Recap: Maryland 38, NC State 31
Nov 27, 2010
Danny O'Brien threw four touchdown passes - all to Torrey Smith - as Maryland rallied for a 38-31 victory over No. 23 North Carolina State, denying the Wolfpack's bid for an ACC Atlantic Division title.
O'Brien finished 33 of 47 for a career-high 417 yards and Smith had 14 catches - also a career high - for 224 yards to help Maryland (8-4, 5-3 ACC) erase an early 14-0 deficit and thwart North Carolina State's hopes of playing in next week's conference championship game.
Florida State, which dashed Maryland's division hopes a week ago, will face Virginia Tech in the ACC title game next Saturday in Charlotte, N.C.
O'Brien connected with Smith on three second-half scoring strikes. The final one, a 71-yarder with 6:26 remaining, made it 38-17 and came one play after North Carolina State (8-4, 5-3) had been stopped on fourth-and-goal at the Terps' 8-yard line when quarterback Russell Wilson was sacked for a 21-yard loss.
The Wolfpack injected some late drama into the contest when Wilson scored on a 1-yard run with 2:39 to play and, after N.C. State recovered an onside kick, flipped a 2-yard scoring pass to James Washington to slice the deficit to 38-31 with 1:16 left.
Maryland finally closed out the four-hour marathon, converting a fourth-and-1 by about an inch with 48 ticks left.
Wilson accounted for four touchdowns, running for two and finishing 31 of 60 for 311 yards with two scoring passes and two interceptions.