Staff photo by Ethan Hyman
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — For the second time in three games, N.C. State's defense couldn't come up with a stop on a key fourth-quarter drive.
In a steady rain on homecoming Saturday at Byrd Stadium, Maryland drove 89 yards in 15 plays for Obi Egekeze's game-winning, 20-yard field goal with six seconds remaining in a 27-24 defeat of the Wolfpack.
The Terrapins faced first-and-13 at their own 5-yard line after a holding penalty, and had starting tailback Da'Rel Scott leave the game with an injury on the final drive. But on third-and-10 from the Maryland 35, backup tailback Davin Meggett caught a flare pass from Chris Turner and raced 31 yards to put the Terrapins in position for a chip shot field goal.
The N.C. State defense also crumbled late in the game on Oct. 4, when Boston College drove the length of the field for a Chris Crane touchdown run with 23 seconds remaining in a 38-31 win.
N.C. State (2-6, 0-4 ACC) has lost four in a row and has six straight ACC losses dating back to last season. Maryland (6-2, 3-1) became bowl eligible in just the eighth game of the season.
Maryland's defense was coming off a 26-0 shutout of Wake Forest, but it didn't take N.C. State's offense long to demonstrate that this was going to be a different kind of game.
Russell Wilson, targeted his tight ends on a 14-play, 73-yard opening drive, passing 18 yards to Anthony Hill and 15 yards to George Bryan. Andre Brown dived over the pile for a 1-yard scoring run, and Jarvis Williams added a 4-yard touchdown catch on N.C. State's second drive for a 14-7 lead with 55 seconds expired in the second quarter.
But after N.C. State held Maryland to a 47-yard Obi Egekeze field goal, Brown lost a fumble at the N.C. State 24-yard line. When Davin Meggett skipped into the end zone from 1 yard out, Maryland led 17-14.
The Terrapins seemed poised to add to the lead with N.C. State's Bradley Pierson punting from his own end zone late in the second quarter. Danny Oquendo fumbled the punt, and DeAndre Morgan recovered at the N.C. State 49.
Wilson drove the Wolfpack to the Maryland 11, then rushed the field goal team onto the field with time running out. N.C. State snapped the ball with one second remaining in the half, and Josh Czajkowski drilled a 28-yard field goal to tie the score at 17-17 to end the half.
The teams traded touchdowns to open the second half, with Scott scoring on a 24-yard run and N.C. State answering with a 7-yard pass from Wilson to Darrell Davis.
N.C. State survived a huge mistake when Egekeze missed wide right on a 39-yard field goal attempt with 11:12 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Wolfpack had given Maryland the ball back by committing a personal foul during a punt. Maryland appeared to score a go-ahead touchdown on a Scott run, but that was called back because of a penalty.
N.C. State moved into scoring position with a first-and-10 from the 28, but Brown gained nothing on two consecutive running plays, and Wilson was sacked to force a punt. Pierson buried the Terrapins inside the 10, but the N.C. State defense couldn't take advantage of Maryland's bad field position.
Comments
Fools
Sun, 10/26/2008 - 13:05 — Wpack22 (not verified)I have to wonder how many of you are really carolina and duke fans. The foolishness and stupidity of some of the fire Tom OBrien comments make me sick. One: Danial Evans, while a good person is no college QB. We have the best person on the field. Our guys are playing hard, we have key injuries that are preventing us from winning. I really agree with "Hit the Road" we don't need you as State fans nor do we want you. This is a long term project that is moving along just fine, albeit slow. So for all of you trailer trash fair weather fans, please go to Walmart and buy yourself a Tarhole shirt, you don't deserve to wear the red and white!
2009 Schedule
Sun, 10/26/2008 - 17:31 — Anonymous (not verified)Does any one know the football schedule for the 2009 season. Home and away games?????
Dont know entire schedule
Sun, 10/26/2008 - 21:55 — Anonymous (not verified)Dont know entire schedule but NC State opens againest South Carolina at Carter Finley on a Thursday night for the first football game of the year again!!
GO PACK!!
Idiots and haters abound
Sun, 10/26/2008 - 03:25 — TJZ (not verified)Wow, look at all these haters willing to put their ignorance of football on public display...
Hey TOB haters, just because you find your life lacking and am disappointed in the man you find yourself to be now that you are "all grown up" (and I use those terms loosely in regards to most of you) is no reason to go on an prove to all of us how ignorant and stupid you truly are.
Please shut up and go away. Your rantings on are a waste of cyberspace.
PS: Perhaps you should try extenze
Hit the road!
