Tom O'Brien

It has been 27 years since Gerard Phelan gathered the ball in his arms in the end zone to give Boston College a 47-45 victory over the University of Miami.

Master Minded put last month's Cheltenham flop firmly behind him with a classy display to capture the Melling Chase on day two of Aintree's Grand National meeting here on Friday.

Maryland's Ralph Friedgen named ACC coach of year following turnaround season. Maryland's Ralph Friedgen is the Atlantic Coast Conference's coach of the year for the second time.

Pick Six: Coaches who deserve credit for a job well done this season. When it comes to coach of the year candidates, Chip Kelly clearly has done a great job at Oregon this season and it'd be hard to argue with Auburn's Gene Chizik as a strong contender with his team being unbeaten. TCU's Gary Patterson and Boise State's Chris Petersen would probably make the short list, too.

No. 21 NC State travels to Maryland with shot to clinch ACC division title. North Carolina State is just a win away from a division title that seemed improbable not so long ago.

Shocking sequence keeps O'Brien, Wilson unbeaten against North Carolina with 29-25 win. Owen Spencer caught a tipped ball in the end zone for a touchdown on fourth down and T.J. Graham returned a punt 87 yards for another score to help North Carolina State rally past rival North Carolina 29-25 on Saturday.

Empty seats are widespread problem in ACC as only Virginia Tech regularly sells out games. Virginia Tech is the Atlantic Coast Conference's only Top 25 team ? on the field and in the stands.

Topsy-turvy weekend ends how it began _ with NC State in control of ACC's Atlantic Division. North Carolina State's players and coaches believed they had let a golden opportunity slip away when they lost at Clemson.

Parker leads Clemson to sloppy 14-13 win over No. 23 North Carolina State. A promising season at Clemson had come to this: Kyle Parker, the star quarterback who gave up at least $800,000 from the Colorado Rockies for one more season with the Tigers, was riding the bench after another interception.

Next item on No. 23 NC State's to-do list: Ending 6-game losing streak to Clemson. One by one, North Carolina State has taken care of some things it hasn't done since Philip Rivers was under center.

Home-field advantage is overrated in the ACC, where 'anybody can beat anybody'. Playing at home in the Atlantic Coast Conference has not been much of an advantage this season.

Davis' TD, Magazu's interception lift Pirates to thrilling 33-27 overtime win against NC State. Dominique Davis scored on a 1-yard keeper while Damon Magazu intercepted Russell Wilson's final pass to help East Carolina beat North Carolina State 33-27 in overtime Saturday.

Wilson, NC State give O'Brien 1st win against former team with 44-17 win over Boston College. Russell Wilson threw for 328 yards and three touchdowns to help North Carolina State beat Boston College 44-17 on Saturday, giving Tom O'Brien his first win against his former program.

A different double play: Wilson, Parker among ACC's athletes finding success in 2 sports. Playing two college sports at a high level takes much more than the love of the games.

So close: Beamer, Hokies say offensive woes often the result of one missed block or assignment. A missed block here, a blown assignment there.

NC State gets stiff test to No. 23 ranking; next up for Wolfpack _ Virginia Tech. Natanu Mageo heard screams of joy as he walked to class. R.J. Mattes reads all about it when he checks his Facebook page.

QB showdown of runner vs. passer: Nesbitt leads Georgia Tech against Wilson, NC State. The last two ACC first-team quarterbacks will meet for the first time when Joshua Nesbitt leads Georgia Tech against Russell Wilson and North Carolina State on Saturday.

Russell Wilson throws for 333 yards, 3 TDs as NC State tops Cincinnati 30-19 to move to 3-0. Tom O'Brien's first three teams at North Carolina State struggled to find momentum-building wins early and all finished with losing records. Now, with his team off to a rare strong start, the coach is just as curious as everyone else to see if this year's group really is different.

Russell Wilson helps NC State beat Cincinnati 30-19 for first 3-0 start since '02. Russell Wilson looked a little more like his old self Thursday night, while the defense is showing some improvement of its own. Now North Carolina State is celebrating its best start to a season since Philip Rivers was at quarterback nearly a decade ago.

Wilson passes for 306 yards, 4 TDs as NC State routs Western Carolina 48-7. Russell Wilson passed for 306 yards and four touchdowns to help North Carolina State defeat Western Carolina 48-7 on Saturday night.