North Carolina State University Athletics
Amato and Pack Prep for Bowl Run
11/6/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 6, 2003
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.-Never one to shy away from setting lofty goals, NC State football coach Chuck Amato won't even attempt to shield his players from the chatter and rumors about the many bowl scenarios that will likely swirl around the Wolfpack for the next three weeks. With two big conference games remaining, the Pack has, to a certain degree, destiny in its own hands. A November 15th road trip to ACC top dog Florida State will be followed by the season finale in Raleigh against Maryland one week later. In other words, a bowl trip that everyone at NC State would consider to be desirable will have to be earned.
"All we can do is to take care of our own business and we have addressed this with our players the last few weeks," Amato said on Wednesday. "We're bowl eligible, now it's a matter of where you want to go. The better you play, the better the chance you have of getting to a bowl of higher prestige. But a bowl unto itself is a reward no matter where it's at. I read some things where people say 'I don't want to go to that bowl.' Well tough, you're going to go if that's the only bowl that we're allowed to go to because it is a reward for the school, the players and the team."
Not to mention the extra practice time that goes with any bowl invitation, regardless of where it may come from. If Florida State defeats Clemson Saturday night, it will clinch the ACC Championship and the automatic BCS spot that goes with it. That would leave the Wolfpack in the hunt for either a return trip to the Gator Bowl on New Year's Day or the Atlanta Peach Bowl, scheduled to be played on January 2nd at 4:30.
In the case of NC State's last two opponents, recent history leads to a mixed bag of conclusions. It is, in fact, somewhat bizarre that the Wolfpack has captured two in a row and three of the last five against the Seminoles, yet has come up short in three tries against Maryland since Amato took over in Raleigh.
"The past is history," Amato said when asked about his team's recent success against FSU. "It's yesterday's story other than the fact that they will be talking about the past down there. We can't talk about it. That was another team that beat those Florida State teams. We've just got to go about our own business."
NC State got back down to business with a practice on Wednesday. Amato says there will be workouts on Thursday and Friday before he gives the players a chance to enjoy Saturday's bye with a day off. The Wolfpack (7-3, 4-2) heads into this final stretch having won four in a row and six of its last seven.
Rivers Under the Radar? Wolfpack quarterback Philip Rivers' name somehow slipped under the national radar last Saturday despite his spectacular performance in NC State's 51-37 win over Virginia. Even after completing his first 17 passes and going on to hit 29-of-34 throws for 410 yards and four touchdowns, the senior from Athens, Alabama didn't even so much as get a mention on SportsCenter that night.
"It really kind of went unnoticed, not only locally but nationally," Amato said of Rivers' big game. "You didn't hear anything about it against a quality football team. On SportsCenter at about 1 a.m. the next morning, there was something about Matt Schaub throwing a touchdown pass, but never mentioned what Philip Rivers did. But if he keeps doing what he's doing, we have a chance and so does he."
Now the holder of all the ACC's major career passing records, Rivers is putting together a phenomenal season. Through 10 games, he's passed for 3,318 yards (Average of 331.8) and 25 touchdowns, while also connecting on 72.2 percent of his throws.
Those are Heisman numbers in anyone's book and if Rivers can keep it up over the last two games, Amato sees no reason why he wouldn't be one of the players invited to New York for the annual Heisman Trophy Awards Ceremony next month.
"It all depends on what happens these last couple of games," Amato said. "If he can perform like he did last week in the last couple of games, his numbers have got to qualify him to go up there because his numbers will be just outrageous."
