At the start of the season, one of the biggest games on the ACC schedule was the matchup between NC State and Ohio State. Those two teams face off this weekend and the game will give both schools the chance to move on from bad games last week and overcome lots of negative talk surrounding their teams.
No. 22 NC State was picked to contend for a conference title and possessed a consensus preseason ACC Player of the Year in quarterback Philip Rivers. The team suffered a huge blow when the Wolfpack was pummeled by an unranked Wake Forest team in its first ACC action of the year.
To add insult to injury, star sophomore running back T.A. McLendon will remain sidelined for the Wolfpack's biggest non-conference game of the year.
"Odds are, going into this game, that neither one of them will dress," coach Chuck Amato said of McLendon and senior offensive tackle Chris Colmer. "They may not even go on the trip, which would tear their hearts out. I say that now, but I know that I would bring them anyway just because they are a big part of this football team."
After losing to Wake Forest, questions arose about NC State's ability to fight for a conference title and a swarm of negativity followed the unexpected loss.
"Our team is not going to stop being confident," Amato said to reporters during a teleconference. "One game doesn't make a season. That loss is history -- that is yesterday's news. Let's talk about Ohio State now. Last week we're playing Wake Forest and everyone wants to talk about Ohio State. This week we're playing Ohio State and everyone wants to talk about Wake Forest. I don't understand."
One bright spot for the Wolfpack was the continued excellent play of Heisman hopeful Rivers. Rivers has an 81 percent completion rate and threw for 433 yards and three touchdowns on the most productive game of his career.
"He's the man," Amato said of Rivers. "He is the guy that makes the team go. He loves to shoulder it and without T.A. [McLendon] in the lineup last week we really had to put it all on his shoulders. But what better person to put it all on his shoulders than Philip Rivers."
Rivers, however, will be throwing against the best defense he has faced yet this season as the Buckeyes have given up only 11 points per game this year.
Ohio State, the reigning national champion, has been in the midst of controversy surrounding last year's star freshman running back Maurice Clarett since the beginning of the season. Clarett has been charged with falsifying a theft report this summer and allegations have been made about improper academic help he might have received last year and gifts including cash from friend -- and the first pick in the NBA draft -- LeBron James. Ohio State announced yesterday that Clarett will be suspended for the entire season.
This huge distraction has been the storyline of Ohio State's preseason and season thus far, and although questions about the Buckeyes ability to win without their star seemed to be put to rest after a whopping victory over a top-10 Washington team, questions resurfaced after the No. 3 Buckeyes struggled against unranked San Diego State in the fourth quarter.
"Well, all of you were at the ballgame on Saturday, and I'm sure you don't feel any better about our preparation and showing as we do," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said.
Both teams now have an opportunity to change their fortunes and the talk surrounding the team. For NC State, a win could return their name to national prominence this season and send a message to ACC teams that they can still compete. For Ohio State, this weekend's game will give them a chance to rebound from a shaky game and put the controversy surrounding Clarett behind them as they pursue another national championship.
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