The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 107

THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER Sunday October 17 1993 9H COLLEGE FOOTBALL NC State 24 Marshall 17 Pack squeaks out win against Marshall By JIM UTTER Staff Writer RALEIGH Facing the disturbing situation of being down 17-7 to Marshall at halftime a frustrated NC State coach Mike entered the locker room and told his Wolfpack players he was going to make one adjustment in hopes of turning the tide told his players he was putting the game in their hands And though it had been beaten on defense and ineffective on offense through 30 minutes of football the Wolfpack heeded words taking over the game in the final two quarters to escape Carter-Finley Stadium Saturday with a 24-17 win over the Division I-AA Thundering Herd It pretty It easy But for it was enough point is 4-2 now not 3-3 and the most important he said Marshall (4-2) came very close to changing that The Thundering Herd backed by a large contingent of fans started the game by marching 80 yards in 13 plays and went up 7-0 when tailback Curtis Parker sprinted the final seven yards into the end zone That left a stunned crowd of 36016 recalling memories of the last time Marshall came to Raleigh a 15-14 Wolfpack win in 1991 decided in the final minute This one looked even worse By the conclusion of the first quarter Marshall had built a 14-0 lead and its offensive execution seemed far more effective than the fumble NC State managed on its first possession did not play very well in the first half and not happy with that but Marshall had a lot to do with said did some good things and we make the plays" he said The Wolfpack managed to get back in the game in the second quarter with a 19-yard scoring strike to Ray Griffis from quarterback Terry Harvey only to see its hopes fade again when Marshall answered with a 27-yard field goal to make it 17-7 at the half Wolfpack players said they have to search long at the break for reasons to explain the sluggish play "We thought our game plan was said Wolfpack free safety James Walker had to ask ourselves did we want to play this game to win So we pulled together and went out with the attitude that we were going to win this game no matter he said NC defense seemed much improved on its first test of the second half holding Marshall to seven yards attacked better and we tackled said of his defensive surge in the second half just got after it Three times in the second half the Wolfpack defense made critical stops In the third quarter Walker picked off Marshall quarterback Todd Donnan as the Thundering Herd had made its way to the Wolfpack 28 In the fourth NC State stopped Marshall on a fourth and 1 at its own 40 and forced Donnan into a fumble with 10 seconds remaining in the game as Marshall was desperately fighting its way down field in hopes of salvaging the win As Harvey knelt to end the game the Thundering Herd was left with thoughts of what might have been is a heart-wrenching gut-wrenching Marshall coach Jim Donnan said "When you get the breaks we got we should have won the hopes his team has learned from scare is three weeks in a row that we have had our backs to the he said time we made the plays when we had to" Auburn surprises 4th-ranked Florida The stars: NC State quarterback Terry Harvey got off to a slow start but finished the game completing 21 of 36 passes for 333 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions Mar shall sophomore tailback Curtis Parker gained 132 yards on 24 carries and scored a touchdown The turning point: The game was tied at 17-17 in the fourth quarter when Rod Brown took the pitch from Harvey and sprinted the final 22 yards to put the Wolfpack up 24-17 with just over a minute to play The