Nuttin’ is finer than whipping Carolina By Cal Bryant 09/22/2005 The time has come for all good Wolfpackers to spank some of that Baby Blue bottom. Yep, it#039;s State vs. Carolina week on the gridiro
Published 12:00 am Thursday, September 22, 2005
The time has come for all good Wolfpackers to spank some of that Baby Blue bottom.
Yep, it's State vs. Carolina week on the gridiron n a time that separates the men (the mighty red-and-white) from the boys (those in blue, not Carolina blue or sky blue, just blue).
For the 95th time in their series, State and ‘Carolina clash on the football field. This latest page in their gridiron book will be played at 12 noon on Saturday, Sept. 24 in Raleigh at the famed Carter-Finley Stadium.
As a public service to my friends who root for the wrong team (UNC), please be sure to have an ample of supply of tissue at your disposal. It will be a crying afternoon for the winless ‘Heels and their ever-decreasing fan base.
Even UNC's storied play-by-play man, Woody Durham, has gone on the record and said it will be a troublesome year for the ‘Heels. Old Woody predicted an "8th or 9th place finish in the ACC" for blue boys. Maybe Woody ought to think about retiring. The ACC now sports two, six-team divisions, so the worse ‘Carolina could finish is 6th. We know that will not happen because Duke, even more hapless than the ‘Heels, is in the same division.
But back to matters at hand. Let's take a look at how the history of State and UNC football has developed over the years.
1893: The North Carolina A&M Farmers (all jokes aside, that's what NC State was known as back in the day) plays their first-ever football game and beats Tennessee, 12-6.
1893: Dean Smith is born, destined to make UNC a basketball school.
1895: UNC raids the Orange County prison, suits them up in football gear and beats NC A&M 35-0 in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
1918: Due to the United States entering World War I, State College (as known at that time) is forced to reduce its schedule to four games. Meanwhile, UNC increases its schedule to eight games, five of which were played against Chapel Hill Girl Scout Troop 23. (Note: UNC won three of the five games vs. the Scouts).
1947: The Wolfpack is invited to play in the second annual Gator Bowl vs. Oklahoma. Each school receives $30,000 for making the trip to Jacksonville, Fla.
1948: Carolina's Charlie "Choo-Choo" Justice finishes as the runner-up in the Heisman voting. He asks for a pay raise, wanting more than the $30,000 he made that year.
1957: Dick Christy scores all 29 of NC State's points in a 29-26 win at South Carolina, a game that clinched the ‘Pack's first ACC football championship.
1957: Proving itself as a basketball powerhouse, UNC wins its first national title in men's hoops, defeating Kansas 54-53 in three OT's.
1967: Playing in front of the largest crowd (52,483) to witness a college football game at that time, the ‘Pack, led by the "White Shoes" defense, stuns second-ranked Houston, 7-6, in the Astrodome.
1967: UNC loses to Houston in the third-place game of the NCAA Final Four.
1971: NC State hires the flamboyant Lou Holtz as its football coach.
1971: Dean Smith remains as a fixture at UNC as the school's basketball program continues among the nation's elite. Meanwhile, UNC officials think seriously about turning Kenan Stadium into a parking lot for Carmichael Auditorium.
1986: Dick Sheridan makes his debut as NC State's head football coach as the ‘Pack spanks East Carolina, 38-10.
1986: In a last-ditch effort to save its football program, UNC attempts to schedule a game against East Carolina.
1995: NC State makes its seventh consecutive bowl appearance, defeating Mississippi State 28-24 in the Peach Bowl.
1995: UNC and Duke meet in the annual Toilet Bowl.
1998: The Wolfpack upsets #2 Florida State, 24-9, at Carter-Finley Stadium.
1998: After consuming an egg-and-cheese casserole made with soured milk, members of the UNC football team come down with the upset stomach, leading to bad cases of the "runs." Their girlfriends head to Raleigh to find real men.
2000: NC State alum Chuck Amato becomes the 32nd head coach in Wolfpack football history.
2000: UNC alum John Bunting is named as the man who will save the struggling Tar Heel football program. To date, UNC fans are still waiting for that to occur.
2004: With his club trailing 30-24 with just a few seconds remaining, NC State running back T.A. McLendon bulls his way into the endzone at Kenan Stadium for what appears as the game-tying touchdown. The field judge holds both arms upright for 10 seconds, signifying a score. Meanwhile, the line judge lumbers in and says McLendon's knee touched the turf prior to the ball breaking the plane of the goal line. The refs huddled with Bunting, ‘Carolina AD Dick Baddour, Dean Smith and some other folks dressed in ugly blue and ruled McLendon came-up just a few inches short.
2005: McLendon is gone, but the ‘Pack still has way too many weapons for the ‘Heels. Carter-Finley rocks with a 38-13 rout of ‘Carolina.