North Carolina State University Athletics
Tangerine Bowl TV Capsule
12/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
By RICK FREEMAN
AP Sports Writer
Bowl Central | Bowl Matchup | Bowl History
N.C. State (7-4) vs. Kansas (6-6), 5:30 p.m.
Tangerine Bowl
At Orlando, Fla.
ESPN
N.C. State leads, 1-0.
1973, N.C. State, 31-18.
N.C. State 10-10-1
Kansas 3-5
North Carolina State beat Notre Dame 28-6 in the 2003 Gator Bowl.
Kansas beat UCLA 51-30 in the 1995 Aloha Bowl.
This will be a matchup of two of the nation's top quarterbacks. Most everyone has heard of N.C. State's Philip Rivers. A four-year starter, Rivers owns most ACC passing records, and will likely be an early round NFL Draft pick. Rivers is second on the NCAA career passing list, with 13,009 yards, behind Ty Detmer's 15,031. Kansas QB Bill Whittemore, meanwhile, has had a rockier career. After transferring to Kansas (from a community college) before last season, he missed the Jayhawks' last three games in 2002. This season, he was knocked out of their loss to Kansas State, and then missed the next three before returning to lead Kansas into a bowl with a win over hapless Iowa State.
The Jayhawks are 6-2 in his starts, not including the game in which he was hurt. Despite missing the time, Whittemore set a school record with his 16th TD pass of the season, against Iowa State. Both teams' defenses have been soft this season - the Jayhawks allow 393 yards per game, while the Wolfpack is averaging 418. Wolfpack WR Jerricho Cotchery, a high school basketball rival of Rivers, is also an all-ACC selection and had 73 catches for 1,198 yards and nine TDs this season.
- N.C. State is making its fourth straight bowl appearance.
- Cotchery has 187 catches and is five from passing Torry Holt for the school career record.
- Kansas coach Mark Mangino was offensive coordinator for Oklahoma when the Sooners won the national championship in 2000.
- The only previous game between the schools was the 1973 Liberty Bowl.
- Attendance has increased at the Tangerine Bowl each year since it moved to Orlando from Fort Lauderdale in 2001. In 2001, N.C. State and Pittsburgh drew 31,500.