key stat: The Wolfpack defense which surrendered two touchdowns in the first 10 minutes held the Thundering Herd scoreless in the second half Quote: all know what type of football team Marshall has Coach (Jim) Donnan has a great team and they do a great job with their team so you have to really give them a lot of NC State coach Mike O'Cain Worth mentioning: It's not like the Wolfpack been warned NC State had to score twice in the last three minutes two years ago to hold off Marshall at home 15-14 next: NC State hosts Georgia Tech Marshall is home against Appalachian State Jim Utter Marshall 14 3 0 NC State 0 7 3 14-24 Parker 7 run (Merrick kick Drive: 80 yards 13 plays 4 53 Key play: On third and 4 from NC State's 23 Todd Donnan passes over the middle to Carter for 16 yards and a first down Carter 8 pass from Donnan (Merrick kick) Drive: 62 yards 8 plays 3-13 Key ptay: Donnan hits Brown down the right sideline for 14 yards Griffis 19 pass from Harvey (Videtich 1 kick) Drive: 96 yards 16 plays 6 56 Key ptay On third and eight from NC 45 Fitzgerald takes Harvey's screen pass 18 yards FG Merrick 27 Drive: 34 yards 7 plays 3 45 Key play: Parker gams 18 yards on a draw FG Videtich 37 Drive: 59 yards 10 plays 3 30 Key play: Harvey finds Griffis alone over the middle tor 41 yards Guffie 33 pass from Harvey (Videtich kick) Drive: 10 plays 81 yards 2 51 Key play: Pass interference on Marshall gives the Wolfpack a first down Brown 22 run (Videtich kick) Drive: 5 plays 81 yards 2 03 Key play: Harvey hits Gomes on a 44-yard paes for a first down 36 016 (at NC State) SEC standings 1-4) LSU 0 3 7 7-17 Kentucky 0 14 14 Samuels 19 pass from Jones (Leonoff kick) Williams 2 run (Leonoff kick) FG Lafleur 46 Hood 16 run (Leonoff kick) Jones 1 run (Leonoff kick) Kennlson 20 pass from Howard (Lafleur kick) Hood 1 run (Leonoff kick) Toomer 2 run (Lafleur kick) 64750 (at Kentucky) Little by little: Mississippi Michael Davis lina defenders (37) is stopped for a short gain by South Caro- during Saturday Gamecocks season sinking Mississippi St adds misery INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS LSU: Sharp 15-55 Howard 7-32 Toomer 2-6 Kentucky Williams 16-106 Hood 12-45 Jones 12-14 PASSING-LSU: Howard 12-25-1 149 Loup 5-9-0 69 Kentucky Jones 14-22-0 164 O'Ferral 0-1-0 0 LSU: Ray 4-85 Kenmson 2-26 Kentucky: Samuels 4-51 Wyatt 3-21 Williams 2-10 Georgia 41 Vanderbilt 3 At Nashville Eric Zeier threw for four touchdowns and 379 yards as the Bulldogs routed the Commodores Georgia (3-4 1-4) entered the game tied with Vanderbilt (2-4 0-4) for last place in the Eastern Division thanks to the first 0-4 league start by the Bulldogs in school history Georgia 10 24 7 Vanderbilt 3 0 0 V-FG Yenner 32 FG Parkman 44 Hunler 53 pass from Zeier (Parkman kick) Graham 80 pass from Zeier (Parkman kick) FG Parkman 35 Montgomery 2 run (Parkman kick) Thomas 9 pass from Zeier (Parkman kick) Jerman 41 pass from Zeier (Parkman kick) 28554 (at Vanderbilt) By JAY REEVES Associated Press AUBURN Ala After two seasons without a winning record the Auburn Tigers were looking for a big victory On Saturday they got it Scott Etheridge kicked a 41-yard field goal with one minute 21 seconds left and defense stopped Florida when it mattered most as the 19th-ranked Tigers beat the previously undefeated and fourth-ranked Gators 38-35 Terry Bowden got his sweetest win yet in his first year at Auburn (7-0 5-0 SEC) while Florida (5-1 4-1) saw its national championship hopes damaged wanted so much for these players to feel the good part in college football They felt that in Bowden said worked and played together to make this happen" is the best win I've been associated with since been playing here" receiver Frank Sanders said think we earned a lot of respect