Fans of the North Carolina State Wolfpack know all of Philip Rivers' stats: 2,236 yards thrown, 21 touchdowns, 317 passes. However, this weekend, only one statistic matters, and it is not met with as much praise: one separated shoulder.
Rivers, the freshman quarterback for 5-3 N.C. State, will likely miss Saturday's game against Duke after separating his shoulder in last week's game. Rivers collided with 6-foot-2, 229-pound Maryland linebacker E.J. Henderson on a mid-game play last Saturday. Despite the injury, Rivers stayed in the game, which the Wolfpack lost 35 to 28 in double overtime.
X-rays revealed that Rivers suffered a separated shoulder. The separation is a Grade-1-level, the least-serious type of that injury. N.C. State coach Chuck Amato told the Associated Press that, in retrospect, Rivers should have left the game, especially since after the hit many of his passes were not completed.
"We kept talking to him each series, and he had a little soreness," Amato told the A.P. "…He didn't have the zing on [the ball]."
Rivers will likely miss tomorrow's game, which means a double-whammy for the Wolfpack. Not only will the successful Rivers sit out, but he will be replaced by junior-college transfer Olin Hannum, who has thrown just four passes in three games with the team.
