Coach Tom O’Brien and members of the football team met with the media Monday to discuss N.C. State’s meeting with the Terrapins in College Park this Saturday. With five regular season games remaining, the Wolfpack must win at least four in order to be bowl eligible. Last year State was in a somewhat similar situation in needing a win against the Terrapins for a shot at a bowl — but was shut out 37-0.
“At the Maryland game [last year] I was actually up in the stands watching it,” redshirt senior Keith Willis Jr. said. “It made me sick to my stomach watching what they were doing to my teammates. I hate being shut out, I hate having that happen. So I know it’s in every player’s mind not to have that happen again and get revenge for it on Saturday.”
Maryland (5-2, 2-1 ACC) has won four of its last five contests, including a 26-0 victory over No. 21 Wake Forest on Saturday.
“They have a lot of experience,” O’Brien said. “It is a senior-dominated team with a quarterback that is playing at a high level, which generally means it’s a championship-caliber football team.”
According to redshirt freshman quarterback Russell Wilson, the Pack will have to be on the same page offensively and focus on little things to put up solid numbers against the Terps.
“We are just trying to make plays,” Wilson said. “We just have to keep believing in ourselves and come down with big plays. I have to complete more passes and make certain plays when we need to. I have to make a few more throws, players have to make a few more catches, we have to run the ball a little bit better and get first downs. It’s as simple as that.”
Although Wilson is only 1-4 as a starter, he has six touchdowns and only one interception. He has thrown 89 consecutive passes without a pick, only 27 pass attempts away from etching his name into the N.C. State history books in front of legendary quarterback Philip Rivers. Rivers went 126 attempts without throwing an interception in 2003.
“We are doing a good job on offense; we are definitely improving and getting better each and every week,” Wilson said. “But at the same time though, we need to start winning some games around here.”
The players stressed that preparation for this game both offensively and defensively is extremely important as Maryland has defeated all of the ranked opponents they have faced, though the Terps lost to Middle Tennessee State and Virginia.
“They are a great-looking team,” Willis said. “Putting up 26 against Wake Forest and shutting them out is very impressive. Then two weeks earlier they got shut out by Virginia. So it’s kind of up and down. It’s going to take a lot of watching film to actually see what their team is all about.”
After disappointing losses to Florida State, Boston College and South Florida, a win against Maryland could turn the season around. Wolfpack players, fans and coaches alike are all looking at last season’s goose-egg against Maryland as extra inspiration for the game this Saturday.
“These kids have played good the last two weeks,” O’Brien said. “We just haven’t been good enough to win the football game. We are using everything we can as motivation to go play this team, and [last year’s shutout loss] is certainly one of them.”
