NC State
North Carolina
Rivers, Cotchery Lead NC State Past Tar Heels, 47-34
9/27/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept 27, 2003
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.--Perhaps North Carolina coach John Bunting summed up a long afternoon of football on Saturday when he said of NC State quarterback Philip Rivers: "That guy, I am so glad I'll never see him again." The AMENS are already ringing out from other coaches and defensive coordinators who are in the same position. Adding yet another remarkable chapter to his spectacular career, Rivers connected on 23-of-30 passes for 423 yards and one touchdown and added two more scoring runs in NC State's 47-34 victory over North Carolina in front of 53,800 drained fans at Carter-Finley Stadium. The win was the Wolfpack's (3-2,1-1) first over the Tar Heels (0-4,0-2) in Raleigh since 1991.
Already owning three ACC career passing records entering the game, Rivers also took over the career lead in total offense (10,713 yards) and tied Florida State's Chris Weinke for most 300-yard passing games (13).
"He's magic," said NC State head coach Chuck Amato, who improved his coaching record against the Tar Heels to 3-1. "That's why we're where we are."
Rivers, of course, had a little help from his offensive mates, especially fellow senior Jerricho Cotchery, who had a career-best receiving day with nine catches for 217 yards, a figure that ranks third all-time in school history for receiving yards in a single game.
As it turned out, the Wolfpack would need all the fireworks Rivers and Cotchery could muster against a North Carolina team that kept fighting back from several knockout punches.
NC State built a 21-3 first quarter lead on short touchdown runs by Rivers and tailback Josh Brown. Those two scores were sandwiched around a blocked punt - NC State's second in as man weeks - that turned into a touchdown. Linebacker Pat Thomas found an opening in Carolina's punt protection to block John Lafferty's kick in the end zone. When Manny Lawson fell on the loose ball, the Wolfpack owned 14-3 advantage.
"This was my first time on the punt attack team," Thomas said. "Being that it was my first time, I was a little nervous. I came off the ball as fast as I could and just laid out for the ball. I'd done it in practice. I didn't know it was going to be that easy. Once I saw a little crease, I went to get it."
Said Amato: "When you block a punt, you have a 90 percent chance of winning. We've done it two weeks in a row."
The block and ensuing drive that featured Brown's scoring run sent the red-clad partisans into a frenzy. Their dreams of a blowout win over NC State's archrivals from Chapel Hill was seemingly about to come to fruition.
But North Carolina quarterback Darian Durant had other ideas.
Beating blitzes and pressure, the junior riddled the Wolfpack secondary most of the day, hitting 25-of-42 passes for 323 yards and three touchdowns. He also added 78 yards on the ground, doing whatever was necessary to keep his team in the game.
Early in the second period, Durant drove UNC, setting up a Dan Orner field goal from 37 yards out that made it 21-6.
Then came a series of bizarre plays that got the Tar Heels back in the game. With just over 10 minutes left, Durant appeared to have been intercepted by NC State cornerback Greg Golden when a yellow flag was spotted on the field about 30 yards from the line of scrimmage. The call was delay of game, giving Carolina the ball back for a third down play. The Heels took advantage when Durant and running back Jacque Lewis teamed up to beat an NC State blitz with a screen pass that would produce a 64-yard touchdown.
 Jerricho Cotchery catches nine passes for a career-high 217 yards.  |
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It was much like last season when a delay call allowed Georgia Tech another chance to run a play that ultimately helped the Jackets end the Pack's nine-game winning streak.
"It's amazing," Amato said of the eerie similarity to last year's play. "That could have put the icing on it. I think it's a crazy rule that here's a way that the offense can get away with a penalty to stop a big play (the interception) like that. But that's the way the rules are. It was just like what happen last year in the Georgia Tech game."
The Durant to Lewis hook up pulled UNC with eight points at 21-13. After NC State added an Adam Kiker field goal to go up 24-13, another strange bounce of the ball gave the Heels a chance to move closer at halftime. On 3rd and one from his own 37, Durant was stuffed on a quarterback sneak and had the ball swiped away by end Mario Williams. But when Lewis recovered the ball 8 yards down the field, Carolina had a first down that would keep the drive alive.
Six Durant completions later, North Carolina was in the end zone on a 1-yard scoring toss to Derrele Mitchell. And when a successful shovel pass from Durant to Willie Parker was good for the two-point conversion, North Carolina trailed by only three, 24-21, at the half.
"We've got to learn how to kill a fly with an axe," Amato said. "When we get somebody down, we've got to learn how to stomp them. But you've got to give credit to the other team. They didn't quit; they didn't give up and we allowed them a lot of big plays to stay in the game."
But any momentum North Carolina gained in its second quarter comeback was quickly destroyed on NC State's first play from scrimmage in the second half. And naturally, Rivers and Cotchery were involved. Sending Cotchery in motion from right to left, Rivers faked an inside handoff to Brown before bootlegging to his left. He then fired a strike to Cotchery, who weaved his way down the left sideline for an 80-yard touchdown that gave the Pack some breathing room. Although Kiker's extra-point was missed, the Wolfpack had a 30-21 edge and old Mo back on its side.
"When the offense makes a big play, that sparks the whole defense," Thomas said. "We know when we come out after that, we to need to get a three and out."
And although three and outs were few and far between in this game, the NC State defense did come up with three straight stops in the third period that allowed the Wolfpack to build a working margin. Brown ended a 7-play, 78-yard drive with a six yard run to give NC State a 37-21 lead with 10:08 left. Rivers then tallied his second score, this time on a 14-yard scramble that made it 44-21.
"I've seen him run before; he's capable of doing that," Bunting said of Rivers, who had 40 yards on 7 carries. "When he did run, he hurt us. We allowed him to do some of that, which is not good. It's just a costly error."
Rivers has a habit of forcing a lot of costly errors with his keen decision-making on the field.
Armed with a 23-point bulge after three quarters, NC State pretty much coasted the rest of the way, although the Tar Heels did add two more big pass plays in the third period, including a 76-yard touchdown throw from back-up quarterback Matt Baker to receiver Adarius Bowman with 2:30 left.
It ended as the highest scoring game in the history of the longtime rivalry as the two teams combined for 81 points. NC State finished with 615 yards of total offense, while UNC had 550.
"We had our runs defensively," Amato said. "We would have periods where we'd go in there and stop them, but then give up some big plays. We've got to correct it before we can become a great football team. Now we go back to the drawing board and get ready for Georgia Tech."
And you better believe he's thankful Rivers and Cotchery will be there.
