North Carolina State University Athletics
It's Still Big: NC State Visits Ohio State
9/12/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 12, 2003
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. - As has been the case for all of NC State's big non-conference games over the last 40 years, Frank Weedon will be on hand Saturday when the 22nd ranked Wolfpack (1-1) clashes with No. 3 Ohio State (2-0) at massive Ohio Stadium in Columbus. The longtime NC State athletics administrator was there in 1967 when the Pack stunned nationally ranked Houston and Georgia. Weedon watched Johnny Evans' quick-kick at Penn State in '75 and also saw the Wolfpack drub Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl earlier this year.
As NC State's resident athletics historian, Weedon usually remains partial to those great victories of yesteryear, moments and accomplishments that seem to be embellished with the passage of time. But even the resident historian admits that if it were to happen, a win over the defending national champs in their house on Saturday would be difficult to top.
"I would rank that number one," Weedon responded when asked where an upset of Ohio State would rank when compared to some of NC State's other big non-conference victories. "If you can beat the defending national champions who are also still a great team this year, that would have to be number one."
Ohio State, of course, has heard all this talk before. When your rich football tradition includes seven national titles and six Heisman Trophies, everyone wants to add your name to their all-time victories list. The Buckeyes and football excellence are synonymous, and their legendary cathedral of a stadium is one this nation's most famed sporting venues. Fresh off yet another national title last year, they knew they would be getting everyone's best shot this fall, as apparently was the case last week when they survived against unheralded San Diego State, winning 16-13.
"Playing the defending national champs is a big opportunity for us as a team and just as a football program that's trying to build something special," said quarterback Philip Rivers, who has completed 81 percent of his passes in NC State's first two games. "Ever since it was put on the schedule, I was excited about going up there because of the big stadium. At the time [the game was scheduled] they were a good team, but they weren't the defending national champions and ranked in the top five. It's gradually gotten bigger and bigger."
Bigger and bigger until maybe last week. Dating all the way back to last spring, some were billing this match-up as one of the crucial early season games in all of college football, a contest that would be pitting a pair of top-10 powers and national title contenders. But that was before the Wolfpack lost to Wake Forest and before the Buckeyes edged out San Diego State, an outcome that was treated like a loss by some members of the media in Ohio.
But those who think this game has now lost some of its luster have a very different point of view from the players and coaches who will be sitting in the NC State locker room during those final tense moments right before kickoff.
"It's still Ohio State and it's still the defending champs," said Wolfpack wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery. "We've got to go in there with the mindset that we can beat them. I don't think the loss this past Saturday changed our season one bit. We've just got to go out and make a statement on Saturday so we can erase those thoughts of the Wake loss."
But what do the fans of the school they boldly refer to as 'THE' Ohio State University think of NC State? Certainly the Wolfpack raised some eyebrows nationally when it knocked off Florida State and Notre Dame in back-to-back games to end last season, but is that really enough to impress the Buckeye masses?
"NC State has come on the scene like gangbusters," Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel said. "When you're from this part of the country and somebody beats Notre Dame so soundly in a bowl game, that obviously is something special. They've been highly thought of throughout the course of the offseason and preseason. I think our fans have a great appreciation for how good they are what kind of football game this can be."
It shouldn't take long to gauge the attitude of the fans, not with more than 100,000 of them sitting in a stadium affectionately referred to as the "Horseshoe." And it certainly won't take long for the NC State team to take note of the crowd, which will be the largest audience ever to watch the Wolfpack in person.
"People might think you would get nervous being in front of 100,000 people, but that kind of excites me," said NC State cornerback Greg Golden. "I know it will excite Jerricho and Philip and it will get the rest of the team excited with an adrenaline rush. If we can take that and turn it into a positive I think we can come out with a big upset."
An upset that would even rank No.1 on Frank Weedon's list.
