North Carolina State University Athletics
Tony Haynes: One Big Game
11/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 25, 2005
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. - "What's in a name?"
The question comes from William Shakespeare's famed play Romeo and Juliet. In another drama that will unfold on the football field at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday, the more appropriate question will be "what's in a game?" For Maryland and NC State, the two 5-5 teams that will participate in the theatrics at 12 noon, the answer is "everything." The difference between a 6-5 record and one that is 5-6 doesn't seem like much in a literal sense, but for the two programs, the one game swing will seem as wide as the continental divide once the day is over and the off-season begins.
Like NC State, Maryland was 5-6 in 2004. For two programs that were considered to be on the rise just a few short years ago, a second straight losing season would certainly alter that perception. And of course, Saturday's winner will likely end up playing in a bowl game somewhere.
So either Maryland will miss out on a bowl for the second straight season or NC State will.
Neither program wants that little factoid to show up in next year's media guide.
In this case, there is an awfully big difference between 6-5 and 5-6.
If you took the transcripts of what was being said this week in the two camps, they would almost look like duplicate copies. The quotes are almost exactly the same. So is the palpable sense of urgency that both teams feel as game time approaches.
"It's a winning season," said Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen. "I think our kids have worked extremely hard and I think it would be a reward for them to have a winning season and stay on track. Obviously, we're disappointed we haven't done better. The thing I'm very positive about is that we've played hard in every game. What we have to do is eliminate our mistakes; that's what's killing us right now."
Yes, they've been saying the same things in College Park that they've been saying most of the year in Raleigh. Early on, penalties and turnovers stopped the Wolfpack in its tracks. Lately, however, the same errors that proved so costly in early season defeats to Virginia Tech and North Carolina have come in smaller doses. As a result, the Pack has won three of its last four games to put itself in this position.
The last time NC State recovered from a 2-4 start to finish with a winning record was exactly 40 years ago in 1965. That team, which featured a sophomore linebacker named Chuck Amato, went on to share the ACC Championship.
Now the Pack's head coach, Amato acknowledges that there truly is a huge gap between 6-5 and 5-6.
"There's no doubt about that," he said. "Our players know what's at stake, now it's just a matter of going out there and doing it and doing it for those seniors. More importantly, as much as we talk about the seniors, we talk about the `Wolfpack Nation' sitting in that stadium. We've got to win an Atlantic Coast Conference football game in this stadium, not just for the seniors, but for the people sitting in that stadium."
Twenty NC State seniors will be suiting for the final time at Carter-Finley on Saturday. When they first arrived on campus, the Murphy Football Center was nothing more than a pretty drawing and a pile of dirt. They've experienced the highs of an 11-win season that was culminated with a Gator Bowl victory over Notre Dame, to the lows of last year. They also want to experience the thrill of winning a conference game in their home stadium, something the Pack hasn't done since beating Wake Forest in overtime back on October 2, 2004.
"If you're 6-5, you know you're bowl eligible and that's the biggest thing," said senior cornerback Marcus Hudson. "That's all that matters right now to us. Five and six? You're at home and you're not going to a bowl. You're probably going to the bowling alley. You're not with your teammates, you're not with your coaches; you're just at home. That's a bad feeling. If you don't get that bowl game, it's like you don't have a successful season. We're a winning program and we've got to keep that image."
It's about qualifying for a bowl game and being perceived as a winner. What's in a game? The players and coaches at NC State and Maryland have been answering that question the same way this week. And they also know that the losing team on Saturday will carry a heavy burden of disappointment that will last throughout the entire off-season.
"This is the biggest game we're going to play," Wolfpack center Leroy Harris said. "It's going to be a heated gamed for both of us, especially since they're going through the same thing right now. I'm sure that's going to add fuel to the fire. It's definitely going to be a physical and intense game."
What's in a game? In this case, plenty.
