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Pack's first ACC victory comes on Homecoming
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Homecoming at NC State was blue skies and winning football
Give credit to NC State and Maryland for being gracious competitors. The Wolfpack’s Homecoming Day football game was an enjoyable a contest as the weather was pleasant in Raleigh Saturday afternoon. It took the full game for the head count in Carter-Finley Stadium of 55,631 to know the outcome.
With the Terrapins moving the ball late in 4th quarter, with the game in the balance, it took two plays by NC State’s Michael Lemon to seal the outcome. A Lemon sack of back up Terrapin quarterback Jamarr Robinson put the brakes on the comeback bid, and two plays later it was defensive end Lemon squeezing the last breath out of the Terps.
The 38-31 final marked the Wolfpack’s first victory in ACC play this season. Having it happen on Homecoming was especially sweet, and that the foe came in the form of the Terps hailing from College Park, Md was the proverbial icing on the cake. The last nine meetings between the two dating to ’00-’01 has gone seven wins to two losses in Maryland’s favor.
The Terps starting quarterback went out of the game with a leg injury midway into the 2nd quarter. Head Coach Ralph Friedgen reported after the game that Chris Turner hurt his knee on the play. But Maryland kept it close with an opportunistic defense and special teams that kept the game to close to call until the end. In all the Terps collected four turnovers (3 INT’s, 1 fumble) that including one interception return for touchdown by linebacker Alex Wujciak.
The first time the NC State lead reached two scores, 31-21 early 2nd half, was short lived. The ensuing kick off was returned by 82 yards by Torrey Smith to pull Maryland back to striking distance. But Wolfpack quarterback Russell Wilson could not be resisted on the day. Overcoming uncommon mistakes in the form of turnovers, the Sophomore connected on three touchdowns in a 25-38 for 345 yards passing day. His one touchdown running came on a brilliant ball fake that left the Maryland defense dead in their tracks as he took the ball in from two yards.
The Wilson rushing touchdown gave NC State a 10 point lead in the 2nd half, the first time they had such a lead since week three in the season versus a college sub-division team. It came down to the defense getting Terp ball carriers to the ground- something the Pack struggled with during a four game losing streak entering the contest. As Head Coach Tom O’Brien stated after the game,
“We made more plays than they did and that's what matters most."
A tall order for NC State’s defense and one they were up for. After the kickoff return by Smith brought the margin to three, the defense made enough of the plays O’Brien and Defensive Coordinator Mike Archer have been longing to see this season. In the end the Homecoming charge to victory was led by a defense, and a conference win is finally in hand.
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