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 23:43 — Heelstomper (not verified)In response to every post calling for TOB to be fired and the ones saying that we are losers, I have this to say.
Hit the road if you dont like it, no one is forcing you to pull for the Pack. You call yourselves fans, your nothing more than grumpy old men with nothing better to do. On behalf of all REAL PACK FANS, we dont need or want you around. Trade in your colors and HIT THE ROAD. We will send you a post card from the mountain top when we get there in the next few years. TOB is the man for the job and all REAL PACK FANS support him and our players because that is what REAL PACK FANS do!
WTNY... Yeah Right!
Sun, 10/26/2008 - 02:15 — seedubspack (not verified)With NC State, it's always WTNY (Wait Till Next Year). Next year will never come with a loser like Tom O'Brien as the head coach.
He should have been relieved of duties immediately following yet another defensive disaster in Maryland today. What was it, a 90 yard final drive for the victory?
At the very least, Mike Archer should have been fired and made to pay his own way back to Raleigh to clean out his office.
Messed-up Coaching
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 23:26 — M. Tovias (not verified)NCSU fans, your best player is on the bench. Some people know how to win, others do not--can't teach that. Without the aid and support of the coaches it was easy to bench the better player--review the game films and you see the huge bias--if you look at your history you will understand why it happened. Anybody says QB had head down when other QB was hurt and therefore can't lead-does not know prayer when they see it, and probably why hurt QB came back ASAP. Starting QB is good, but a couple of years early--could have used some seasoning sitting behind someone who knows how to win. Don't blame old QB for failures of coaching staff who did not support, give aid to or empower to succeed. Sad thing what the coaching staff has done due to political process. Investigate your history a little and you will come to different conclusions.
Absolutely Right
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 23:09 — Anonymous (not verified)The best player is on the bench--some people know how to win--others do not--you can't teach that. If you look at last years win totals even without good offensive line play--what would have happened this year if the same chance had been given--instead of yanking him at every opportunity. Get real--any one says someone had a head down when another QB was injured and therefore does not know how to lead, doesn't know prayer when they see it, and is perhaps the reason Wilson came back. Get real. There us such bias and lack of coaching on this team it is pathetic. There will continue a downhill slide this year. Wilson's got talent--but he was pushed to early--a ploy to get someone out of the way--way to clear.
Big picture woofies - we're
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 22:54 — Anonymous (not verified)Big picture woofies - we're not getting the results we ultimately want, but there is measureable progress. We're losing to better treams with our two converted defensive linemen on the O-line and 4 true freshmen starting at LB and in the secondary. No excuses, we play who we have - I'll take them over any shade of blue any day.
Big picture?
Sun, 10/26/2008 - 00:06 — Anonymous (not verified)Let me tell you about big picture since you seem to be looking through those same rose-colored glasses that every other delusional State fan is looking through. We're making progress? Most teams do during the season - why is our showing progress anything to be excited about? We've still only got two wins, only one of those a quality win. We're last in the ACC. We probably won't win another game the rest of the season. There's the big picture.
Big picture in the triangle today: Both shades of blue won. Both of those shades of blue are probably also going to hand us two more losses in the coming weeks.
You have a different interpretation of the "Big Picture"? Please, enlighten us. You're a moron if you think things are going to get better in the next few years.
Its the N&O's fault!
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 22:03 — nascarpackneckIts the N&O's fault!
I'm Done
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 21:57 — Anonymous (not verified)I have lived and died with NC State football for 25 years. No more. I'm tired of the apathy of this school toward the football program. As evidenced by the hiring of Tom O'Brien as the coach, the administration does not want to succeed on the highest level. The ex-marine is just as bad or worse than Tom Reed and will never win here. He's just counting down the days until retirement and laughing all the way to the bank.
NC State can keep my football LTRs. They won't receive another dime of my hard-earned money.
I seriously doubt your
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 22:44 — Anonymous (not verified)I seriously doubt your little story - true or not, just leave - you're a quitter and a loser.
Why is it....
