Wolfpack well aware of long ACC title drought

Tom O’Brien knows all about the fact that N.C. State hasn’t won the ACC football championship since 1979, the longest streak without a share of the title by any conference school.

Every other school (except newcomers Boston College and Miami) have won or shared the league title over that stretch, even Duke in 1989 and Wake Forest in 2006.

“Every year we have our alumni reunion. The guys from ‘79 team always remind us that it’s been that long,” O’Brien said Wednesday. “It’s a source of pride to them, but also an irritant.

“We’re trying to change all that.”

State can earn a berth in the ACC title game in Charlotte with a victory Saturday at Maryland. The Terps were picked for last in the Atlantic Division, and got fewer votes than anybody but Duke, in the media preseason voting, but the resurgent Terps are now 8-3.

“We have experience,” Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said Wednesday. “Last year we played 24 freshmen. This year we are still a young team. We have only 12 seniors. They are getting better every game and they are getting a little more confidence every game. We are playing pretty good right now.”

Maryland is not statistically impressive, ranking just 10^th in the ACC in total offense and sixth in total defense. Friedgen attributes the improvement on defense to better speed and to the fact that the team has adjusted to coordinator Don Brown’s attacking style in his second season as coordinator. Brown had been the head coach at Massachusetts before coming to College Park.

But where the Terps have been tremendous is in turnovers. Maryland is second in the ACC in turnover margin at plus-11 – only Virginia Tech, at plus-15, ranks higher. N.C. State, by comparison, is plus-5 in turnovers.

So O’Brien is well aware that State can’t spend too much time reflecting on the past, or daydreaming about playing in Charlotte.

“The mission is not finished,” O’Brien said. “There’s a big, big game coming up on Saturday.”