NC State vs. Maryland – The Last 10 Years

As Wolfpack fans still savor the sweet victory over 7th ranked Clemson 37-13 on Saturday to end a 7 year losing streak to the Tigers, the team’s focus has now shifted onto the other arch nemesis, Maryland. Forget the crazy Under Armour uniforms. Forget that Ralph Friedgen is no longer coaching the Terrapins. Forget that Sweaty Gary Williams is no longer coaching…oops, wrong sport. Forget the bad losses against Cincinnati and Florida State. Forget doubling up Virgina, shutting out North Carolina, and dominating Clemson. All you need to be concerned about is the upcoming game. If State wins, the bowl game will be earned (probably either in Charlotte or Nashville). Lose, and a very interesting off-season starts.
There are four main reasons that the Wolfpack needs to beat Maryland.

  1. It’s Maryland.
  2. Becoming bowl eligible.
  3. 15 extra practices…almost another spring practice.
  4. Recruiting uptick. Better selling your program to recruits saying your program has gone to back to back bowl games.

Maryland has had NC State’s number recently. Let’s look at the last ten games.

2001 – Raleigh. Maryland 23-19. This game featured the beginning of what I consider my dislike of the Terrapins fanbase. This was Friedgen’s first year as head coach and a win would give them the conference title and a berth in the Orange Bowl. After a Shaun Hill 8 yard TD pass with 41 seconds left won the game for Maryland, their fans threw oranges all over the field. It was not a good night.

2002 – College Park. Maryland 24-21. After starting off 9-0 and then losing a heart breaker to Georgia Tech, the Pack traveled to Maryland for payback after what happened the previous year in Raleigh. And it looked for a while like it would happen. Alas, ahead 21-14 starting the 4th quarter, the Pack could not hold on and Nick Novak kicked a 27 yard field goal with 34 seconds left to win the game for the Terps.

2003 – Raleigh. Maryland 26-24. Rivers lost his 4th straight game to Maryland on senior day in Raleigh. Pregame he was given a honor by NC State retiring his jersey. State was up 24-10 in the 4th quarter but gave up the final 16 points of the game. After missing an extra point with 2:29 left, Maryland was down 1. But T.A. McLendon fumbled and Maryland drove for the winning points, a 43 yard field goal by Novak with 23 seconds left. Utter disaster of a game.

2004 – College Park. NC State 13-3. The Wolfpack dominated Maryland, limiting them to 91 yards of offense in winning against Maryland for the first time in 5 years. In what became the top-ranked defense in the NCAA, State held Maryland to 5 first downs and 24 yards passing. Two field goals by John Deraney and a one yard TD run by Reggie Davis accounted for the scoring.

2005 – Raleigh. NC State 20-14. This game would decide who would go bowling with both teams at 5-5. Down 7-3 at the half, the Wolfpack dominated the second half with touchdowns by Toney Baker and Marcus Hudson, Hudson’s being on a 28 yard interception return. Mario Williams lead the defense with 4 sacks.

2006 – College Park. Maryland 26-20. The Wolfpack couldn’t keep control of the ball and lost 26-20 in a game that wasn’t that close. With the help of multiple turnovers, Maryland jumped out to a 23-0 lead in the 2nd quarter. Despite a Darrell Blackman 65 yard punt return for a score to get the game closer, the Pack couldn’t catch up and lost.

2007 – Raleigh. Maryland 37-0. In a repeat of 2005, the winner of this game would go bowling. Unlike the previous matchup, this game was completely one-sided as the Terrapins became bowl eligible with a 37-0 drubbing of the Pack, and ending a span of 150 games in which the Wolfpack had not been shut out. This game will forever though be known for one call: Ron Cherry calling Kelani Heppe for a 15 yard penalty in the 4th quarter for “Giving him the Business.”

2008 – College Park. Maryland 27-24. This was a very close game up at Maryland. The game was tied at the end of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd quarters. The yards were very close, the turnovers were a wash, and the score was obviously close. The difference? A 20 yard field goal by Obi Egekeze with 6 seconds left gave Maryland a victory and dropped State to 2-6 and 0-4 in the ACC.