with our play Auburn gave up 560 yards 386 through the air But the Tigers sacked Danny Wuerffel four times all in the second half and picked off two passes at crucial points made adjustments to what Florida was doing but it was really a matter of our defense getting into the flow of what they were trying to do on said Ace Atkins who had two sacks With the Gators leading 10-0 and threatening to pull away in the first quarter Calvin Jackson intercepted a pass and raced 96 yards for a touchdown just stepped in front of the receiver made the catch and just saw green in front of Jackson said ran as hard as 1 In the fourth quarter Chris Shelling picked off pass and went 65 yards to set up a 9-yard scoring run by Sanders with 7:15 left to put Auburn ahead 35-27 Florida came back on the next drive and Wuerffel threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Jack Jackson He then hit Willie Jackson in the end zone for 2 points tying the score 35-35 Auburn got the ball with 5:36 remaining and started driving partly with the help of a 15-yard personal foul against Florida field goal capped the 52-yard 11 -play drive was a little nervous when I went on the field for the kick" Etheridge said teammates had played hard the whole game and I knew I let them down" Florida coach Steve Spurrier said his team a chance to get a pretty good lead early but we made some outplayed us in the second half but extremely proud of the way we fought back and tied the game" Spurrier said Florida 10 17 0 6-35 Auburn 7 7 7 F-FG Davis 49 Jackson 50 pass from Wuerffel (Davis kick) Jackson 96 interception return (Etheridge kick) White 2 run (Etheridge kick) FG Davis 36 Rhetl 24 run (Davis kick) Hill 23 pass from Wuerffel (Davis kick) Richardson 23 pass from White (Etheridge kick) Bostic 4 run (Etheridge kick) Sanders 9 run (Etheridge kick) Jackson 13 pass from Wuerffel (Jackson pass from Wuerffel) FG Etheridge 41 Att (at Auburn) A First downs 27 23 Rushes-yards 27-174 33-116 Passing 386 267 Return Yards 8 184 Comp-Atl-Int 25-50-2 23-36-2 Punls 4-46 5-52 Fumbles-Loft 1-1 '-8 Penalties-Yards 8-75 7-80 Time of Possession 30 20 29 40 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Florida- Rhetl 22-196 Auburn: Bostic 17-76 Sanders 2-25 Florida: Wuerffel 25-50-2-386 Auburn: While 23-35-0-267 Sanders 0-1-0-0 Florida: Jackson 8-86 Doering 6-64 JJackson 3-108 Auburn: Bailey 6-91 Sanders 5-64 Richardson 4-51 Kentucky 35 Louisiana State 17 At Lexington Ky Fullback Damon Hood rushed for two touchdowns and linebacker Duce Williams set up two scores with fumble recoveries in the second half powering the Wildcats (4-2 3-1) to victory over the Tigers (2-5 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Marshall: Parker 24-132 Pedro 12-46 NC State Downs 17-98 Brown 5-50 Marshall Donnan 17-24-1-181 NC State Harvey 21-36-0-333 Marshall: Carter 7-66 Brown 3-43 Parker 2-1 NC State Golnes 7-109 Hinton 4-56 Griffis 3-75 Mississippi St 23 South Carolina 0 The stars: Mississippi State tailback Michael Davis rushed for a career-high 128 yards on 33 carries and South Carolina's defense had no answers for him Bulldogs quarterback Todd Jordan not only ran the offense he punted and averaged 450 yards on six kicks Mississippi State linebacker Juan Long was in on 15 tackles The turning point: Jordan's huge 58-yard third quarter punt that Corey Bridges caught and then fumbled giving MS the ball at the SC 6 The key stat: Mississippi State converted on nine of 20 third-down plays South Carolina on two of 1 1 Quote: Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherrill "It feels a little better tonight than it has in awhile The players certainly deserved it because worked very very hard The biggest thing was the players realizing what they had to do" Worth