NC State
Virginia
Wolfpack Wins Wild One Over Virginia, 51-37
11/1/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 1, 2003
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By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.--Virginia quarterback Matt Schaub more than lived up to the pregame hype. So did NC State's Philip Rivers. But on a day when the ACC's two best quarterbacks were spectacular, it was a running back that may have been the difference-maker. Coming back from arthroscopic knee surgery 10 days ago, T.A. McLendon capped a remarkable performance by scoring the game-winning points on a 38-yard touchdown run with just 23 seconds left to give NC State (7-3, 4-2) a thrilling 51-37 triumph over Virginia (5-4, 3-3). The Wolfpack then sealed it when safety Victor Stephens intercepted a Schaub pass and returned the ball 26 yards for another score to set off a wild celebration at Carter-Finley Stadium.
To go along with 112 rushing yards on 18 carries, McLendon also added 11 receptions for a career-high 104 yards. All of this came on a day when Rivers was also at his best, hitting 29-of-34 throws for 410 yards and four scores. The senior quarterback completed his first 17 passes in the first half before finally throwing his first incompletion on an intentional throwaway in the final seconds of the half.
Rivers' counterpart on the other side of the field was also sensational. Working Virginia's short, ball-control passing game, Schaub was 41-of-55 for 393 yards and four touchdowns. Thirteen of his passes went to tailback Alvin Pearman, who amassed 87 yards receiving.
The back and forth offensive action wasn't lost on the sell-out crowd of 53,800, an enthusiastic gathering that may have set new decibel levels at Carter-Finley.
"The other night on my radio show I said when the game is over we all need to be exhausted," said Wolfpack coach Chuck Amato. "We all won."
The exhaustion that everyone involved in the Wolfpack Nation felt by the end of the night was well worth it following a game that kept NC State in the hunt for a second place finish in the ACC standings. The game itself on Saturday may go down as one of the most scintillating and dramatic tilts Raleigh has seen in a number of years.
In a see-saw battle that featured three ties and seven lead changes, McLendon got his chance to be a hero after NC State finally found a way to slow down Schaub and the Cavalier offense. Two plays after a sack by Wolfpack linebacker Pat Thomas on second down, a Virginia punt gave NC State the ball at its own 32-yard line with 1:47 remaining in a 37-37 tie.
A few plays later, on first and 10 from the 43, Rivers fired a strike to receiver Brian Clark for 19 yards to the Virginia 38. Then, following an incomplete pass to Clark, the Wolfpack offensive staff looked to cross the UVa defense up in what was an obvious passing situation. The call was an inside trap to McLendon out of the shotgun. Hit by safety Jay Dorsey about five yards beyond the line of scrimmage, the powerful McLendon broke the tackle and went the distance. Not long after crossing the goal line, the sophomore was mobbed by his teammates in the back of the end zone.
"All I was really thinking is I've got to get a first down so that we can get in field goal range," McLendon said. "Our offensive line did a good job up front and I was able to break a couple of tackles once I got past the line of scrimmage. It was daylight from there. I didn't think I was gone until I got to the one."
Said Amato of the game winning play: "They're thinking pass, pass, pass. But when you've got someone of T.A.'s magnitude back there, the element of surprise is available. Our coaches were saying it was there."
It was there. Then the Pack made sure the Cavaliers wouldn't be able to make a desperation heave into the end zone to tie it when Stephens stepped in front of Schaub's sideline throw with eight seconds remaining to put the Pack over the 50-point mark for the second time this year.
Schaub hit touchdown passes of 20, 11 and 17 yards in the first half as Virginia grabbed a 24-23 lead at the break. But every time the Cavaliers would make a big play or put together a long scoring drive, Rivers would also seem to have an answer. His first scoring toss - a 34-yarder to freshman Chris Hawkins - tied the game at 14-14. Rivers went on to add another T.D. pass in the half, this time from 33 yards out to Jerricho Cotchery that gave the Pack a brief 20-17 advantage.
NC State's first score of the game was an early Christimas gift when a snap out of the shotgun sailed over Schaub's head and into the end zone, where it was recovered by safety Garland Heath just four and a half minutes into the opening quarter. From that point, however, the two offenses put on a show, piling up 555 total yards between them in the first half alone.
The second half was equally explosive with both teams often moving the ball at will. After Rivers hooked up with tight end T.J Williams on a 75-yard pass play to put the Pack ahead 30-27 in the third quarter, Virginia came right back to even the score on a Connor Hughes field goal from 36 yards out.
To open the fourth quarter, NC State drove 80 yards in nine plays with fullback Chance Moyer capping the drive with his first career touchdown catch from three yards away. But Virginia came right back. On fourth from the Wolfpack seven, tailback Wali Lundy walked into the end zone on a throwback screen that pulled Virginia even at 37-37 with 6:29 left. The two teams then traded punts before McLendon broke loose on the decisive run that turned the game in the Pack's favor.
With all things being equal on Saturday, the difference may have been NC State's running game, an attack that produced 143 yards compared to only 50 for the Cavaliers. And having McLendon on the field helped to set up most of the Wolfpack's big pass plays. All four of Rivers' touchdown passes came after play-action fakes to McLendon.
"He's a force just being in the backfield," Amato said. "Isn't it a shame that T.A. hasn't been in a position to play in all 10 of these games? It's incredible what he's gone through these last two weeks. For him to play like that out there proves he's a big-leaguer."
If McLendon is a big-leaguer, then Rivers is in a league of his own. He established yet another ACC record on Saturday, becoming the first quarterback in league history - and only the 7th in NCAA history -- to pass for better than 3,000 yards three times in a career. He also equaled the league mark for 400-yard passing games with five.
"It was a great game today, definitely one of the top games I've played here at NC State," Rivers said. "It was such a team effort for both teams, both on offense and defense. T.A. played a great game, and our offensive line played perhaps their best game to date."
With his performance on Saturday, Rivers also passed Louisville's Chris Redman and Texas Tech's Kliff Kingsbury for third place in NCAA history with 12,352 yards of total offense.
"I thought both teams had the same plays for 58 minutes, but then State made the plays they needed to make in the final minutes to win the ball game," said Virginia coach Al Groh. "[Rivers] is just a wonderful quarterback and has been all four years he's been here. He had a hot hand tonight. He was better tonight that he had been before against us."
Before hitting Hawkins with his first of four scoring passes on Saturday, Rivers had not thrown a touchdown pass against the Cavaliers in three previous games.
NC State finished with 553 yards of total offense, while the Cavaliers tallied 443.
