North Carolina State University Athletics
Few Differences Between Pack, Terps
10/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 15, 2004
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. - When alumnus Chuck Amato returned to NC State to take over the football program in 2000, he vowed to raise the program's standards. His blueprint for success included major facility upgrades, improvements that would enhance his staff's ability to recruit some of the best prep prospects in the nation. In his first press conference as Maryland's new head football coach one year later, Ralph Friedgen said many of the same things. Since that time, both coaches have succeeded in signing better talent and mobilizing enough support at their respective schools to bring their facilities up to 21st century levels.
Nowadays, sell-out crowds are commonplace at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh and Byrd Stadium in College Park. And such will be the case once again this Saturday when the Wolfpack (3-2, 2-1) and Terps (3-2, 1-1) renew what has become a most intriguing series in recent years. Game time from Byrd Stadium is 3:30 p.m.
Since the two head coaches started competing against each other three years ago, Maryland has owned an edge in both the won-loss record (34-10 compared to 29-15) and head-to-head matchups. And it is those on field meetings that make this game so spicy. During its current four-game winning streak over NC State, Maryland has won by margins of seven (two overtimes in 2000), four, three and two points. In each of those games, the Terps staged late rallies to win and own a 46-10 advantage in the fourth quarter.
"No matter what happens early, it's a 60 minute game," Amato reminded reporters when asked about the agonizing nature of the losses his teams have experienced against Maryland.
The close outcomes have allowed the Terps to finish a little higher in the league standings, and also secure spots in more prestigious bowls. In other words, Maryland has become NC State's nemesis by a whisker.
"I think our programs are very closely related," Friedgen said. "I have the utmost respect for Chuck and what he does as a football coach. I think philosophically we're pretty hard-nosed coaches and I think our kids are that way. I think our programs are very similar."
And this year, the two programs are going through similar growing pains as they break in new quarterbacks. While NC State has been trying to replace the irrepressible Philip Rivers, Maryland has been trying to fill the void left by Scott McBrien. The results, as one would expect, have been mixed.
After alternating between Jay Davis and Marcus Stone for four games, the Wolfpack is starting to settle in behind Davis, who has completed 40-of-52 passes for 517 yards over his last two games.
"I've done some good things, but it's been far from perfect," Davis said. "It's still a learning experience right now and hopefully, I can continue to build on what I'm doing right now."
And while Davis has gotten a hot hand over the last few weeks, Friedgen is in suspense about what he'll get out of his quarterbacks this week following last Saturday's disastrous offensive outing in a 20-7 loss to Georgia Tech. Between them, quarterbacks Joel Statham and back-up Jordan Steffy combined to complete just 11-of-23 passes for 74 yards. After pondering the possibility of starting Steffy this week, Friedgen has decided to stay with Statham against NC State.
"I expect him to make plays when the opportunity presents itself," Friedgen said. "He had a situation Saturday where not all of it was his fault, but the plays that were there he didn't make. He needs to make those plays and so does Jordan when he gets his opportunity."
In the loss to the Jackets, Maryland set new lows under Friedgen for total offense (81), rushing offense (7), and passing offense. The Terrapins offensive line also gave up eight sacks, something that concerns Friedgen as his team gets ready to go up against NC State's aggressive, blitzing defense.
"The first thing we've got to do is protect the quarterback better," Friedgen said. "We gave up eight sacks, which might be the most we've given up since I've been here. State's got a great defense and had 10 sacks against Virginia Tech. I'm sure they can't wait to start playing us."
Even after yielding some big plays in a 30-24 loss to North Carolina last week, the Wolfpack ranks first in the nation in pass defense and third in total defense. It will certainly be an interesting cat and mouse game on Saturday as NC State defensive coordinator Reggie Herring matches wits with Friedgen and offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe. Friedgen, long known for his offensive innovations, has a way of keeping defenses off balance with a wide assortment of blocking schemes and formations.
"Ralph is a great coach," said Wolfpack safety Troy Graham. "What I like about him the most is he's able to adapt to any kind of scheme that you can throw at him. He'll bounce back with something else and make adjustments, which he's so good at."
But fancy schemes and funky formations are usually just sideshows compared to the things that usually decide football games. For instance, NC State outgained North Carolina by more than 200 yards last week but still came up short after losing the turnover battle. Minus three against the Tar Heels, the Wolfpack is now minus seven (12 lost/five gained) for the season in the all important turnover margin category.
Give the recent history of the NC State - Maryland series, one turnover here or there could make a huge difference on Saturday. Other than that, the differences between the two programs since Amato and Friedgen arrived on the scene have been miniscule.
NC State Injury Report
PROBABLE
Andre Maddox, ROV - hamstring strain
T.A. McLendon, TB - hamstring strain, AC separation
QUESTIONABLE
Sterling Hicks, WR - heel injury
Luke Lathan, OG/C - MCL sprain
OUT
Merci Falaise, OG/OT - Arthroscopic surgery, 9/28
Jed Paulsen, C - Ankle surgery, 10/12
