North Carolina State University Athletics
Tony Haynes: Pack Looks to End Tech's Hex
10/2/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 2, 2003
By Tony Haynes
There is no truth to the rumor that NC State's last football victory in Atlanta came just moments after General Sherman burned the place down. But what is true is that Philip Rivers was in the first grade the last time a Wolfpack team emerged victorious in Grant Field. The year was 1988, by the way. It was so long ago that the Atlanta Braves were far from being a division contender after posting a 54-106 record. But whether the games have been played in Atlanta or Raleigh, Georgia Tech's hex over NC State has produced much misery for the Wolfpack. It's a stretch of misfortune the Wolfpack will try to end this Saturday when the two clubs meet at noon.
As usual, the environs in downtown Atlanta will hardly be friendly. Although 5,000 throaty Wolfpack fans will be in attendance, they will be severely outnumbered by more than 50,000 Georgia Tech partisans who now view wins over NC State as an afterthought.
It's too bad the Pack won't be playing a few miles down I-85 at Turner Field. It seems as though the visiting teams always have more of a home field advantage at 'The Ted' than the Braves do, especially in the postseason. Just ask the Cubs, who generated a deafening roar when they rallied to beat Atlanta in the playoffs earlier this week. In their World Series games against the Yankees, Braves players often complained that the Yankees had as much support in Atlanta as they did in the Big Apple.
Nope, Georgia Tech fans aren't quite as apathetic, nor do they believe that they can intimidate the opponent with a silly tomahawk chop that is accompanied by, of all things, an organ.
But maybe, just maybe, this will be NC State's year in Hotlanta. Wolfpack quarterback Philip Rivers, he of the 77 percent accuracy rate, is a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate, so it would only be appropriate if he played well at a place where John Heisman once coached.
"We're going to have to be ready and go down there and do something that hasn't been done since 1988," Rivers said. "We were reminded of that earlier in the week. Coach [Amato] has mentioned it. Some of the players were talking about we were only 7 years old. Oliver Hoyte - he's only 18 - he was just 4 years old. You just think that's the last time we've won down there....that's a long time."
Since then, there's been plenty of agony to go around, even in games played in Raleigh. Before enduring that triple overtime defeat at Ohio State a few weeks ago, none of NC State's players or coaches thought they could ever hurt more than they did in the aftermath of last year's 24-17 loss to the Yellow Jackets. Owning a 9-0 record and top 10 ranking coming in, the Wolfpack was eager to show a nationwide audience watching on ABC that it indeed was for real.
What the TV viewers saw, however, were a series of bizarre events that put Georgia Tech in the driver's seat. Trailing 17-9 in the fourth quarter, the Yellow Jackets benefited from their own mistake when a sack of quarterback A.J. Suggs inside the 5-yard line was wiped out by a delay of game penalty. On the very next play, Tech converted a 3rd and long that would set the stage for a remarkable rally. But along the way, NC State had some big bobbles, one on what should have been an interception, and another on a 3rd down pass that was dropped deep in Tech territory.
"I haven't beaten Georgia Tech since I've been here," said junior linebacker Pat Thomas. "Last year, it was real bad being the first loss of the year and everything. And the way we lost, giving up a lot of big plays. They did break our streak, so it did ruin [the season]."
So the numbers look this way: Georgia Tech has won seven of the last eight against the Pack and six in a row in Atlanta. But you know what? Those numbers won't matter to Philip Rivers and Jerricho Cotchery when they're out on the field trying to execute on Saturday. Nor will the history matter to Reggie Ball, Georgia Tech's freshman quarterback who already has way too much on his plate to worry about a streak that started about the same time he was finally climbing out of the crib.
With the exception of maybe Clemson's basketball losing streak in Chapel Hill and Boston's 'Curse of the Bambino,' there comes a time when all streaks must come to an end. Now is as good a time as any for NC State to halt Georgia Tech's hex.
