NC State football top five classic games with UNC

NC State football heads to Chapel Hill to face rival North Carolina Friday afternoon. The Heels are favored by about a touchdown, but history suggests this game is capable of producing classic moments.

Here are The Wolfpacker’s five most classic wins for NC State in the rivalry.

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Nov. 10, 2007

NC State had lost three consecutive games to North Carolina in the rivalry, the last of which was a 23-9 setback in Chapel Hill playing against the Heels’ already fired head coach John Bunting. That contest may have spelled the end of Chuck Amato’s tenure in Raleigh.

In 2007, a pair of new head coaches at each school met for the first of four times — Tom O’Brien at NC State and Butch Davis at UNC. With the Wolfpack riding a 3-game winning streak, NC State came out rolling to a 17-0 lead before going to halftime up 24-10.

However, the offense stalled in the second half, and when UNC defensive back Kendric Burney returned an interception 76 yards yard for a score with 9:40 left in the game, the Heels were suddenly ahead at 27-24.

The game-changing moment for NC State occurred with 5:38 left, when NC State defensive tackle DeMario Pressley intercepted UNC quarterback T.J. Yates at the UNC 25-yard line. O’Brien then told running back Jamelle Eugene that game was his. Eugene ran six straight times to reach the 1-yard line. After an incompletion from quarterback Daniel Evans, the Pack went back to Eugene for the score with 1:44 left.

However, the game was not over.

A fourth and 10 conversion jumpstarted a UNC drive that reached the NC State 7-yard line with 21 seconds left. Three straight incomplete passes set up a do-or-die moment. Yates threw a fade pass with 2 seconds left towards the corner of the end zone to UNC star receiver Hakeem Nicks, but Wolfpack corner Jimmie Sutton was on top of the route for the pass breakup, ensuring a 31-27 NC State win in front of a partisan home crowd at Carter-Finley Stadium.

O’Brien would never lose to Davis in four head-to-head meetings.

Oct. 18, 1975

From the sounds of his postgame press conference quotes, former UNC coach Bill Dooley may have remembered this loss for a long time.

With NC State leading 21-14 with 3:35 remaining, the Heels drove 64 yards to score on a one-yard run by star running back Mike Voight with 12 seconds left in front of 50,000 fans at then-Carter Stadium.

That’s when Dooley chose to play for the win and go for two. Here’s how Dooley would describe the attempt:

“I know I’m going to sound like a sore loser, but I have to comment on our two-point conversion. Our pass receiver [Brian Smith] was grabbed by the defender and pulled to the ground. That happened right in front of the official, and he refused to call it.

“With him down, [Bill] Paschall had no choice but to keep the ball. The play worked perfectly. State had three defensive backs on the other side of the field, but we just didn’t get the correct call from the official.”

UNC had called a rollout pass/run option, but Paschall slipped with defenders bearing down on him.

For NC State, College Football Hall of Famer Ted Brown rushed for 106 yards on 18 carries, and a freshman linebacker named Bill Cowher had 17 tackles filling in for an injured starter on defense.

The win started a 4-game winning streak for a team that had started 3-3 in what was Hall of Fame head coach Lou Holtz’s last season in Raleigh.

Oct. 18, 1986

Eleven years to the day after the 1975 classic, another game came down to a two-point conversion.

This one was an offensive shootout with the teams combining for nearly 1,000 yards of total offense (993).

After a scoreless first quarter, the teams traded blows. The game would be tied at 7-7, 14-14, 21-21 and 28-28.

When quarterback Erik Kramer completed a 37-yard touchdown pass to receiver Naz Worthen, the Wolfpack led 35-28 with 1:01 left. Worthen had originally intended to go out of bounds on the pass, but an overaggressive UNC defender missed a tackle and freed up Worthen to run for the end zone.

UNC quarterback Mark Maye, father of current Heels starter Drake Maye, completed 25 of 33 passes for 311 yards, his last official throw being a 13-yard touchdown with just 9 seconds left. North Carolina head coach Dick Crum elected to go for two on homecoming day for the Heels faithful at Kenan Stadium, and Crum dialed up a perfect play call.

Rolling right, Maye did a throw-back toss to a wide-open tight end Dave Truitt for what would have been an easy two points and the lead. However, pressure got to Maye just as he fired the pass and the throw lacked enough air. Truitt, while reaching down to make the reception, put his knee on the ground.

NC State football ended a 7-game losing streak to UNC, and Hall of Fame coach Dick Sheridan won the first of what would be a 6-1 record in the rivalry.

Sept. 29, 1990

In a game tied 9-9 with just one second on the clock, Sheridan trotted out NC State kicker Damon Hartman to try a 56-yard field goal to avoid a tie.

Nov. 26, 2021

Who can ever forget this moment in NC State football history that made Emeka Emezie a Wolfpack legend: