For the first time since defeating the now No. 8 Pittsburgh Panthers in late September, N.C. State is looking to follow up a win with another victory when it takes on No. 24 Clemson this Saturday at noon at Carter-Finley. After entering Homecoming weekend on a four game losing streak, Pack players were finally once again able to enjoy themselves after defeating Maryland with the same score as their last win, 38-31.
“It was a breath of fresh air,” redshirt senior right tackle Jeraill McCuller said. “It was a real big win for this program. I think it kind of lifted guys’ spirits and gave a sense of hope around here that there is still a bright future for this program and this season.”
As it needs three more victories to become bowl eligible, State almost immediately turned its focus toward preparation for Clemson, a team that has won four games in a row and could potentially claim its first Atlantic Division title if it wins in Raleigh and Boston College loses to Virginia later Saturday.
“They’re high on the mountain right now. They’re a little cocky, beating Miami and Florida State last week,” senior defensive tackle Leroy Burgess said. “They’re comfortable. I guess seeing our defense, they think they’re just going to come in and do their thing and run all over us. Just to go out there and prove to our critics that we can play football and we can stop people, that’s from our point of view.”
Clemson averaged 42 points a game during its current four-game win streak and boasts one of few offenses in the country hotter than State’s own, which has averaged 40 points per game the last two weeks. It is no secret the key to the Tigers’ success has been their emerging Heisman candidate in the backfield, senior running back C.J. Spiller. Coach Tom O’ Brien said he could think of no player in the ACC currently better than Spiller, who has gained 329 yards and scored five touchdowns in three career games against the Pack.
“Absolutely, from what I’ve seen, I don’t see anybody that’s controlled a game as much as he has,” O’Brien said. “Especially the last couple of weeks, during this four-game win streak of theirs, they’re averaging 40 points a game and he’s certainly taken it to a higher level in those games.”
Burgess said the defense, coming off arguably its best effort of the season in holding Maryland to 270 total yards, will have to find him every play before the snap if they want to contain Spiller, who comes in fresh off his career-high 165 yard day last week against Florida State.
“You have to contain him because he’s such a dynamic player,” Burgess said. “When you think Clemson, you think C.J. Spiller and what he can do. You have to keep an eye on him; have to know where he’s at on the field at all times. If you don’t, he can gash you.”
During the losing streak the team recently ended, many players attempted to make a difference with various comments and speeches. That all ended in a brief team meeting the Friday prior to the Maryland game, and McCuller said he expects his team to continue to focus more on what needs to be done than on what needs to be said Saturday.
“We lost a couple games in a row, I speak my mind, Willie [Young] has said what he had to say,” McCuller said. “Enough talking has been done, it’s time to go out there and put it all together. We had a meeting on Friday [before Maryland] and it was like two seconds. It was like, ‘Enough’s been said, let’s go win,’ and that’s how we broke it down and we got the job done.”
“I think were steadily moving in that direction.