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 21:34 — Anonymous (not verified)David Cutcliffe can come into a program with a bunch of scrub players that haven't won more than a couple games the past two seasons and get his guys motivated enough to be 4-2 at this point in the season? Butch Davis is also playing with guys he inherited, so this crap of give O'Brien a break because he's playing with Amato's leftovers and that we need to give him time and things will come around is a bunch of nonsense. If everyone is so concerned with giving a coach time to turn things around then why didn't everyone give Amato that chance? I'm tired of making excuses for our coaches so that we can feel good about the poor decisions made by our A.D.. We'll never be competitive as a top-notch national program because we hand the reigns of the athletic program over to a freakin' idiot to manage it. Why is Carolina so successful? Because Baddour has a brain and makes smart decisions. Fowler should have been fired after screwing up the basketball coach search. What we ended up with there with Syd is a coach that will probably never have a record as good as Sendek's. I hope I'm wrong, but O'Brien is no different than what we had in Amato. We may get lucky and see a 10 or 11 win season in the next five years but I don't ever see us being consistenty in the Top 25 where all the NCSU fans think we need to be. If we reflect on why so many things seem to go wrong in NCSU athletics in recent years, seems like a lot of signs point back to Fowler.
Hey look, another idiot...
Sun, 10/26/2008 - 03:15 — Anonymous (not verified)Hey look, another idiot...
Why is it not
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 22:10 — Gene Taylor (not verified)I agree with you that Fowler should be fired. He has spent over $200 million and our football and basketball programs are at the bottom of the ACC. Anywhere but at NC State, he would have been gone a long time ago. Can you image a company president spending $200M with no results? The he then turns around and hires a basketball coach that has never coached a college game and has to go to get a two week degree to meet the minmum requitements to be a ACC coach. This is the most competitive basketball conference in the country. Go figure.
I do think that O'brien will turn out football program around. He did it at Boston College and I think he will do it at NC State. It is just taking a little longer than we would like.
Go State
I agree
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 22:03 — Eddie (not verified)I beleive Tom O'Brien needs to start showing his Marine mentality to the damn team, coaches included. I think he needs to fire Mike Archer and Dana Bible. In the game against FSU, with 3rd and 14, 3rd and 21, and another 3rd and long I'm missing, why in the hell would you not blitz a freshman quarter back and make him get rid of the ball or take a sack. He had all day just stand there and pick the defense apart. The same thing against Boston College on that last drive. What pisses me off is Tom O'Brien didn't even dispute that last touchdown that B.C. "didn't score." He better start standing up for a deflated team. Dana Bible is just as bad as Archer. I noticed State when they have big play for positive yards, he contiues to run the same play over and over {Wilson had a run for 20 yards} he calls the same run up the middle 3 more time in a row, with little results. Mix up the damn plays Ass-hole.. You know what they say about going back to the well. I mentioned that Dana Bible was there with Tom Reed and was a sorry ass O.C. He had Erik Kramer, Haywood Jefferies and several other quality talent and you saw what happened in those 3 yrs. {3-8 every year} I don't see State winning 3 games this year.. Do you......
Tom, Tom, Tom...
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 20:38 — packaok (not verified)GO BACK TO BC, LOSER!
Oh wait, BC won't have you... Don't blame them.
Fire O'Brien!
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 20:35 — NCSUSith (not verified)If I performed at my job like TOBy has at his, I would have been fired after 1 week.
NC State missed the boat when they did not hire Paul Johnson and, instead, took the easy way out by hiring this Boston College REJECT.
No wonder BC let him go without a fuss... They were the lucky ones.
Heed me, recruits... GO ELSEWHERE! Don't waste your years playing for this dud.
.... and yet another idiot.
Sun, 10/26/2008 - 03:16 — Anonymous (not verified).... and yet another idiot.
Time to calm down
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 20:26 — JPDOhioAnyone calling for Tom O'Brien's head right now needs to take a sedative. If they are also calling for Daniel Evans to start, they need professional help. This team has no depth on defense, is missing its best defender, has suffered some heartbreaking losses, but still comes to play every game. A lesser team under a lesser coach would have quit by now.
To go on the road to Maryland and lose on a last minute field goal is a hell of an accomplishment for this team. Keep in mind that, before Irving's injury, State's defense played pretty well. It is sad that a Tar Heel fan (gvillegatr) had to defend our coach with a reasoned argument. I did notice the similarities with last year's Tar Heel season and believe the comparison is valid.
So hang in there Pack fans, there are still games to play and the Pack will be back.
I saw Evans when Wilson was
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 19:37 — ecleanI saw Evans when Wilson was hurt he hardly looked like he could lead the team in anything except poor decisions. With all the injuries and the fact Amato left the cuppard nearly bare I don't think much more could be expected. Remember it was TOB's 3rd season at BC before any success was seen.
Russell Wilson
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 19:23 — Anonymous (not verified)Wilson is not the problem with this team losing. We have had the lead or been tied in our last three games late into the fourth quarter. However, our DEFENSE hasn't been able to stop anyone. Also, if my memory is correct the last three games that Evans started or played a significant amount of time we have exactly ZERO points! You need to be pointing your finger at Mike Archer. His defense was terrible at Kentucky and is no different here at State.
