North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack is "Bowl Sick"
11/21/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 21, 2005
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. - A lot of college football fans around the nation watched last year's bowl games, but don't count Marcus Hudson among them. With NC State posting a 5-6 record in 2004, the Wolfpack cornerback and his teammates missed out on playing in a bowl for the first time in their careers. It's a holiday experience that they don't want to repeat. Although a bid won't necessarily be guaranteed, the only way the Pack (5-5, 2-5) can become bowl eligible is to finish its season with a victory over Maryland (5-5, 3-4) this Saturday (12 noon) at Carter-Finley Stadium.
Needless to say, the Terrapins will be just as desperate for a win. Last weekend's 31-16 home loss to Boston College left them one game shy of the number of wins necessary to qualify for a bowl game.
The only way Hudson will consider watching other bowl games is to know that he'll be playing in one himself.
"I was bowl sick," Hudson responded when asked if he had watched any bowl games last year. "I wasn't in one and I really didn't want to see anybody else having fun. All I could think of was us being in Orlando [for the Tangerine Bowl]. Last year I didn't watch any bowls; it was a sick feeling because I know we should have been in a bowl."
It would be a stretch to say that NC State is in the midst of a bowl drought since the Wolfpack went to bowl games in Chuck Amato's first four years as head coach before missing out last season. To fall short of that goal again would certainly leave a bitter taste, particularly for Hudson and the other 19 Wolfpack senior who will be playing at Carter-Finley Stadium for the last time this weekend.
"What's the saying? You never miss your water until the well runs dry," Hudson said. "That's what happened last year. We were so used to going to a bowl that we didn't think much about it. But sitting out and being without that atmosphere, we had the whole month of December to just sit and watch other teams. We really didn't know what to do with ourselves. It made our off-season extra long. It was a sick feeling and we don't want to feel that way again."
Bowl spots are quickly filling up from the ACC since seven teams are technically bowl eligible. With five overall wins apiece, NC State, Maryland and North Carolina all need one more victory in their last regular season games to qualify for postseason play. While the Wolfpack and Terps will be battling each other, the Tar Heels will be facing off against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg Saturday night at 7:45.
A bowl eligible NC State team will have won four of its last five games, something that would likely impress bowls that will be shopping for teams once the season is over.
"That's an element that I have no control over," Amato said when asked if there might be a bowl out there for the Wolfpack if it wins on Saturday. "All I know is that we'll be bowl eligible. One of these teams that plays in this game will be bowl eligible when the game is over. I'll tell you one thing: when they see a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference, that will be a double star."
Since Amato arrived at NC State and Ralph Friedgen took over at Maryland, the games between the two schools have been particularly dramatic and intense. Although the Terps have won four of the last five in the series, the games have been decided by an average margin of 5.2 points. Last year in College Park, the Wolfpack's top ranked defense held Maryland to just 91 yards of total offense in a 13-3 victory.
"All ACC games are intense because there's a lot of emotion and a lot of competition," said NC State center Leroy Harris. "It's definitely going to be an intense game, especially since we're both going through the same thing right now. That will add fuel to the fire."
With that in mind, Amato doesn't figure he'll have to come up any special fire and brimstone speeches to get the Pack ready for this one. While the winner could play on, the loser will definitely be done for the season and may not be very interested in watching the other play in a bowl game.
"They know what's going on," Amato said. "Our players don't have to look at the internet or read a newspaper or listen to a sports talk show. They know exactly what's at stake. So do the players at the University of Maryland. You've got two teams that had gone to four straight bowls. Last year, neither team went to a bowl and here we are, both 5-5, playing to become bowl eligible in the last game of the year."
More Pack Points: Twenty seniors will be honored in pregame festivities on Saturday...Junior defensive end Mario Williams set the Wolfpack career tackle for loss record against Middle Tennessee State. He now has 46.5 for his career. Chuck Amato's weekly radio show, normally heard on Wednesday night, will air on Tuesday night of this week at 8:00 p.m. Next Monday, Amato's final radio show of the season will be on the air from 8-9 p.m. That will be followed by the first Herb Sendek Show from 9-10. All shows are produced live from the showroom at Bobby Murray Chevrolet in Raleigh.
