this one for touchdown passes. With 79, he's currently tied with former Florida State quarterback Chris Weinke. Also this week, he needs just 95 yards to move into 5th place on the NCAA's all-time passing list.
Overall, the Wolfpack has won the last nine matchups with Duke, although the Blue Devils still lead the all-time series by a 39-34-5 margin.
Updated NC State Injury Report (as of Friday, 11/24)
AVAILABLE
Josh Brown, TB - hip flexor/lower abdominal strain
Ricky Fowler, OG - Subluxed kneecap, ACL sprain
T.J.Williams, TE - MCL Sprain
OUT
Chris Colmer, OT - Parsonage Turner Syndrome
Sterling Hicks, WR - Torn ACL (surgery 10/9)
T.A. McLendon, TB - Torn meniscus
Renaldo Moses, DE - Torn ACL, MCL; surgery in two weeks
Lamont Reid, CB - Shoulder subluxation
Ashley Wingate, OG - Broken tibia/fibula
