In a continuation of a rivalry that has been going on since before the turn of the 20 th century, N.C . State (5-5, 2-4 ACC) takes on No. 7 Clemson (9-1, 6-1 ACC) to mark the 79th meeting between the two teams.
The rivalry game, which is called the Textile Bowl because of the internationally acclaimed textile schools in their respective universities, has seen the Tigers claim the trophy 21 times out of 30 ever since it was instituted in 1981.
Clemson, who has won the last seven contests between the two, will enter Raleigh as the newly crowned ACC Atlantic Division champions and will look to heap more misery on top of N.C . State, who is coming off a 10-14 loss to Boston College, in order to buoy their sinking National Championship game hopes.
The Wolfpack , who has had a roller coaster season, alternating wins and losses in its last four games, will be in a precarious position knowing that it will need to win both their remaining games in order to make it to post-season play.
“We’ve got to win this game. You can’t win two unless you win one,” O’Brien said. “We dug ourselves a big hole again. We found a way out of it before, we’re going to have to find a way to get out of this one.”
O’Brien had a different take on whether the defense was frustrated at losing the game despite a stellar performance that saw them hold off Boston College to -2 yards in the entire second half and had shut out Carolina the week before.
“No, I don’t think they are frustrated. That’s their job,” O’Brien said. “They’ve got to outplay the other defense. The other defense only gave up 10 points. They should have only given up seven then.”
O’Brien admitted his team would have a hard time combating Clemson’s offense, ranked first in the conference and 14th in the nation. It features good players in every single position, a fact highlighted by the 478 yards of offense per game that it averages.
“It’s the most explosive. They have players at quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end, all that can beat you with the ball in their hands. I think that is what sets them apart from any other offense,” O’Brien said. “Any other offense might have a guy or two, but not at four different positions or more where, if they touch the ball, they can go all the way.”
Senior wide receiver T.J . Graham, who is third in the ACC this year in all-purpose yards and 25 yards shy of the all-time career high in ACC all-purpose yards, felt the team would benefit from having its last two games at home and that the home crowd would drive the team on.
“We have two more home games to try and clinch a bowl game,” Graham said. “Hopefully we can use that to our advantage.”
Graham also felt the team members thrived under pressure and was confident that being in a situation like the one they are in now would bring the best out of them.
“We’re down, but that’s when we play our best, when our backs are against the wall and stuff like that. We’re not a front-running type team. We like to be in a hole,” Graham said. “You’ve noticed for the past couple of years we’ve made it tough on ourselves somehow but we always come out.”
Redshirt junior safety Earl Wolff, who leads the team in tackles made, considered Clemson wide receiver Sammy Watkins, who currently leads the ACC in both receiving and all-purpose yards, to be a special athlete with an impressive work ethic.
“[Sammy Watkins] is a great player, he’s going to be real good. He already is real good, he’s something special. You never really see a freshman coming in that makes as many plays as he is,” Wolff said. “He’s not real cocky to me, he seems quiet on the field. He’ll score and toss the ball to the ref and keep it going. To me, from watching him on film, he’s pretty mature, for a freshman.”
Wolff also felt the offense and the defense need to interact more with each other, considering the contrasting performances both have put in, in order to become stronger as a team.
“Defense stays with defense, offense stays with offense,” Wolff said. “Maybe the defense could start encouraging the offense a little more and the offense can start encouraging the defense a little more. That could help our team morale.”
N.C . State takes on Clemson on Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium with a 3:30 p.m . kick-off.
