North Carolina State University Athletics
PEELER: View From the Press Box
11/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
RALEIGH, N.C. – On one side of the ball is a quarterback who throws accurately, who can find an open receiver deep down field and who can devastate non-containing defenses who let him run free.
Would that be NC State sophomore Russell Wilson or Virginia Tech junior Tyrod Taylor? Both, actually.
Wolfpack head coach Tom O'Brien calls the two quarterbacks who will face off against each other Saturday afternoon (3:30 p.m., ESPNU) at No. 16 Virginia Tech's Lane Stadium mirror images of each other. They do have similar abilities to hurt opposing defenses, either with their arms or their legs.
Wilson is the reigning first-team All-ACC quarterback; Taylor was the MVP of last year's ACC Championship game.
Though both are from Virginia – Wilson from Richmond, Taylor from Hampton – they did not cross paths in high school and don't know each other that well.
Taylor leads the ACC in passing efficiency with a rating of 148; Wilson is third with a rating of 143.9. Wilson has more touchdown passes than any other ACC quarterback (26), while Taylor has thrown the fewest touchdowns (3). They both complete better than 56 percent of their passes.
"You have to try to keep him contained, which is awfully hard to do," O'Brien said of Taylor. "He is the mirror-image of Russell. Our guys play against Russell all the time. [Taylor] is probably faster, from looking at tape.
"Our guys will have to be concerned with that."
The concerns are just as great for the Hokies (7-3 overall, 4-2 ACC), in trying to stop Wilson.
"They have a quarterback who can really move their football team," said Virginia Tech Frank Beamer. "Like Tyrod, his experience helps him. He is something. He can keep plays alive. He is very accurate when he throws. He understands where people are.
"He is a dangerous quarterback, without question, certainly one we have a lot of respect for."
Let's face it, the schools are virtually mirror images of each other, too. Both are land-grant institutions that have always focused on agriculture and engineering. The rivalry dates back more than a century, when the two teams used to face each other in an annual Thanksgiving weekend game in Norfolk, Richmond or Roanoke. They faced each other 39 times from 1900 until 1964, and were sporadic opponents from 1986 until 1992 and have played each other only twice since the Hokies joined the ACC in 2004.
The Wolfpack (4-6, 1-5 in 2009) won at Lane Stadium 17-16 in 2004, and the Hokies won 20-16 at Carter-Finley Stadium in 2005. Saturday's game is the first time the two teams have met since then.
Despite the lack of recent meetings, the two coaches are quite familiar with each other. O'Brien was at Virginia from 1982 until 1995, when he became the head coach of Boston College. Beamer has been at Virginia Tech since 1987 and has built a successful program that is well-known for its aggressive defensive and special teams play and a fast-paced offense.
They faced each other often when Boston College and Virginia Tech were in the Big East.
"Anytime you are playing a Tom O'Brien team, you know it will be a well-coach team, with good players and solid all the way around," Beamer said. "We need to prepare for a tough, physical football team.
"That is just the way the game is going to be."
If the mirror-image quarterbacks negate each other, what are the other keys to Saturday's game?
For the Hokies, it could land on the shoulders of freshman tailback Ryan Williams, who easily leads the ACC with 123.5 rushing yards per game. O'Brien says he is exactly the kind of back that Beamer always seems to rely on to power the Hokie offense.
"They have always been a tailback-centered football team," O'Brien said. "You can go back to starting when I first got to Virginia in 1982. They have always found a big-league guy. When it comes down to it, they are going to give the ball to the tailback and expect him to win the football game for them."
Beamer credits Williams' success with improvement on the Hokie offensive line.
"We keep coming along," Beamer said. "It has become more consistent. We have a good group of receivers, a veteran quarterback and some good backs. That has all come together. We have a ways to go, though.
"We have to continue to improve in our consistency."
The Wolfpack combo of Toney Baker and Jamelle Eugene average a combined 99.3 yards per game. Baker, the fifth-year senior who on Thursday was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA, has gained at least 70 rushing yards in four of the Wolfpack's last five games, including a season-high 112 yards on 19 carries at Florida State. Eugene has had double-digit attempts in each of the last three games, giving the Wolfpack ground game a little more versatility.
With both offenses ranking in the ACC's top six in total yards and scoring, the key to the game will be which defense finds a way to stop the onslaught. Statistically, the Hokies have the upper hand, ranking first in pass defense, second in scoring defense and third in total defense. The Wolfpack ranks eighth in the ACC in total defense.
Leading the way for the Hokies is senior Cody Grimm, a hybrid linebacker/safety who ranks third in the ACC in total tackles with 85.
"Their defense likes to fly around," Wilson said. "They have always been aggressive and create turnovers. You have to give them credit, they have a great coaching staff. They are intense. That is their MO.
"What they like to do is take away things you do best. At the same time, I think our offense does a lot of different things. I feel like we have a lot of weapons on offense. We have Toney Baker running the ball, Jamelle Eugene running the ball. Two guys with a lot of burst and power. We have some great receivers who can make plays and some good tight ends.
"I feel like we have guys who can create damage for their defense."
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
