N.C. State will try to end its disappointing season on a high note at Senior Day this Saturday. The Wolfpack will play against Maryland in Carter-Finley Stadium at 12:30 p.m.
State (3-8, 0-7 ACC) has lost seven straight games and eight of its last nine, but will take on a Maryland (6-5, 2-5 ACC) team in equally bad form. After starting the season 5-1, the Terrapins have lost four of their last five, including a 20-3 drubbing at the hands of Syracuse on Nov. 9.
The Wolfpack leads the overall series against the Terrapins 33-32-4, including an 18-15-3 mark in Raleigh.
N.C. State’s first-year head coach Dave Doeren said he knows these two teams have a history together, with the first game between the two programs having been played in 1909.
“I do know about the series and how far it goes back,” Doeren said. “[N.C. State Athletics Director] Debbie [Yow] has a lot of history there too. I know that’s important. But for us, it’s senior day and that’s really all that I’m focused on.”
Doeren said he wants to help all 21 of State’s seniors finish their careers with a win on Saturday.
“I know a lot of the guys, even though I’ve only had them nine to 10 months, have grown a lot this year,” Doeren said. “As a coach it’s always one of the biggest honors to send those guys out the way they want with a win. That will be our entire mind-set of the week, helping our seniors walk out of Carter-Finley the way they want to.”
Included in this group of seniors is graduate student quarterback Brandon Mitchell. Mitchell had by far the best game of his N.C. State career on Saturday against East Carolina, throwing for four touchdowns and 312 yards.
Doeren said Mitchell’s play against the Pirates showed improvement from his previous outings this season.
“What I like was he didn’t hurt us,” Doeren said. “He took the throws that were there. He overthrew a couple of guys, but that’s ok. That’s going to happen. I thought he was accurate underneath. He gave the receivers a chance to catch a lot of balls and for the most part, our receivers came up with those caches for him even when the weren’t perfect throws.”
Despite their recent string of bad results, the Terrapins are still a dangerous team, defeating Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. on Nov. 16.
The Terps’ passing game has struggled since losing two of its top wide-outs, sophomore Stefon Diggs and junior Deon Long, against Wake Forest on Oct. 19. But dual-threat senior quarterback C.J. Brown has kept Maryland’s offense afloat, running for 122 yards and two touchdowns and 135 passing yards and a touchdown against Virginia Tech.
Doeren said he appreciates the crowd support the Wolfpack faithful has given the team this season. He also said he hopes to see a packed house on Saturday to send State’s seniors off in style.
“I know it’s challenging with the holiday weekend for families that travel to see their families in other places, but I know our fans will do everything they can to come support these seniors,” Doeren said. “It would be unbelievably appreciated for all the Wolfpack fans who can make it to the game to send these kids out the way we all would want to see them sent out, and that’s with a great Carter-Finley crowd.”
