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NC State football countdown to 2023 kickoff: 60

MattCarterby:Matt Carter•07/02/23•

TheWolfpacker

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NC State football coach Dave Doeren (Photo courtesy NC State/Gregg Forwerck)

The NC State football season opener for 2023 is at Connecticut on Aug. 31 — or 60 days away. TheWolfpacker.com’s countdown for the season looks at the significance of the number 60 in Pack history.

NC State Football And The No. 60

• The next meeting between NC State and Virginia, Sept. 22 in Charlottesville, will be No. 60 in the rivalry between the two charter members of the ACC. The Wolfpack leads the all-time series, 36-22-1. From 1958 through 1982, NC State only lost once to Virginia (a 14-10 defeat in 1971). The Cavs turned the tables by winning eight of nine after that.

Since then, the series has been much more competitive, with NC State having an 10-8 edge after topping the Cavs, 38-21, in Charlottesville in 2020. Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren is 2-0 against Virginia.

The 60th meeting between the two teams offers intrigue after NC State added former Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong via the transfer portal and hired former Cavs assistant coaches Robert Anae and Garett Tujague.

• In 1960, NC State football star quarterback Roman Gabriel made history. He completed 105 of 186 passes (56.5 percent) for 1,182 yards and eight touchdowns with seven picks while rushing for 164 more yards.

In the process, Gabriel became the first-ever NC State quarterback to throw for at least 1,000 yards in a season. He would remain the only one until Bruce Shaw threw for 1,708 yards in 1972.

At the end of the season, Gabriel, the charter member of “QBU” at NC State, was named first-team All-American by the Football Writers and Football News, while he additionally selected second-team by the coaches, UPI and NEA.

Gabriel was also chosen as the ACC Athlete of the Year in 1960. The only other NC State football player to receive that award was running back Dick Christy in 1957.

That 1960 season was the best of Gabriel’s three years quarterbacking the Wolfpack. NC State went 6-3-1, including 4-1-1 in the ACC. An 8-8 tie at South Carolina in the regular season finale prevented the Pack from tying Duke for a conference title. The Blue Devils had knocked off NC State 17-13 in Durham during that season.

• Prior to 1960, NC State had never had a player drafted in the first two rounds professionally. That changed with offensive lineman John Lawrence. In the second round, Lawrence was picked by the Boston Patriots, but he never played for the AFL franchise.

Lawrence also wrestled at NC State.

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