ACC FOOTBALL Rivers, Mazzone perfect match in Wolfpack attack

The new offensive coordinator and quarterback are so much alike.
RALEIGH NEWS & amp; OBSERVER
RALEIGH, N.C. -- At first glance, N.C. State's Philip Rivers and Noel Mazzone appear to have little in common.
Rivers is the Wolfpack's senior quarterback. He has started all 38 games in the past three years, has won 26 and is on pace to smash a slew of ACC offensive records.
Mazzone is the Pack's new offensive coordinator. He never has coached a game in the ACC and was a continent away last season as an assistant coach at Oregon State .
But look a little closer.
Rivers learned the intricacies of the Pack offense as a freshman under Norm Chow, then State's offensive coordinator. Mazzone was recommended to NCSU coach Chuck Amato by Chow, now Southern California's offensive coordinator.
Winning quarterback
Rivers doesn't always throw the prettiest ball, but he completes passes and wins games. Mazzone doesn't care about style, only results. Rivers, a cerebral type, likes an offense with a lot of options. So does Mazzone, who likes to give his quarterbacks a lot of freedom at the line of scrimmage.
There's more to this tale that entwines coach and player.
Mazzone, 46, grew up in a small town in New Mexico and hoped to play quarterback at Notre Dame. But the Irish had a decision to make: Sign Mazzone or a kid from Pennsylvania. Notre Dame took Joe Montana.
Rivers grew up in a small town in Alabama and once dreamed of wearing Notre Dame's golden helmet. His hero: Joe Montana.
Recruited by Auburn
Rivers never made it to Notre Dame. Auburn recruited him but decided to sign a quarterback from Mississippi, Jason Campbell. Auburn's offensive coordinator at the time: Mazzone.
"And for the next couple years, all I heard was, 'Oh, you let this kid from Alabama get out of the state and took a Mississippi kid,' " Mazzone said, laughing. "Jason was a Parade All-America in high school and is a fine football player, but I did have to hear about all Philip was doing at N.C. State.
"We already had a commitment from Jason, and we told Philip, 'We'd love to have you and we'll try you at quarterback, but if it doesn't work out we'll play you someplace else.' If Jason hadn't committed first, who knows where we'd all be."
College football can be an odyssey, especially for coaches. Four years later, Mazzone and Rivers have landed in the same spot.