North Carolina State University Athletics
Your Favorite Wolfpack Football Memories
6/13/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
We askedfor your favorite Wolfpack football memories.
Here's what we received.
It was sometime in the mid-70's. My roommate and I decided to go visit my girlfriend at Clemson. She had tickets for us to sit with the students. Who knew that no one would be able to stop Ted Brown that day. Surrounded by orange, we let everyone around us know that we supported NC State. I don't remember the score but it was very one-sided and Ted must have had about 200-yards. I still can't believe we got out of there alive.
David Towns
The South Carolina game ('86) at Carter-Finley Stadium with Erik Kramer and Danny Peebles. I was sitting in section 28 and was literally surrounded by Gamecocks. They were almost totally quiet in the first half. They were totally obnoxious the second half. They were going crazy at the end of the game. They were high-fiving, bumping chests and non-stop trash talking. Then Erik lofted the ball to the end zone and there was dead, stunned silence from the Gamecock faithful. Most of them just sat there in silence. A few muttered obscenities, threw what was left of their drinks into the cheering Pack fans in front of them and stomped out. It was the greatest finish to a football game that I have ever seen.
Morrow6
During the 1988 Peach Bowl I somehow ended up with tickets in the middle of a yellow and black sea of Hawkeye fans. We endured an hour of pre-game taunts about the ACC: "just a basketball conference," "NC State doesn't belong on the field with Iowa," etc. Not to mention the fact that most of my engineering co-workers had graduated from Big Ten schools. But the big Pack lead at halftime made my corner of the stadium quiet. It was just quiet enough for me to hear how absolutely off-key my voice is when I sing the fight song at the top of my lungs!
Karl Taylor '88
Camarillo, California
My favorite memory would have to be the Wolfpack's victory over Florida State in Raleigh in 1998. The final score was 24-7. We played a complete game and we whipped the Seminoles. My favorite memory occurred when the students rushed the field, and the message displayed on the scoreboard was, "THIS IS HISTORY!"
Jeremy Sims
My favorite NC State football memory happened back in 1986. The Wolfpack was playing at home against South Carolina. I believe the Pack was down by five points, on the Gamecocks' 38-yard line and was in desperate need of that go-ahead touchdown with only seconds remaining on the clock. The Gamecock fans were making their presence well known by loudly chanting "ACC, ACC" (at the time I wasn't sure if it meant they wanted back in the ACC or if they were just taunting the home crowd, although I suspect the latter). Anyway, I'll never forget what happened on the next two plays. Just as Wolfpack quarterback Erik Kramer was in the process of taking the snap, I saw a Gamecock defender practically hurdle the line of scrimmage and sack him before he could even get the ball off. The clock also ran out. Then I saw a flag. Since a game cannot end on a defensive penalty, the Pack was awarded one final play with no time showing on the clock. This was it-do or die! The five-yard penalty advanced us to the 33-yard line. I believe the turn of events led everyone there to believe that fate had its hand in this one. I just knew something good was about to happen. The teams lined up, the ball was snapped and receiver Danny Peebles headed down the right side for the end zone. Kramer lofted the ball to his right toward the back of the end zone, up for grabs for whoever wanted it the most. Peebles went up and caught it in the back of the end zone running right to left. It was reminiscent of "the catch" Dwight Clark made that beat my Dallas Cowboys in the 1982 NFC Championship game!
Brad Bennett
In 1973 I lived in Virginia and was tired of enduring their trash talking about the upcoming football game. State and Lou Holtz arrived in Charlottesville with a quarterback named Dave Buckey. He played catch with his brother (Don) and Stan Fritts all afternoon. The weather was gorgeous, I was with friends from NC State and the outcome couldn't have been better. A wonderful day.
Frank McGuire
My favorite football memory has to be the win over Florida State in 1998. The whole game was great, except for the first play from scrimmage. I remember the feeling of energy and absolute pure excitement fighting against that haunting feeling as if FSU was going to explode on us. Much to everyone's delight, we just hung in there until the end. Obviously, the whole game is a good memory, but the most exciting detail for me was watching our Torry Holt catch that punt and speedily weave his way through the crowd just to burst free and cruise into the end zone. That was one of the most electrifying moments; the team was ecstatic and Carter-Finley had to be breaking noise ordinances all over the triangle it was so loud. I felt especially good to be a Pack fan in person that day.
