The Sports Corner

2008 PapaJohns.com Bowl Preview

North Carolina State 6-6 (4-4) vs. Rutgers 7-5 (5-2) 

Monday, December 29, 12 p.m. PST.

Legion Field, Birmingham, Alabama.

ACC Atlantic #3 (tie - who isn’t tied in the ACC) vs. Big East #4

Coaches: Tom O’Brien (11-13) vs. Greg Schiano (45-51)

Quarterbacks: Russell Wilson vs. Mike Teel

The line: Rutgers -6.5

Payout: $300,000

Russell Wilson hasn’t thrown an interception since September 13, and that was his only interception of the season. Wilson, just a freshman, led the Wolfpack on an inspiring run, winning the last four games of the season to become bowl eligible. Three of those opponents were Wake Forest, North Carolina and Miami, all of whom will be playing in a bowl game. 

Mike Teel has thrown 20 TDs in his last five games, including a 7 TD outburst against Louisville in the season finale. He’s led Rutgers on a six game winning streak that included road wins over South Florida and PIttsburgh. These are two teams that have gone from being after thoughts in October to going bowling in December thanks in large part to their quarterbacks. They should light up the score board.

Coaches Greg Schiano and Tom O’Brien are two of the best in the business. O’Brien is 7-1 in bowl games over the course of his career, Schiano is 2-1. They are familiar with each other from O’Brien’s days as Boston College head coach when the two squared off every year. So this should be an entertaining chess match. 

In a game like this, where both teams are well coached and it comes down to playmakers. Rutgers has just that in wide receivers Kenny Britt, Tim Brown and Tiquan Underwood. Britt poses a problem with his size. He’s caught 81 passes this year for 1,252 yards and 6 TDs. Brown and Underwood have good speed and between the three of them they should have the NC State secondary spinning all game long. 

The Rutgers defense will be playing short handed in this game as all-conference defensive tackle Jamaal Westerman had surgery after the Louisville game to repair torn biceps. He actually kept the injury a secret to his teammates, playing through the pain over the final four games of the season. The senior has played his last game as a Knight but the team wouldn’t be here without the contributions he made.

He would have been an important player in this game, because while NC State backs Andre Brown and Jamelle Eugene haven’t been spectacular this year, they’ve been consistent and have helped give the offense balance. NC State doesn’t have anyone quite as talented as Britt on the outside, though sophomore receiver Owen Spencer can make big plays when called upon and he could be the difference maker for State. 

Rutgers has a trio of backs for NC State to worry about. There’s the 250-pound freshman Jourdan Brooks, 210-pound freshman Joe Martinek and the diminutive Kordell Young (though Young hasn’t been cleared to play yet because of a head injury). 

NC State is still unsure as to whether safety Clem Johnson can play in this game because of a sprained ankle. But whether or not he plays, it’s been a bad year for defense in college football and this game won’t buck that trend. Neither quarterback is going to make a mistake here. 

Kenny Britt and Mike Teel connect for the game winning touchdown as Rutgers wins 41-34.