2009 – Raleigh. NC State 38-31. Russell Wilson threw for 3 touchdowns and ran for another as the Wolfpack notched its first conference win of the season. This was a bad Maryland team but it was a much needed win. Wilson passed for 343 yards in the victory. Even though State was favored to win, the win was not as convincing as expected.

2010 – College Park. Maryland 38-31. A victory by the Wolfpack and State would be on the way to Charlotte for the ACC title game. Up 14-0 early in the game, the Pack got scared and froze for the next 2 quarters. By then, it was 38-14 and the game was over. Or was it? State closed the gap to 38-31 and had a controversial and very generous spot on 4th down go against them and it allowed Maryland to run out the clock. This was the most disappointing loss of the last 10 years, even more than in 2003.

So that is the last 10 years. 3-7. This will be the third time a bowl game hangs in the balance. Will State show up like they did in the last 3 home games or will it be the team that played against Cincinnati, Florida State, and Boston College? Maryland has lost 6 straight games by double figures. Will the Wolfpack make it 7 in a row or will the Terps relish the opportunity to spoil the Wolfpack’s bowl game aspirations? All questions will be answered starting Saturday at 12:30 in Carter-Finley Stadium. Let’s pack that stadium and pull the boys through to a victory.

About ruffles31

1996 NC State graduate who is still waiting on his first ACC conference championship in any of the four main revenue sports (football, men's basketball, women's basketball, and baseball) since enrolling. All I want is a ACC Champions t-shirt.

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57 Responses to NC State vs. Maryland – The Last 10 Years

  1. vtpackfan 11/22/2011 at 10:17 PM #

    Good recap-no love loss. It’s like Indiana Jones says when he sees Nazis-“I hate those guys!”.

    Wanted to add reason #5: Senior Day.

  2. HPWolf 11/22/2011 at 10:35 PM #

    Don’t worry about this game. This is the year we exorcise our demons. Our guys are motivated and We will beat these twerps soundly. I expect Dana Bible to run the ball until their defense is sucking air and then exploit that poor secondary. Our defense will feast on these losers. 38 to 10 final score

  3. ncsustash 11/22/2011 at 10:38 PM #

    Not only did their fans throw oranges on the field, but their players whipped them back into the crowd.

  4. timberwolf 11/22/2011 at 10:52 PM #

    And injury dives galore.

  5. RW4H22 11/22/2011 at 10:52 PM #

    We went 5-7 in 2009 – no bowl game. The 4 game win streak happened the year before.

  6. gtspack 11/22/2011 at 11:03 PM #

    If anyone missed it, they have the replay of the Pack vs Texas comeback game and the Pack vs Clemson rout on ESPN 3. Just look under replay.

  7. ruffles31 11/22/2011 at 11:39 PM #

    ^RW4H22, you are right. Thanks. Will fix it.

  8. redwolf87 11/22/2011 at 11:44 PM #

    Friedgen had an ax to grind against NC State for not being considered for the HC job when we got rid of O’Cain. Couldn’t even get an interview. I firmly believe that he worked overtime to make sure they screwed us from that day forward.

    Now he’s gone, and we really need to steamroll their ass on Saturday. Maybe the BC game ends up being the motivation we need to carry this through. We shall see.

  9. JohnGalt78 11/23/2011 at 8:22 AM #

    Crowd will be more important than usual for this game. We, those attending, must keep our support up the entire game. We can’t let bad vibes (initial 3 and out, initial MD drive for a score, etc.) dictate our attitude. We need to keep the guys motivate. We need to do our part. Easy to get fired up when they are playing well. Let’s make sure we show them that we’re in the game start to finish. GO PACK!!!!!!!!!!

  10. codebrown 11/23/2011 at 8:24 AM #

    No way in hell we win this game. We fear the turtles.

  11. El Lobo Loco! 11/23/2011 at 8:25 AM #

    MD is a tough team, and the Wolfpack is not good palying away.

    I hope for the best but I’m prepared for an a**whooping

  12. packplantpath 11/23/2011 at 8:28 AM #

    “MD is a tough team, and the Wolfpack is not good palying away.”

