N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien
N.C. State LB Ernest Jones
N.C. State DT DeMario Pressley
Video of post-game press conferences
RALEIGH — N.C. State's first season under Tom O'Brien ended the same way it started — with a disappointing home loss.
Like the 25-23 loss in the opener to Central Florida, the Wolfpack didn't show up in the first half against Maryland on Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium. With a bowl bid on the line, the Terps jumped out to a 24-0 halftime lead en route to a 37-0 win.
Unlike the UCF game, State didn't rally in the second half. It ended in the Pack's first shutout loss since Sept. 23, 1995, a 14-0 home defeat to Baylor, a streak of 150 games.
"It's terrible to go out losing like this," said State linebacker Ernest Jones, one of 19 seniors.
Maryland, not State, will move on to a bowl game at 6-6. The Terps rushed for a season-best 252 yards to give coach Ralph Friedgen his fifth win in seven games against the Wolfpack.
State finishes 5-7 overall and 3-5 in the ACC, last in the Atlantic Division. The Wolfpack started the season 1-5, then won four straight games before losing the final two.
"We dug ourselves in too big of a hole," O'Brien said of the 1-5 start. "We just couldn't get out of the hole. We go to spring practice now."
State will take a long look in the offseason at its run defense and quarterback situation.
The Terps rushed for 147 yards in the first half, which exceeded their total from the previous six games. With three injured starters on the offensive line, Maryland didn't crack the 100-yard mark in four of their previous six games.
All-ACC guard Andrew Crummey returned for Saturday's game and the results showed.
Maryland running backs Lance Ball (78 yards) and Keon Lattimore (34 yards) each rushed for two touchdowns.
"We got over-powered," O'Brien said.
Quarterback Chris Turner's 41-yard option keep set up the Terps' first touchdown, a one-yard run by Ball to put Maryland in front 10-0.
Lattimore added a 15-yard TD run at 7:39 in the second quarter followed by a 2-yard TD run by Ball at 4:05 to go ahead 24-0 at the half.
Meanwhile, the Wolfpack rushed for 10 yards and Daniel Evans threw his sixth interception in the last three games.
Evans, a fourth-year junior, has one season of eligibility left. Whether O'Brien sticks with Evans, who was spectacular during the winning streak but turnover-prone in the losses, or goes back to Harrison Beck, who will be a junior in 2008, will be determined in the spring and likely up until the opener.
State has also signed Mike Glennon, the ninth-best high school quarterback in the country according to Scout.com.
Evans finished 19 of 28 for 168 yards. Beck played the bulk of the fourth quarter, completing 8 of 16 passes for 72 yards.
The running game didn't help either quarterback. Jamelle Eugene rushed for seven yards on 10 carries. Andre Brown had nine yards on three carries.
With the win, Maryland closes at 6-6 and 3-5 in the ACC. The conference has eight bowl tie-ins and eight bowl eligible teams.
With Wake Forest at 5-3 in the ACC, the Charlotte bowl can't take Maryland under the "Boston College" Rule. It could take Georgia Tech (4-4) but it isn't likely with Tech's limited fan base.
That likely means Wake goes to Charlotte, and San Francisco has its choice of Georgia Tech or Maryland, who beat Georgia Tech 28-26 on Oct. 6.
State's finale started just like its opener vs. UCF. The Knights led 25-3 at the half of the Sept. 1 game in Raleigh with Kevin Smith running all over State's defense.
The Wolfpack rallied in that game, losing by two points. There was no such second-half fight on Saturday.
Obi Egekeze kicked two second-half field goals as the Terps cruised.
The highlight of the second half was when referee Ron Cherry threw a personal foul penalty on Kalani Heppe at 9:37 in the fourth quarter.
"Personal foul, Number 69, he was giving him the business," Cherry said over the stadium PA system.
When it was still a game, in the first quarter, momentum turned with Evans' interception. Linebacker Dave Philistin picked off a tipped pass and returned it 43 yards to set up a 30-yard field goal.
On that scoring drive, it appeared Maryland fumbled and gave the ball back to State. With 3:29 left in the first quarter, Maryland's Jason Goode caught the ball and then lost it as J.C. Neal wrestled him to the ground. Ray Michel recovered the fumble, but replay showed Goode's knee was down when he caught the ball.
Maryland kept the ball. That was as close as State got to getting any momentum in the first half.
Maryland scored three touchdowns in the third quarter while State's offense sputtered.
Instead of extra bowl practices in December, State will now have to wait until spring to figure out what went wrong.
