ACC: Ball, Yellow Jackets slow down Rivers, Wolfpack
By Associated Press
Published October 5, 2003
ATLANTA - Reggie Ball misfired on his first two passes, and on the second one he overthrew an open Jonathan Smith.
"I had a little to much gas on that one," Ball said. "I was a little pumped up. After that, I just relaxed and had fun."
Did he ever.
Ball threw for 283 yards and two touchdowns and Georgia Tech held Philip Rivers and North Carolina State to its lowest point total of the season in a 29-21 victory Saturday.
The Wolfpack came in averaging 43.4 points and 366 passing yards a game. But the Yellow Jackets blitzed from all angles and quickly tackled receivers after they caught the ball.
Rivers was 31-of-46 for 344 yards and two touchdowns, including a meaningless score with six seconds left. Leading receiver Jerricho Cotchery had only five catches. The Wolfpack had minus-8 yards rushing and committed 10 penalties for 105 yards.
"We had penalties and didn't finish drives," Rivers said. "We had a couple of drops. I missed some open guys. It was a bunch of things."
Ball gave Tech the lead for good with a 42-yard touchdown to Jonathan Smith in the first quarter to make it 7-3 and added a 4-yard scoring run early in the fourth.
MARYLAND 21, CLEMSON 7: Scott McBrien threw three touchdowns for the host Terrapins, who have four consecutive wins after losing their first two this season.
Steve Suter, Rich Parson and Derrick Fenner had touchdown catches for Maryland.
Derrick Hamilton caught seven passes for a career-high 175 yards and a touchdown for Clemson, which gained only 10 yards rushing on 29 attempts.
The Terrapins allowed minus-14 yards on the ground in the first half and took a 14-7 lead on two scoring passes by McBrien, who finished 14-for-27 for 204 yards.
VIRGINIA 38, N. CAROLINA 13: Wali Lundy ran for 129 yards and a career-high three touchdowns for the Cavaliers, who extended the Tar Heels' home losing streak to nine.
Lundy has rushed for 100 or more yards in six of his past nine games.
The Cavaliers are 3-0 in the ACC for the first time since 1998.
Matt Schaub was 19-for-22 for 284 yards and two touchdowns.
The nation's worst defense held its own in the first half and the Tar Heels trailed 17-6. But they fell apart in the third quarter as Schaub led scoring drives of 63 and 67 yards in a span of eight minutes to put the game away.
