North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Closes Out Regular Season on Senior Day
11/23/2012 12:00:00 AM | Football
Game 12: NC State Wolfpack (6-5, 3-4) vs. Boston College Eagles (2-9, 1-6)
November 24, 2012 • 3:00 p.m. • ESPN3
Raleigh, N.C. • Carter-Finley Stadium (57,583)
TV: ESPN3 | Radio: Wolfpack Sports Network | Gametracker
Game Notes | NC State Twitter | Ask the Analyst
Sixteen NC State seniors will likely reflect on a lot of good times, big wins and
memorable moments when they suit for a game at Carter-Finley Stadium for the
final time on Saturday afternoon.
The opponent is Boston College (2-9, 1-6) and the kickoff time is set for 3 p.m.
Some 20 minutes before the game begins, many of the same parents and
grandparents who sent their sons and grandsons off to college to play football
at NC State four, or in some cases five years ago, will receive those same sons on
the playing field in a senior day ceremony that always produces a combination of
smiles and tears.
“As it gets closer, it’s becoming more and more real that this is the last time I’ll
play in that stadium,” said center Cam Wentz. “I’m sure it will become a little
more emotional when it’s finally over, said and done.”
All 16 seniors that will be honored on Saturday are expected to have their degrees
by the end of the school year. On the field, this group has knocked off Florida
State twice, posted three victories over rival North Carolina and pulled off two
wins over teams ranked in the top 10 (Clemson and Florida State) in back-to-back
seasons.
“These kids came here to help us build a program,” said State head coach Tom
O’Brien. “There are 16 of them, four have already graduated, 10 will graduate
in December and two more will graduate within the year. They’re all going to
graduate, and they have a chance to win their 24th game on Saturday in the last
three years. To put that in perspective, the record here over three years is 26,
which has been done twice: 1970 and when Philip Rivers was finished. They
can be two wins off the best three years in State football history and maybe get
another one in a bowl game. They’re going to graduate and they’ve won a lot of
football games.”
And most have made friendships that will last a lifetime. Five years ago, offensive
lineman R.J. Mattes and quarterback Mike Glennon were a pair of highly recruited
prospects who chose NC State over a lot of name brand football schools.
Roommates in three of their five years in Raleigh, Mattes and Glennon are two of
the seniors who’ll likely be given the chance to go on and play football at the next
level.
“I want to end on a high note,” Mattes said. “We have a close bond and the time
has come where we’re almost done. It’s crazy how time flies. Mike and I want to
end on a good note. We came here always wanting to win championships and
while we don’t have a shot at that now, we want to go further and get to a good
bowl game.”
If Glennon’s senior season has been an audition for NFL scouts and general
managers, then he’s been doing a good job of raising some eyebrows. In less than
two full seasons as a starting quarterback, he’s already ranked third in school
history in touchdown passes (59) and 300-yard passing games (7). He also ranks
fourth in passing yards (6,783), completions (584), completion percentage (.599)
and total offense (6,507).
In last week’s 62-48 loss to Clemson, Glennon passed for 493 yards and five
touchdowns, the second most productive passing game in school history. Only
Shane Montgomery threw for more yards in a game when he passed for 535
yards on 73 attempts at Duke in 1989.
There’s talk that Glennon has a chance to be the first quarterback taken in the
2013 NFL Draft.
“In my opinion, Mike is the best quarterback in the country,” said Wentz. “I’m
slightly biased, and I don’t know what scouts look for in quarterbacks. He has
everything I would want in a quarterback. I would agree with the statement that
he has a chance to be the first guy.”
Glennon will be firing passes Saturday against a Boston College defense that
has only sacked opposing quarterbacks six times in 11 games. Although Eagles
middle linebacker Nick Clancy leads the ACC in tackles and piled up a total of 20
takedowns in last week’s overtime loss to Virginia Tech, B.C. is giving up 30 points
per game to rank 10th in the ACC in scoring defense. Boston College is also 11th in
total defense and 10th in scoring offense.
When the two teams met last year in Chestnut Hill, NC State came out flat one
week removed from a win over North Carolina and lost to the Eagles, 14-13.
“We went up there and thought we could just show up and play, and Boston
College showed up and just beat us up,” said O’Brien, who served as Boston
College’s head coach between 1997-2006. “In the five years we’ve played Boston
College, they’ve been tougher mentally and they’ve been tougher physically than
we have. That’s why they’ve beaten us.”
As the head coach at NC State, O’Brien has gone 1-4 against his old team with the
only win coming at Carter-Finley Stadium in 2010.
“Winning a game up there in their stadium has been tough,” Wentz said. “Last
year we came in a little drained from the Carolina game the week before. I think
it’s different when we play down here at our place. Us as a group we want to get
back in the win column and give our fans one more win here at home to finish the
season.”
Currently 6-5 overall and 3-4 in the ACC, State may very well end up with an
attractive bowl invitation should it close out the regular season with a win on
Saturday. With North Carolina on NCAA probation and unable to participate in a
bowl this year and Miami making the decision to decline a bowl appearance due
to an ongoing NCAA probation on its campus, there are more bowl tie-ins than
bowl eligible teams in the ACC. Plus, a Clemson victory over South Carolina on
Saturday could send the Tigers to a BCS bowl game, leaving open yet another spot
on the rung of bowl games affiliated with the ACC.
But first things first. Although Boston College is in the midst of a miserable season
and has dropped three games in a row, it’s clear the Eagles haven’t quit. Just two
weeks ago, they were very competitive against an unbeaten Notre Dame team
that’s now ranked No. 1, and last week, B.C. had a great chance to sting Virginia
Tech before losing in overtime.
Strong-armed quarterback Chase Rettig is projected as a future pro while junior
receiver Alex Amidon is first in the ACC with an average of 106.8 receiving yards
per game.
“They’ve played really well the last two weeks,” O’Brien said. “It’s a different
team on tape than what they were a month ago. It’s senior day so we should
come out and play with great passion and emotion. The thing about senior day is
you’ve got to make the younger kids understand how important it is to the older
kids. For them, it’s there last go round.”
Wolfpack Sports Network coverage of the NC State – Boston College game begins
Saturday at 1 p.m. with the Mathews Motors Countdown to Kickoff show, which
originates from the Fan Zone in front of PNC Arena. Before, during and after
the game, our network broadcast crew will field questions from fans via Twitter
@packradio. In hour two of the pregame, color analyst and former Wolfpack All-
American Johnny Evans will also take questions that can be emailed here.
The broadcast day begins with the ‘Inside Wolfpack Sports TV Show,’ which airs at
8:30 a.m. on MASN and Fox Sports South.
