Carter-Finley Stadium's Most Dramatic Victories

 

NC State quarterback Erik Kramer throws the game-winning pass to Danny Peebles against South Carolina in 1986.

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© Tim Peeler, 2021

When NC State bolted back from a nine-point deficit against arch-rival North Carolina Friday night in the final two minutes for a 34-30 victory, it completed one of the most dramatic and exciting comebacks in Carter-Finley Stadium history.

The immediate question was asked: Was it the most dramatic of the 224 victories the Wolfpack has posted in the 348 games it has played since the stadium opened in 1966?

I never like to talk in absolutes, but there few games can compare to the victory, which now gives State an opportunity to qualify for its first ACC title game ever and have the possibility to win its first championship since 1979.

The game that immediately came to mind for most was the victory over South Carolina on Nov. 1, 1986, when Danny Peebles caught a touchdown pass from Erik Kramer with no time left on the clock.

The difference is, that late-second win actually cost Dick Sheridan’s inaugural team a chance to win the ACC title, because Kramer was injured on the final play and had to sit out the next week, when the Wolfpack could have secured the ACC title with a win over Virginia.

Lefthander Cam Young started in Kramer’s place and the Wolfpack lost 20-16 on another last-second pass, in which Young’s potential game-winning throw was intercepted in the Virginia end zone.

There are some games that are close, against arch rivals, against national rivals, against state rivals and minor rivals.

Here are 13 games with exciting finishes that possibly could match Friday’s outcome, at least in terms of excitement, if not necessarily the importance of the actual win towards the ACC race or national significance.

Oct. 9, 1971: Trailing 15-14 with 22 seconds to play in a steady downpour, Wake Forest lined up to attempt a game-winning 52-yard field goal. The Wake kicker slipped on the attempt, and the ball squirted into the hands of NC State’s Bill Miller. As Miller ran down the sidelines for a touchdown, Wake Forest quarterback Larry Russell came off the bench to tackle the Wolfpack runner, who was eventually awarded the score. The Wolfpack won 21-14 and gave interim head coach Al Michaels his first career victory.

Oct. 6, 1973: Out to a 21-3 lead behind the leadership of quarterback Dave Buckey, NC State fell behind in the second half and needed a fourth-quarter, fourth-and-one touchdown by 1973 ACC Player of the Year Willie Burden to take a 28-26 victory over North Carolina that was a big part of the only ACC title of the Lou Holtz era, as the Pack won seven of its final eight games.

Sept. 20, 1975: With his team trailing No. 13 Florida 7-0 with less than four minutes to play, Wolfpack defensive back Dan Meier recovered a fumble on the Florida 38-yard line. On the next play, Dave Buckey hit Elijah Marshall on a post pattern for a late touchdown. Holtz sent sophomore Johnny Evans in as a fullback, and Evans took the pitch in for a two-point conversion to give the Wolfpack a much-needed 8-7 win. The victory came as an unexpected bounce back a week after the only home defeat of the Holtz era, a 30-22 loss to Wake Forest.

Oct. 4, 1975: With 12 seconds remaining on the clock, NC State’s defense stopped a North Carolina two-point conversion to hold on to a 21-20 victory during running back Ted Brown’s freshman season. Behind the running of Mike Voight, the Tar Heels put together a potential game-winning drive, going 64 yards on 13 plays. Voight scored on a one-yard plunge up the middle, but the conversion failed, thanks to a pass rush on UNC quarterback Bill Paschall by defenders Ron Banther and Tom Higgins. UNC-CH coach Bill Dooley charged after the game that an official saw an NC State defensive back hold a UNC receiver but intentionally opted not to call a penalty. “I’m going to sound like a sore loser, but I have to comment on our two-point conversion,” Dooley said after the game. “Our pass receiver (Brian Smith) was grabbed by the defender and pulled to the ground. This happened right in front of the official and he refused to call it. With him down, 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.” Lou Holtz said: “Our games with Carolina are some of the real classics.”

