Skip To NavigationOct. 16, 2004
Recap |
Final Stats
Maryland moved to 3-3 (1-2 ACC) on the season with tonight's 13-3 loss to NC State (4-2, 3-1 ACC) at Byrd Stadium. It marked the first time NC State earned a victory in College Park, Md., since 1998, when the Wolfpack posted a 35-21 win in the last game of the season.
NC State's victory gives the Wolfpack a slight lead in the all-time series at 29-28-4. The Terrapins had evened the series with wins in the last four meetings, from 2000-2004.
Today's game, played for stretches in cold, rainy weather at Byrd Stadium, was the lowest-scoring game in the Maryland-NC State rivalry (16 points) since a 10-6 Wolfpack season-opening victory at NC State on Sept. 2, 1989.
The Terrapins are now 46-19-2 all-time on Homecoming Weekend. The Terps had won the last five Homecoming encounters overall, including a 24-21 victory over NC State on Homecoming 2002. The Terps hadn't fallen during Homecoming weekend since a 25-22 loss to Duke on Oct. 30, 1999.
Saturday's game marks only the third loss at Byrd Stadium during Ralph Friedgen's four-year tenure as the head coach at his alma mater. Friedgen's home record stands at 21-3. The last time the Terrapins lost consecutive games at home was Oct. 30 and Nov. 20 of 1999, against Duke and Virginia, respectively.
Today's win was Chuck Amato's first against the Terrapins, the only ACC school the NC State coach had not beaten in his four-plus years (Virginia Tech and Miami notwithstanding) as head coach of the Pack.
Junior defensive end Shawne Merriman put in an outstanding defensive effort, notching a career high 16 tackles (nine solo). Merriman's previous career-high was 10 against Northern Illinois in this year's season opener on Sept. 4. Merriman also recorded one pass break-up and was in on 1.5 TFLs for seven yards. Merriman is currently fourth in the ACC in tackles for loss.
Senior kicker Nick Novak's 40-yard field goal in the fourth quarter moved him into a tie for seventh on the NCAA career scoring list. He now has 371 points, tying him with Shayne Graham (Va Tech, 1996-99) and Jeff Hall (Tennessee, 1995-98).
Today's attendance of 52,179 marked the eighth-largest crowd in Byrd Stadium history. Through four home games, the Terps are averaging 52,009 fans per game this season.
Next week's opponent, Clemson, defeated Utah State 35-6 to move to 2-4 (1-3 ACC). 
