Maryland 14, North Carolina State 20

1234T
MD (5-6)070714
NCST (6-5)3071020

Final

12:00 PM ET, November 26, 2005
Carter-Finley Stadium
RALEIGH, NC

Terps unravel, hand N.C. State win, bowl eligibility

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The Fan Pick
74.5% of College Pick'em players picked North Carolina State to win the game.
Team Stat Comparison
 
1st Downs1814
Total Yards265186
Passing235113
Rushing3073
Penalties14-937-49
3rd Down Conversions6-143-14
4th Down Conversions1-11-1
Turnovers41
Possession29:5030:10
Individual Leaders
Maryland Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Hollenba...20/3523512
North Carolina State Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Stone12/1911301
Maryland Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Ball2166120
Merrills3307
Hollenbach9-39016
North Carolina State Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Baker1565122
Brown1341013
Blackman1-100
Maryland Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Davis8108122
Walker361032
Melendez230017
Goode21209
North Carolina State Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Hall229020
Brown223015
Barrett221012
Clark21709
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTERMDNCST
FG8:18JOHN DERANEY 38 YD FG
Drive info: 7 plays, 13 yards.
03
SECOND QUARTERMDNCST
TD2:35LANCE BALL 1 YD RUN (DANIEL ENNIS KICK)
Drive info: 11 plays, 39 yards.
73
THIRD QUARTERMDNCST
TD4:37TONEY BAKER 1 YD RUN (JOHN DERANEY KICK)
Drive info: 11 plays, 51 yards.
710
FOURTH QUARTERMDNCST
TD9:50MARCUS HUDSON 28 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN (JOHN DERANEY KICK)717
FG6:44JOHN DERANEY 29 YD FG
Drive info: 4 plays, 4 yards.
720
TD4:21VERNON DAVIS 15 YD PASS FROM SAM HOLLENBACH (DANIEL ENNIS KICK)
Drive info: 11 plays, 75 yards.
1420

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Toney Baker had the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard leap over the pile, Marcus Hudson returned one of his two interceptions 28 yards for a clinching score and North Carolina State beat Maryland 20-14 Saturday to become bowl eligible.

Mario Williams tied his own school record with four sacks for the Wolfpack (6-5, 3-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), who allowed a total of minus-6 yards in the third quarter. They likely will return to the postseason for the fifth time in six seasons under coach Chuck Amato after missing out in 2004.

No such luck for the Terrapins (5-6, 3-5). They are staying home for the second year in a row, done in by repeated turnovers and other mistakes down the stretch. A week ago, quarterback Sam Hollenbach was responsible for three turnovers -- two were turned into TDs by Boston College -- and he continued to give away the ball against N.C. State.

With Maryland trailing 10-7 in the fourth quarter, Hollenbach tried to connect with Danny Melendez, but Williams forced him to throw early. Hudson stepped in front of Melendez and ripped the ball out of his hands, then sprinted up the sideline with his first interception of the season.

That made it 17-7, and on the next possession, Williams sacked Hollenbach and forced a fumble, with defensive tackle DeMario Pressley recovering for the Wolfpack. When the Terps held, John Deraney came on for a 29-yard field goal to increase the margin to 20-7.

Hollenbach briefly bounced back. He led Maryland on a 75-yard drive to pull within 20-14, finishing it off with a scoring toss to tight end Vernon Davis that covered 15 yards. But N.C. State held on for its fourth win in the final five games when Hudson intercepted another one of Hollenbach's passes with 34 seconds left.

Now Hudson and his teammates can only hope for one more game.

The Terrapins completed their schedule losing four of the final five. They played this one without starting wide receiver Derrick Fenner, who didn't make the trip for unspecified reasons. Yet even with him, they would have had a hard time solving the Wolfpack's defense, which gave up 30 yards rushing and finished with seven sacks.

Hollenbach was 20-for-35 for 235 yards.

Maryland completely controlled the first half, yet led only 7-3 after Dan Ennis hooked two field goals wide left. And the only points for N.C. State -- a 38-yard field goal by Deraney -- came after Jo Jo Walker bobbled a punt into the hands of Hudson.

The Wolfpack needed to drive 13 yards to take a 3-0 lead, and it was a good thing, too. They struggled offensively in the opening half and finished with only 39 yards on 21 plays.

College Football Scores

Other Scores:

Saturday, November 26th
Maryland 14 Final
North Carolina State 20
Florida State 7 Final
Florida 34
Virginia 17 Final
Miami (FL) 25
North Carolina 3 Final
Virginia Tech 30
Georgia 14 Final
Georgia Tech 7