Oct. 1, 1977: Senior quarterback Johnny Evans engineered a 69-yard drive in the final two minutes of the game, scoring a go-ahead touchdown with 27 seconds remaining on the clock to give his team a 24-20 victory over Maryland, who entered the game with an ACC-record 21-game winning streak.

Nov. 1, 1986: With no time remaining on the clock, the Wolfpack had one last-ditch opportunity to beat visiting South Carolina, thanks to a Gamecocks penalty. Using a play literally drawn up in the dirt on the sidelines, future NFL quarterback Erik Kramer found dual-sport star Danny Peebles in the back of the south end zone on the Hail Mary throw to give the Wolfpack one of the unlikeliest and most dramatic victories in school history.

Oct. 19, 1991: Trailing Division I-AA Marshall 14-3 late in the fourth quarter, the 11th-ranked Wolfpack needed an 84-yard drive engineered by quarterback Geoff Bender—and aided by a couple of pass-interference penalties, along with a perfectly executed onside kick by Damon Hartman, who missed three field goals in the game—to pull off a comeback victory against the Thundering Herd. Marshall head coach Jim Donnan, the starting quarterback at NC State in the first game played in Carter Stadium in 1966, was disappointed with the officiating during the game. Afterward, he said, “I’m lower than a well-digger.”

Nov. 15, 1994: With his team trailing 18th-ranked Duke 23-7 in the third quarter, Wolfpack quarterback Terry Harvey hit wide receiver Adrian Hill with an 82-yard touchdown pass to begin a dramatic comeback. Harvey set up another touchdown with a 53-yard bomb to Greg Addis to set up a field goal, then hit a 2-yard pass to Mike McGuffie with 5:50 remaining to give the Wolfpack a 24-23 lead. After the game, Wolfpack fans tore down the goal posts in celebration of the win that propelled Mike O’Cain’s team into the Peach Bowl, where it beat Mississippi State 28-24 to cap a 9-3 season.

Nov. 22, 1997: A year after NC State and East Carolina renewed their rivalry in Charlotte, a sold-out crowd saw a close game that was tied 24-24 with less than a minute to play. Quarterback Jamie Barnette scored a go-ahead touchdown from the 1-yard line with 51 seconds to play and linebacker Clayton White returned an interception for 34 yards to finalize the Wolfpack’s 37-24 victory.

Nov. 1, 2003: Junior running back T.A. McLendon, hobbled with a leg injury throughout the game, exploded on a 38-yard touchdown run with just 23 seconds to play against Virginia, breaking a 37-37 tie between the ACC’s two highest-scoring teams. The Wolfpack scored again following the kickoff on a 26-yard interception return by Victor Stephens in the 51-37 victory.

Oct. 5, 2006: Quarterback Daniel Evans, making just his second career start, found wide receiver John Dunlap in the northeast corner for the second consecutive week to knock off visiting 17th-ranked Florida State 24-20 in a Thursday night contest. It was the final career victory for Wolfpack head coach and longtime Florida State coach Chuck Amato, who was let go after the Wolfpack lost its final seven games of the season.

Nov. 28, 2009: Russell Wilson threw four touchdown passes and Alan-Michael Cash blocked a field goal with four minutes to play as the Wolfpack beat archrival UNC-Chapel Hill for the third consecutive year. Wilson rallied his team from a 24-14 first-half deficit and dedicated the season-ending 28-27 victory to offensive coordinator Dana Bible, who had been diagnosed the previous week with leukemia. Bible watched the game from his hospital room at the UNC Lineberger Cancer Center in Chapel Hill.

Nov. 26, 2011: Mike Glennon threw a Carter-Finley record five touchdown passes and brought the Wolfpack, which had trailed 41-14 late in the third quarter, back for a 56-41 victory against Maryland. Glennon, who also scored a rushing touchdown, helped the Pack score 35 fourth-quarter points, completing the second-largest comeback in ACC history.