The ACC's leading Heisman candidate will be competing Saturday when NC State takes on in-state rival North Carolina. Unfortunately for ACC fans, the game will not be televised.
"I can understand why they passed on us," NC State coach Chuck Amato said. "It's our faults. Going into last week when they made that decision one team was 0-2 and the other team was 1-2. That's why it's our faults."
The game does not promise to be a close contest considering it pits the winless Tar Heels against the 2-2 Wolfpack, who just two weeks ago took then-No. 3 Ohio State to triple overtime, before falling inches shy of the end zone.
The star of the game against Ohio State, and just about every other NC State game thus far has been Heisman candidate Philip Rivers, who has had to carry the brunt of the offensive load on account of injuries that have severely limited standout sophomore running back T.A. McLendon's playing time.
"Two weeks ago I said it would be a bonus if he played against Ohio State and he played maybe 15 snaps and they were bonuses," Amato said. "I'm going to go on record as saying if he plays it's going to be a bonus for us this week. He's going to need to get a ton of treatment on that, a ton of stretching and a ton of rest."
McLendon, who was plagued by nagging injuries last year, has been in and out of the lineup since the first game of the season, leaving Rivers to carry the offense and after just four games, the Wolfpack quarterback is putting up Heisman-type numbers.
Rivers is sixth in the nation in quarterback rating with an astounding 168.4 posting a national-best 77.1 completion percentage. The four-year starter has more completions this season than any other quarterback in the nation; he is second in yardage with 1325 and has already thrown 11 touchdowns and just four interceptions. The Carolina defense ranks last in the ACC, surrendering 491 yards and over 41 points per game.
"Oh, I think so," Carolina coach John Bunting said when asked whether he though Rivers was a pro-quality quarterback. "I said that two years ago and a couple of my scout buddies stopped me and said I was wrong. But that guy is extremely productive. The Ohio State game, you guys saw it. That was as good as I have ever seen. He was rifling that ball in there. They had no chance."
The season's stats so far suggest that Carolina has little chance of halting Rivers. NC State leads the ACC in offensive production and passing offense throwing the ball for more than 350 yards per game. Carolina defensive star, senior free safety Dexter Reid, received his most publicity this year when Florida State running back Greg Jones knocked Reid off his feet with a jarring stiff arm.
On the other side of the ball the Tar Heels are excited about their own quarterback Darian Durant, who accounts for 63 percent of Carolina's offense this year. Durant has proven an able replacement for fomer Tar Heel quarterback and Virginia commitment Ronald Curry.
"He is awfully good," Amato said. "He's got all the pitches. He can throw the deep one, the intermediate, the short one and on top of that he can escape. He can get out of rushes, he works the pocket and they run quarterback draws with him where he'll scramble 30 or 40 yards for a touchdown."
Amato continued to call up a very flattering comparison between Durant and Rivers.
"He's a lot like our quarterback in that he makes their team go," he said.
Despite Amato's flattery, there remains little doubt which is the better quarterback, which the better team and which team has the talent to win on Saturday. For NC State and Rivers the only question is whether they will be motivated to play their best when they are not be showcased on television.
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