mentioning: South Carolina played without four starters and suffered still more injuries: TB Mike Reddick (left knee sprain) OG Mike Dexter (left knee sprain) FS Norman Greene (concussion) DL Vincent Simpson (right knee sprain) DE Jahmal Pettiford (left shoulder sprain) OT Corey Louchiey (lower back strain) and FS Bru Pender (left wrist sprain) What's next: South Carolina plays host to Vanderbilt in Columbia Saturday Mississippi State has its homecoming game meeting Arkansas State Stan Olson South Carolina 0 0 0 Miuiaaippi St 7 3 7 Jordan 6 run (Burke kick) Drive: 15 plays 82 yards 7 02 Kay play: Davis takes an option pitch right for 13 yards FG Burke 25 Drive: 13 plays 71 yards 2 35 Key play: Jordaon runs ad quarterback draw tor 8 yards Davis 1 run (Burke kick) Drive: 2 plays 6 yards 0 43 Key play: Bridges' fumble of a punt which gave Mississippi State the ball on the Gamecocks 6 FG Burke 26 Drive: 1 1 plays 57 yards 4 37 Key play: Jordan hits Euell over the middle for 16 yards FG Burke 35 Drive: 9 plays 24 yards 3 58 Key ptay: The field goal which came with 27 seconds eft Att (at Mississippi St) game of a team that had averaged 1598 yards rushing previously this season Saturday the Bulldogs piled up 269 About all they did all night was listen to those jangling cow bells which Bulldogs fans ring to signal their delight with happened on the field And when the bells were finally silent South players were solemnly looking up out of the hole they had dug themselves hurts us very linebacker Mike Landry said of the loss is a game we counted on winning" Instead South Carolina became the first SEC team to be shut out by Mississippi State in 30 years since the Bulldogs got Tennessee 7-0 back in 1963 controlled the line of scrimmage" said South Carolina coach Sparky Woods were more physical than we were" They also took their revenge Last season the Gamecocks upset No 15 Mississippi State in first game as a collegiate starter took last loss said Carroll then he (Taneyhill) kept throwing it in our It was all thrown back Saturday and South injuries help The wounded Gamecocks Associated Press led by Jahmal Pettiford (96) game in Starkville Miss have been scrambling to make adjustments on both of their lines and it showed With so many bodies in unfamiliar positions Mississippi State took advantage Offensively the Bulldogs did a lot of cutting against the grain with their running game and the Gamecocks catch them Defensively they teed off on South quarterbacks eventually sacking them six times But the game may have turned on one play South Carolina trailing 10-0 late in the third period forced Mississippi State to punt from its own 19 Punterquarter-back Todd Jordan bombed it 58 yards forcing the Corey Bridges to make an over-the-shoulder catch He shouldn't have bothered First Chris Johnson smacked Bridges knocking the ball loose Then Scott Gumina picked it up and scooted to the South Carolina 6 Two plays later Mississippi Michael Davis scored and South Carolina suddenly trailed by 17 points turnover on the punt was the key play of the game at least for Woods said "At crucial times for some reason we put it in the end zone" said tailback Rob DeBoer killing me "We know so much better than Tennessee is idle Tennessee 7 0 3 7-17 Alabama 3 6 0 FG Proctor 22 Faulkner 25 pass from Shuler (Becksvoort kick) FG Proctor 47 FG Proctor 30 FG Becksvoort 34 Garner 73 run (Becksvoort kick) Barker 1 run (Palmer run) Att (at Alabama) By STAN OLSON Staff Writer STARKVILLE Miss As he walked off Scott Field after Mississippi 23-0 SEC football victory over South Carolina Saturday night Bulldogs defensive end Herman Carroll held aloft what he said was a tuft of South Carolina quarterback Steve hair gonna put this in my he hollered to no