North Carolina State University Athletics
Wilson Breaks Marks, Career Bests, in Pack Win
9/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. – Russell Wilson didn't smirk and he didn't smile. He nodded to the crowd when it gave him a standing ovation, but he was mainly interested in getting back to the huddle and calling the next play.
Still, Wilson's 13-yard pass to freshman James Washington late in the third quarter of Saturday night's 45-14 victory over Gardner-Webb was more significant than his reaction let on.
It was his 33rd pass of the night without an interception, breaking the NCAA record of 325 passes without a pickoff set by Kentucky's Andre Woodson two years ago. After completing 26 of 36 passes for 345 yards and four touchdowns – all career highs for the sophomore quarterback – Wilson has now thrown 329 times without throwing to the other team.
"I didn't have much of a reaction," Wilson said. "I had to make sure we got the next play off. We had to keep moving and pushing the offense. We had to make sure we scored again."
That wasn't a problem. Six plays later, Wilson threw his fourth touchdown pass of the night, a 12-yard strike to Jarvis Williams, for his eighth scoring strike in two games. The last Wolfpack player to do that was Philip Rivers, who had eight touchdown passes (also without an interception) against Virginia and Florida State in 2003.
Wilson, who made history last year when he became the first freshman in ACC history to win first-team All-ACC honors, underplayed the importance of the interception-free streak, but his teammates are excited to be a part of it. Some of them believe it may never be broken. And some of them wonder if it will ever end.
After all, Wilson made a vow after he threw the only interception of his career last year at Clemson that he wouldn't do it again. And so far, he hasn't.
"It is an awesome thing to be a part of," said junior tight end George Bryan, who caught a career-high six passes for 89 yards and two touchdowns. "I think it is amazing, and it's kind of crazy.
"I hope it doesn't get broken and I hope it keeps on going for a long time."
For Wolfpack head coach Tom O'Brien, the streak is a testament to Wilson's improved decision making on the field since he took over the starting job at the beginning of last season.
"It's great for Russell," O'Brien said. "He got lucky a couple of times through the streak, but you have to get lucky a couple of times. I think he did a good job. Offensively, they came with a lot of pressure and they had a lot of seams down the field.
"It gave him opportunity to make throws."
The victory, the second in as many weeks over a Football Championship Series opponent, also gave the Wolfpack an easy path to its seventh win in eight games against teams from North Carolina during O'Brien's three-year tenure. Things are likely going to be more difficult, however, when Big East opponent Pittsburgh comes to Carter-Finley Stadium next Saturday.
"We are certainly happy with the victory, but we understand that the pace is going to pick up," O'Brien said. "We have a lot of work to do before we play Pitt next week. That will be the focus, to put Gardner-Webb behind us and get ready for the next game."
It will be the Wolfpack's fourth consecutive home game of the 2009 season, a nationally televised contest slated to begin at 3:30 p.m. It's the first regular-season meeting between the two teams since 1988. Pitt beat the Wolfpack 34-19 in the 2001 Tangerine Bowl in Orlando.
Saturday, the Pack (2-1) came out of the tunnel in the smoking south end of Carter-Finley Stadium smoking, and stayed hot throughout the first half. The Pack gained 213 yards in the first quarter alone, and added another 100 in the second quarter. By halftime, the Wilson-led offense had piled up a 31-0 advantage.
Senior Toney Baker scored twice in the first quarter, on runs of 11 and 2 yards, respectively, to give his team a 14-0 lead.
The rest of the Wolfpack's touchdowns came from Wilson's arm, as he hit sophomore T.J. Graham once, Bryan twice and junior Williams once on touchdown passes.
Wilson, who was 18-for-27 for 258 yards in the opening half, sandwiched a pair of touchdown passes between a 41-yard Josh Czajkowski field goal to round out the first-half scoring. The sophomore from Richmond had 174 passing yards in the first quarter alone, the most in a single quarter by a Wolfpack quarterback since Rivers had 182 yards in the third quarter of a 47-34 win over North Carolina on Sept. 27, 2003, at Carter-Finley Stadium.
Graham, the speedy wide receiver from Raleigh, hauled in the first scoring pass reception of his career, on a 24-yard shot early in the second quarter.
Then, just before halftime, Wilson hit Bryan, his favorite target of the game, on a17-yard pass to end the first-half scoring. He added a 12-yard scoring reception in the third quarter. For the game, Bryan had career highs with six catches and 89 yards in the contest.
Not bad for someone who battled with a touch of illness earlier this week.
Meanwhile, the Wolfpack's stingy defense remained hard to move against. It limited the Bulldog offense to just four first downs and 84 total yards in the first half. Gardner-Webb finally crossed the 50-yard line with 8:39 remaining in the third quarter, and scored its first points of the game on a 17-yard touchdown run by sophomore Marquis Sanders.
The Bulldogs took advantage of some momentum by recovering an on-sides kick, but could not move beyond midfield until late in the fourth quarter, when the Bulldogs scored against the Wolfpack reserves.
"I think we have the potential to be good on defense," O'Brien said. "But we are not there yet."
The Wolfpack returned two former starters to the lineup, but lost two others - at least temporarily - during the game. Senior wide receiver Donald Bowens, who missed all of last season and the first game games of this season with injuries, returned to action in the first half, while defensive back DeAndre Morgan saw his first action of the season after being hurt in the preseason.
However, junior wide receiver Owen Spencer suffered a concussion late in the first half and did not return to action and freshman Rashard Smith left the game after earning his second consecutive start.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
