COLLEGE PARK - At no point this season has Maryland found an opponent with a greater incentive than North Carolina State, which comes to Byrd Stadium for a noon game today.

After all, the 14th-ranked Wolfpack would like nothing better than to bounce back from a loss that ruined its perfect season, avenge two straight losses in this series and prove that it wasn't the fraud others alleged during a nine-game winning streak to start the season.

"They're going to come out here inspired to beat us, and we have won those last two games," said Maryland safety Dennard Wilson, part of a team on a six-game winning streak and a mission of its own. "They're coming into our territory and they want the game, especially coming off last week."

N.C. State's dream of a national championship ended at home last weekend, giving up 15 straight points to Georgia Tech in the fourth quarter of a 24-17 defeat. The loss added wood to the fire of skepticism regarding a team that attained a high ranking cleaning up against nonconference foes New Mexico, East Tennessee State, Navy and Massachusetts for four of its wins.

The feeling that the Wolfpack didn't exactly pass inspection is reflected in the betting line, which has Maryland a 6 1/2 -point favorite for this game. Losing wouldn't help that perception, though the Terrapins are streaking, are playing in front of an expected sellout, and have won the last two meetings - 23-19 last year in Raleigh, N.C., and 35-28 here in 2000.

"We'll find out a lot this weekend," said N.C. State coach Chuck Amato, who doesn't want his team to go from top 10 to also-ran in two weeks. "Unfortunately we have to go on the road and play the hottest football team in the ACC to try to stop the slide."

Both teams come into this game still in contention for the Atlantic Coast Conference championship. N.C. State (9-1, 4-1 ACC) could get at least a share of the ACC title and probably the Bowl Championship Series bid by winning its final three games. Similar spoils are available for Maryland (7-2, 3-1), which has rebounded from a 1-2 start and can become the school's second team to win 11 games if the winning streak continues.

Second place - and the inside track on the Jan. 1 Gator Bowl - is the probable prize for today's winner. But a tie for first place is possible if Florida State (6-3, 5-0) finds a way to lose at Georgia Tech later this afternoon.

If the Terps were tied with Florida State, the burden of winning a possible tiebreaker would shift to the 17th-ranked Seminoles, even though they won, 37-10, in College Park two months ago. ACC rules state that the loser in a head-to-head matchup could win a tiebreaker over the victor for the league's BCS bid if it was ranked at least five spots ahead in an average of the AP and ESPN/USA Today coaches poll.

The combination of a Maryland win and Florida State loss would probably put both teams in the bottom fifth of the Top 25, with three weeks left in the season. That would force the Seminoles to play against the polls, needing to soundly defeat two teams the Terps will have already beaten and also to survive a nonconference game against Florida on Nov. 30.

"The sky's the limit for this team," Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said. "It's like the first round of the playoffs. You win, and you move on to the next round. The more you win, the better the situation. You lose, you're probably out of it."

Of course, neither side imagines the game to be as easy. But Maryland's defense is the toughest in the league when it comes to preventing scoring - it takes five plays to get a point against the Terps, nearly twice the league average. And the team is now averaging 35 points itself, including a 59-7 pasting at North Carolina last week.

North Carolina State's Philip Rivers (17 touchdown passes) is the class of ACC quarterbacks, and running back T.A. McLendon (15 rushing touchdowns) gives the team first-rate balance on offense. And the Wolfpack also leads the league in total defense, allowing only 307 yards per game.

"They've got great athletes on both sides of the ball," Maryland quarterback Scott McBrien said. "We've got to be on point. It's going to be a battle, but we expect that."

Terps today

Opponent:No. 14 N.C. State (9-1)

Site:Byrd Stadium, College Park

Time:Noon

TV/Radio:Chs. 2, 7/WBAL (1090 AM)

Line:Maryland by 6 1/2