Pack's Wilson plays like the ACC's best

RALEIGH -- In a season when we've heard more than enough about undecided voters, there can't be that many left around the ACC, not after Saturday.

Russell Wilson already was the front-runner for the quarterback spot on the All-ACC team, as well as the league's rookie of the year, but the race for player of the year, offensive and overall, was too close to call.

Georgia Tech's Jonathan Dwyer, the ACC's leading rusher, or Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich, with five interceptions and two defensive touchdowns going into Saturday's game against Maryland, may have gone into the weekend as stronger candidates.

After N.C. State's 38-28 win over Miami on Saturday, there's no argument against Wilson.

Playing on his 20th birthday, Wilson threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, following up his demolition of North Carolina with a near-perfect performance against Miami.

"I don't know that there's anybody any better than he is, that's playing any better than he is right now," N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien said.

Wilson had two big runs on State's first possession Saturday, a 96-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Andre Brown. That was the first of Wilson's two touchdown passes on the day, and ran for a 29-yard touchdown as well.

When Miami switched to a softer defensive scheme at halftime, trying to contain Wilson, he hung in the pocket and threw for 146 yards in the second half.

Wilson's development has paralleled N.C. State's emergence as a team, distinguishing himself as the best player in the ACC while State came from nowhere -- a month ago, the Pack was 2-6 -- to become bowl eligible.

All told, Wilson had 220 yards passing on Saturday, 58 yards rushing and hasn't thrown an interception since September 20, going a school-record 226 attempts without a pick. In the process, he has steadily strengthened his case in the trophy race, a subject he's mildly uncomfortable discussing even as his candidacy gathers momentum.

"I'm not trying to be any different than I was when I grew up and when I came here," Wilson said. "I just try to be a responsible kid as much as I can and try to represent N.C. State well."

Wilson wasn't an awards candidate at the start of the season, merely one of five candidates for the starting quarterback job. Meanwhile, back home in Richmond, Va., his father suffered a stroke (he saw Wilson play for the second time Saturday) and Wilson himself ended up in the hospital after his first collegiate start and missed two other games with various injuries.

Given all that, the season could easily have been a wipeout, for Wilson and for N.C. State. The two games Wilson missed were disasters, an ugly win over William & Mary and a unforgettably dismal loss to South Florida.

But over the final seven games, finally healthy, Wilson threw for 13 touchdowns and ran for four. With Wilson in that groove, State won four straight to have a chance to extend its season, winning games with plays like his touchdown run Saturday.

With the Pack down 14-7 after an ill-advised Brown option pass was picked off, Russell's individual effort was simply breathtaking, a 29-yard run that covered at least 70 yards laterally.

Miami's Allen Bailey came storming at Wilson from Wilson's right, through the middle of the line. Wilson dodged to his right -- cutting across Bailey's line of attack -- to avoid the onrushing lineman, then kept going toward that sideline, outrunning lineman Marcus Fortson to get there.

With no space open, Wilson turned back to his left, ducked inside another Miami defender, sprinted back past Bailey across the hash marks and used a block from receiver Owen Spencer at the 5-yard line to get into the far left corner of the end zone.

"It took forever, but when you have a quarterback like him who can make plays, you have to stick with it," Spencer said, "I saw him come back this way, and I was screaming [about] the cornerback, 'We got him, we got him.' "

When it comes to the player of the year in the ACC, the Wolfpack's got him.