North Carolina State University Athletics
Tony's Take: No Maryland Miracles This Time
10/17/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 17, 2004
By Tony Haynes
College Park, Maryland - This time, there were no Maryland miracles, no funky bounces and no late fourth quarter heroics. This time, NC State dominated every quarter, including the final period. This time, the Wolfpack celebrated and exorcised the demons that had so taken hold in its series against coach Ralph Friedgen's Terrapins. After walking out of College Park with a one-sided 13-3 triumph on Saturday, NC State could proudly proclaim that Maryland was no longer its daddy.
Not one single day went by this week without Wolfpack coach Chuck Amato reminding his team that football is a 60-minute game. After all, had each of the last four meetings with Maryland lasted just 56 or 57 minutes, there would have been no talk of a Terps winning streak. But the numbers were hard to ignore: over the last four games, Maryland had outscored NC State in the fourth quarter 46-10.
And even though Maryland's suddenly anemic offense had shown no ability whatsoever to move the football on Saturday night, neither the Wolfpack nor its fans were ready to let their guard down as time started slipping away on the Byrd Stadium clock.
Finally, with just 90 seconds left and Maryland out of timeouts, the celebration began. On the sidelines, Amato sought out Reggie Herring and gave his defensive coordinator a big bear hug. Receiver Tramain Hall, looking towards the NC State section in the west stands, jumped up on the bench and yelled "it's over!"
And yes, the Wolfpack faithful in attendance, so reluctant to believe that Maryland would go away in the fourth quarter, finally took Hall's cue and let out a roar of relief.
Just as it had done against Ohio State and Virginia Tech earlier in the season, Herring's swarming, aggressive defense put up an iron curtain that often must have seemed impenetrable to a Maryland offense that could muster only 91 yards for the game. After picking up 46 yards on their opening drive in the first quarter, the Terps would only get 45 for the rest of the game. During one stretch between the first and third quarters, Maryland had eight straight three and outs. Finally, the Terrapins failed to convert on their last 14 third down plays and went just 2-of-17 for the game.
No wonder Friedgen chose to kick a field goal rather than go for it on fourth down with his team trailing 13-0 with just over 10 minutes remaining.
Flawlessly executing the defensive game plan, NC State shutdown Maryland's running game, thus putting the pressure on struggling quarterbacks Joel Statham and Jordan Steffy, who were just 9-of-19 for 24 yards passing between them. Digging deep into its blitz package, the Wolfpack recorded five sacks on the night. And on those few occasions when the Maryland quarterbacks did have time, rarely did they have open receivers to throw to.
"Our corners did an outstanding job of covering when they had to throw the football," Amato said. "But if you don't stop the run against coach Friedgen, you're in trouble."
Friedgen, the offensive mastermind behind so many great teams over the years, now has an offense that's been held below 100 yards in each of its last two games.
"We had trouble getting people open," Friedgen said. "They played a very aggressive man-to-man defense. Our wide receivers didn't win; they weren't open. It was very disappointing."
With the defense controlling the game, NC State's offense was asked to protect the football, make first downs and preserve field position. On those counts, Noel Mazzone's unit did an effective job of complimenting the defense's effort. Maryland's average starting position was its own 26-yard line, meaning the Terps faced the prospects of driving the ball a great distance against a dominating defense almost every time they touched the ball.
The NC State kicking game also assisted in those efforts by preventing all everything return man Steve Suter from becoming a factor. The kick off coverage was the best it has been all year for NC State, while punter John Deraney did an excellent job of kicking the ball away from Suter.
"When we kicked off and he got his hands on it, there were people all around him," said Amato. "We were determined not to let #34 beat us or be in a position to help beat us with something big in the kicking game."
Given the circumstances surrounding last week's devastating defeat to North Carolina and Maryland's recent upper hand in the series, this truly could have been one of Amato's most satisfying wins since he became NC State's head coach in 2000. Even quarterback Jay Davis, who was 13-of-30 passing for 208 yards, can now say he's accomplished something that his predecessor, Philip Rivers, was never able to do: beat Maryland.
"He'll be getting a phone call shortly," Davis cracked afterwards.
It was indeed the first time since 1999 that any NC State player was able to crack jokes following a game against Maryland. This time, the Pack made sure there were no miracles at the end.
Note: NC State's home game against Miami next Saturday will begin at 7:45 and will be televised by ESPN. Airtime on the Wolfpack Radio Network will be 6:45. The Men's Red/White Basketball game at the RBC Center will start at 5:30.