Nealson Watkins
While there have been many, the one that will always stand out is in the '86 game at home versus South Carolina. A limping Erik Kramer's TD pass to Danny Peebles after time had expired when the Wolfpack was given an extra play on a South Carolina penalty for offside. The students swarmed the field and we couldn't even kick the P.A.T.
Jim McGowan
Jackson, New Jersey
Of course it has to be when we beat FSU! I found out on the same day that my wife was pregnant with our first child. What a grand day it was!
Eddie Baker
I remember when I was younger my mother used to take me to all of the basketball and football games. I still break into a smile when I hear a wolf howl. The most memorable game I attended was in 1986 when Danny Peebles was a receiver. This particular home game we were down with less than 3:00 left on the clock against South Carolina. My mother motioned for us to head to the parking lot to beat some of the traffic. As we made our way out of the stadium and through the parking lot, we heard the stadium erupt. We were to far from the gate to get back into the stadium so we ran to the car and turned the radio on. We listened to how the little receiver with the big heart caught a pass in double coverage to win the game against the Gamecocks. I vowed never to leave any NC State game early ever again.
Todd R. Lanier
Obviously one of the greatest moments in NC State football history is the victory over Florida State two years ago. One of the coolest parts about the game was the fact that my friends and I didn't get to our seats until about five minutes into the game so we never even saw Florida State score! From the moment we sat down in our seats until the moment the students rushed the field, it was all NC State.
Rob Ruark
The ENTIRE 1967 season would have to be my favorite! The White Shoes Gang really gave us some thrills that year. The big win at the University of Houston was incredible. Even the very close losses to Clemson in Death Valley and Penn State in Happy Valley were great games. To be ranked No. 3 in the nation and then beat Georgia in the Liberty Bowl was wonderful.
Bob Field
NCSU Class of 1968
As a '97 alumni, I'll never forget being one of the first to hit the goal post that fall evening when State crushed Florida State in one of the biggest upsets in school history. It was nice to step out of my recently acquired role as a businessman in Corporate America and be a kid again!
Travis P. Snipes
There have been a lot of great Pack wins; the wins over FSU, Syracuse and Texas the last few years were all great. But when I have to choose one memorable moment, it would have to be the 1986 win over South Carolina. I was a senior and had suffered with the Pack through three straight 3-8 seasons. Coach Sheridan and company arrived and had made tremendous progress, however our great season seemed about to unravel with a loss to the Gamecocks. We were down five and time had expired, however, a South Carolina lineman was offside so we had one more shot. I remember Erik Kramer throwing the Hail Mary into the end zone while the Gamecocks' fans in that corner were celebrating. All of a sudden, those fans became silent and about 40,000 Wolfpackers erupted as Danny Peebles came away with the touchdown. There have been bigger wins to be sure, but that is one I'll never forget.
Don Rodgers
Class of 1987
I have several great Wolfpack football memories, but probably the one biggest would be the 1997 win over Syracuse at the Carrier Dome. We were such underdogs and were written off by most sportswriters well before the game ever started. To win the game in overtime on a very gutsy extra point attempt (two-point conversion) made it that much more spectacular. Other great wins to me were, of course, the wins over Florida State, Mississippi State in the Peach Bowl and the last second TD to beat Duke at home in 1994.
Josh Dalton
1996 graduate
The 1990 game where Damon Hartman kicked a 56-yard field goal to break a 9-9 tie on the last play of the game at Carolina. For some reason, I knew somehow, someway that State would win the game.
Roland H. Hamby
There are so many in my mind but my favorite has to be the comeback victory on my birthday against Duke. It was November 12, 1994 and the Pack was down late in the contest against first-year head coach Fred Goldsmith. All I can remember is that we were down 23-6 and came back (24-23 final).
Ken Adams
My best memory, since I now live in Charlottesville, Virginia, is being down 21-0 at the half and winning 22-21 in the final minutes of the game between NC State and Virginia (1974).
Johnny Cornett
NCSU 1975
South Carolina at NC State in 1986. Erik Kramer is the quarterback. With no time left on the clock and down by five points, Kramer launches a Hail Mary to Danny Peebles in the end zone to beat the Gamecocks. Danny catches it amongst four USC defenders, literally pulling victory from the jaws of defeat. The whole stadium was so silent you could have heard a pin drop. Afterwards, the roar could be heard from the other side of the Fairgrounds.
Christ M. ('89)