one in particular Just sort of adding insult to injury But Saturday banged-up South biggest injury was not to any player but to its fading bowl hopes They virtually disappeared in a cacophony of clanging cow bells South Carolina (3-4 1-4) needed to win this game to have a realistic chance at six victories this season and six seems to be the magic number for SEC teams in the eyes of bowl scouts With Vanderbilt Florida and Clemson remaining for the Gamecocks in Columbia and Tennessee waiting on the road it was apparent South Carolina had to have this one The visitors get it They budge a defense that came into the game allowing an average of 296 points in the 1-4 start (0-3 SEC) And they stop the ground Bama keeps Tie Continued from page 1 body on the offense to give me some time and we would get the job With plenty of time to throw as Tennessee dropped back in a prevent defense Barker directed an 11 -play 83-yard drive that prevented Tennessee (5-1-1 3-1-1) from beating Alabama for the first time since 1985 Barker completed five straight passes for 65 yards before three incompletions left the Tide with fourth-and-10 at the Tennessee 18 Kevin Lee kept the drive alive when he grabbed a 17-yarder from Barker that put the ball inside the Tennessee 1 Georgia Davis 8-48 Jerman 1-21 Montgomery 9-20 Harvey 3-15 Thornton 3-14 Vanderbilt: Douglas 16-38 Gordon 6-27 Deese 7-25 Chalmers 3-11 Georgia' Zeier 25-35-0-379 Smith 3-6-0-27 Vanderbilt: Gordon 4-12-0-57 Douglas 4-12-1-39 Georgia: Thomas 8-85 Hunler 7-106 Graham 3-101 Bohanon 3-20 Mitchell 2-25 Vanderbilt: Deese 2-3 Tomichek 1-22 Culpepper 1-16 Ware 1-15 Mississippi 19 Arkansas 0 At Jackson Miss Walter Grant kicked four field goals three in the first half after Mississippi was unable to convert inside the 15 and the Rebels (4-2 3-2) went on to a 19-0 victory over the Razorbacks (3-4 2-3) Arkanaaa 0 0 0 Missiiaippi 6 3 0 M-FG Grant 23 M-FG Gram 31 FG Grant 30 Brown 23 run (Grant kick) FG Grant 46 37000 (at Mississippi) unbeaten streak intact On the next play Barker dove over the top for first touchdown making it 17-15 with 21 seconds to go After Tennessee called a timeout to set its defense for the two-point conversion Alabama came out for the first time in the game in a full-house backfield with Palmer usually a receiver lining up at quarterback He took a quick snap and outran the Vols' defenders to the right corner to tie it Notes: Tennessee quarterback Heath Shuler set a school record when he threw a 25-yard touchdown to Craig Faulkner in the second quarter his 19th scoring pass this season The tie was the first blemish on Barker's record as starting quarterback He had won his first 22 starts an SEC record Alabama next plays Saturday at Mississippi INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Carolina DeBoer 5-25 Pritchett 4-22 Reddick 3-19 Mississippi St: Davis 33-128 Williamson 11-87 Talte 3-21 Jordan 10-17 Carolina: Tanneyhill 16-26-0-184 Williamson 1-2-0-10 Mississippi St Jordan 4-16-0-39 Taite 0-1-0-0 Carolina Foster 3-30 Pritchett 3-29 DeBoer 3-26 Mississippi St: McCrary 2-8 Moulds 1-9 Euell 1-22 Arkansas- Hebsrt 12-54 Calvin 9-37 Gray 9-22 Mississippi: Smith 8-66 Adams 13-46 Brown 5-38 Peters 7-36 Veasley 12-20 Arkansas: Lunney 13-20-1-104 Cherry 3-6-1-29 Mississippi Adams 8-14-1-60 Reed 0-1-0-0 Arkansas- Meadors 6-70 Cotton 4-16 Caldwell 2-28 Hebert 2-6 Mississippi: Preston 3-28 Smith 2-11 Observer News Services contributed to this article Tennessee Garner 17-144 Phillips 5-49 Shuler 11-13 Alabama Williams 21-48 Lynch 6-20 Palmer 2-19 PASSING-Tennessee Shuler 15-26-2-180 Alabama Barker 22-40-1-31 2 Palmer 0-1-0-0 Tennessee Faulkner 4-99 Fleming 4-41 Williams 4-16 Alabama Palmer 6-95 Lynch 5-45 Lee 4-83 Key 4-65 I JjM iMifra III I lHi jWuiiKii'.