Nice going TOB
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 19:05 — spacerComing into this season the choice was pretty clear - experience and the "know how" to win with your QB (Daniel Evans) or on the other hand inexperience and a "bright future" with seasoning (Russell Wilson). Thanks to your poor choice, not only is the season a loss but now the future is damaged with a young QB who doesn't know how to win. What are you thinking? For a coach who knows so much you have proven so little. Daniel Evans could have taken the Pack to 6 wins, easy. Russell Wilson could have learned a lot from Evans and seasoned for a great career at State. This was a no-brainer, coach and there's more and more of us out here who seriously doubt your ability to lead our team to the next level.
Are you kidding me? The
Sun, 10/26/2008 - 13:54 — Anonymous (not verified)Are you kidding me? The first thing that Evans dis when he did get in the game was throw and interception. He is the best player for the opposing team. Give me a break!!! TOB will turn it around. All of the doubters absolutely have no clue! I am ahamed of those who call themselves Wolfpack fans!!!
spacer is an idiot
Sun, 10/26/2008 - 03:11 — Anonymous (not verified)hahaha.... too funny. What an idiot you are. So much so, I have to laugh. Russell Wilson is not the problem, as anyone with just a passing knowledge of football could tell by watching him in any of his last 4 games.
With his play, an arguement could be made that Wilson, a redshirt freshman, is in the top half of the starting QB's in the ACC.
In fact, he is so good, Glennon (a prep All American) might find it difficult to get playing time until (and if) Wilson decides to give up football to concentrate on baseball in his Jr or Sr year.
TOB is only in his 2nd year, you moron. Injuries/depth have depleted this team. It is to TOB's credit that the team is performing to the level that it is against quality opponents.
You will begin to see steady progress next year. A bowl game, maybe 8-9 wins. Until then, shut up and let us wonder as to your ignorance, instead of opening your mouth and proving it to the world.
you are nutty
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 20:01 — frustrated (not verified)You are absolutely crazy if you think Daniel Evans could do a better a job than Russel Wilson. Wilson has thrown 180 some consecutive completions without an interception. Evans has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns. The only reason this game was lost is a defense that's about as resilient as a wet paper bag. Before that final drive NCSU had near 100 more yards on total offense and had controlled the time of possession. Tom O'Brien is a fantastic coach and he's doing the best he can with a depleted roster. I'm as frustrated as anyone with the Pack this year, but as previously stated, TOB had two losing seasons at BC before he went to 8 consecutive bowl games I think, maybe 7, anyhow, nothing but success after he got there. Be patient and check your facts. NCSU is building on the void left by Chuck the Chest
spacer
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 19:43 — gvillegatrlet me take this one majority of NCSU fans ...
you have no idea what you are talking about. honestly, this team is eerily looking like UNC did last season. losing alot, but losing close. it is very frustrating, no doubt. did TOB cut his losses and go with the future? absolutely. but it was CLEARLY the right call after what the world saw out of Evans the chances he got. you are a dumb a$$ to think Evans should be the guy and TOB doesnt know what he is doing. this team is playing as well as they can right now ... which really aint that bad. you have to crawl before you can walk. be patient with TOB.
p.s.
I didnt even get into injuries.
Good post
Sun, 10/26/2008 - 17:17 — noneyabusinessThis may be the only time I have ever agreed with gator. Well done sir.
Reply
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 19:37 — Moses (not verified)Agree. We should have gone after Steve Logan when we had the chance.
???
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 19:34 — melvinfurdTOB = Herb?
Nice going TOB
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 19:19 — Anonymous (not verified)You're a dope.
Why don't you just start a FIRETOB.COM site? That nice positive outlook of yours has worked so well in the past 10 years as we've jockeyed coaches and listened to unbearable whinings from fans!
Wilson played one heckuva game (and I was there in the pouring rain to watch it), and State played quite well. The fact that the defense ran out of gas at the end is neither TOB's fault, nor Russell Wilson's.
TOBy "The Hen" Should Quit Now
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 19:10 — seedubspack (not verified)He's in over his head here. Go back to Boston, O'Brien!!!!
"Wilson capped the drive
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 17:12 — Anonymous (not verified)"Wilson capped the drive with a 4-yard pass to Jarvis Williams for a score and a 14-7 N.C. State lead before Maryland countered with the field goal. "
-that's doesn't seem right...