NC State football countdown to kickoff: 90
The NC State football season opener for 2023 is at Connecticut on Aug. 31 — or 90 days away. TheWolfpacker.com’s countdown for the season looks at the significance of the number 90 in Pack history.
NC State Football And No. 90
• No. 90 on this year’s NC State football roster is not a scholarship player, but he could be a contender to start for the Wolfpack. Redshirt junior kicker Collin Smith handled all of the kickoff duties last season, with 40 of 71 going for touchbacks. He also made 1 of 2 field goal attempts, connecting on a 40-yarder against Connecticut.
Former Western Kentucky all-conference performer and transfer addition Brayden Narveson is the favorite to handle the placekicking duties, but NC State football coach Dave Doeren said that the competition was still ongoing after the spring game.
• Speaking of kicks, perhaps the most legendary field goal in school history came in 1990. Damon Hartman tied for the second most made field goals in a single game with four during a 12-9 win over North Carolina, but the final one likely made observers forget about the first three. He connected on a 56-yarder as time expired for a walk-off win.
That remains the longest made field goal in NC State football history.
• The fewest yards ever gained in a game against NC State was when Western Carolina had just 17 total in a mere 25 snaps in 1990. The Catamounts did not get a single first down in the contest and punted 12 times, which also remains the most punts vs. the Pack in a single game.
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NC State also set a school record with 67 points in the shutout win.
• That 1990 season ended with NC State defeating No. 23 Southern Miss, 31-27, in the All-American Bowl in Birmingham, Ala. The Wolfpack prevailed despite 341 passing yards from the Southern Miss quarterback, a signal caller by the name of Brett Favre. That was Favre’s final collegiate game before embarking on a Hall of Fame and legendary NFL career, mostly with the Green Bay Packers.
That is the fifth most passing yards NC State has ever surrendered to a QB in a bowl game. His 28 completed passes are third most allowed.
• One of NC State football’s three yearly rivals in the new ACC scheduling format is Clemson. The two teams have played 90 times in history, with the Tigers owning a 60-29-1 edge. This past season, the game in Clemson was the ESPN College Gameday location site.
NC State’s other two yearly rivals are Duke and North Carolina.