    Huh? Is this reverse mojo? Maryland is not tough, they are terrible. And we are not playing an away game, it is at home, for US.

  13. JohnGalt78 11/23/2011 at 8:29 AM #

    I don’t subscribe to Time Warner Cable for TV. I have DirectTV. It appears that a subscription to TWC is required to be able to access ESPN3 via the internet if the ISP originates in a TWC market. This true???? Anyway around that other than a subscription to TWC???

  14. Sound Tech 11/23/2011 at 9:05 AM #

    I think we will have Marylands number this year. A lot of the players from last year will remember what the Maryland loss ment last year and will be out to seek revenge. They also realize that if we lose the season will be over. Nobody wants to see the season end right now and I think the players really want to prove to us loyal fans that they are actually the team we thought they would be at the beginning of the season. Wolfpack wins big.

  15. howlie 11/23/2011 at 9:07 AM #

    As is human nature, I don’t remember ANY of those wins.
    The gravity of the successive losses has been staggering.

  16. GAWolf 11/23/2011 at 9:26 AM #

    I think to fully appreciate why so many of us are concerned about this game, you also have to look at basketball. The Thornton Technical game sticks out in particular, but Maryland always seems to be our party-pooper to say the least. Historically, we don’t play them well in anything.

    I almost wish the team could read this thread to appreciate that they need to come out fired up and not let off the throttle.

  17. StateFans 11/23/2011 at 9:27 AM #

    The question we will have answered on Saturday will be — Was it Maryland that had our number or was it Ralph Friedgen that had our number?

  18. GAWolf 11/23/2011 at 9:30 AM #

    I do think with our D-line back at full strength and the awesome pass rush we’ve developed with Sweezy back, we should dominate this game. With that said, my fear is that we’ll have freakish turnovers early in the game that lead to easy scores and a hole we cannot dig out of. Maryland’s D is weak allegedly, but our offense still seems to struggle sustaining drives at times. For an example of how this plays out, look no further than our game against Clemson where we were the beneficiary of great field position due to turnovers early in the game where Clemson gave us several easy scoring opportunities.

    If we play the role of Clemson this Saturday and Maryland plays the role of us, we’re in big, big trouble given the history of this series.

  19. drspaceman 11/23/2011 at 9:34 AM #

    @JohnGalt78: Don’t really know. The free market should work it out for you though, right?

  20. GAWolf 11/23/2011 at 9:39 AM #

    The “giving him the business” penalty was a microcosm of all things Maryland vs. NC State. I forgot that this now notorious penalty was against the Terps. Thanks for bringing that up. I’m not sure a Pack game happens anymore without someone talking about that ridiculousness.

  21. JasonP 11/23/2011 at 9:47 AM #

    The series is 30-29-4 all time with State having the edge. Like the post says, Fridge was 7-3 against State.

    I think it was Fridge that had the edge and not the school. However, “Big Game” TOB is not. Regardless, I don’t see this team crumbling Saturday at home – and thank goodness it’s at home – b/c on the road at College Park it’d be a different ball game. I think we get this one along the lines of that 2007 score.

  22. Prowling Woofie 11/23/2011 at 10:13 AM #

    I just wish we could put a Md football uniform on Grievous Vasquez this Saturday, just for the hell of it, and exact some revenge on that smug bastard…

  23. Wulfpack 11/23/2011 at 10:31 AM #

    So strange, this series. Can’t stand the Twerps and their ill-behaved fans. I have no idea how this year will turn out. Let’s just come to play early and keep the foot on the throttle. This would be a big win for the program and give us reason to pay attention for the next month. Go Pack!

  24. Solesky 11/23/2011 at 10:52 AM #

    JohnGalt…It should be fine – it’s the ESPNU games on 360 that you need a TWC account to watch. Of course, the game’s blacked out if you’re in NC. But, since it’s on ACC network, you should be able to watch it on theacc.com

  25. vtpackfan 11/23/2011 at 10:58 AM #

    So wait, we are 3-3 this decade against UMd when Phillip Rivers is not under center. That is Wolfpack Football on a nutshell recently.

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