North Carolina State University Athletics
Another Cardiac Pack
10/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 6, 2004
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. - In his first season as NC State's head football coach in 2000, Chuck Amato joked that fans entering Carter-Finley Stadium should be given nitroglycerin pills to counter some of the Wolfpack's frantic finishes that year. Now in his fifth season, Amato may want to consider handing out another dose after watching his team earn victories on the last play in each of its last two games. Now 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the ACC, the 25th ranked Pack could be in for even more dramatics when it travels to North Carolina this weekend.
"Did you see that nitroglycerin tablet I threw in my mouth in the fourth quarter?" Amato cracked on Monday. "Yea, we've won it on the last play but there were about 150 plays that were snapped before that last play that created reasons of why it had to be won on that play in both games. You know what? We could be 1-3, we could be 4-0 or anything in between. But we're 3-1 and happy to be there. If we can win seven more games like that, we'll take them right now."
Two weeks ago at Virginia Tech, NC State escaped with a 17-16 victory when the Hokies missed a 42-yard field goal attempt on the last play of the game. The Wolfpack then came back with yet another suspenseful outing, a game that ended in overtime when running back T.A. McLendon bulled his way into the end zone for a 27-21 triumph over Wake Forest.
Of course, everything always seems to even out over a period of time and last year, the Pack couldn't buy a win in close games. Narrow losses to Ohio State (three overtimes), Florida State (one OT) and Maryland prevented NC State from posting a great season and perhaps claiming a share of the ACC title.
"A lot of people live their lives on the edge," said Wolfpack cornerback Dovonte Edwards. "I think it's all about being a poised team and being able to look adversity in the face and not flinch. A lot of teams in close games kind of panic and the pressure might get to them. I think we're a pretty poised team and we handle adversity pretty well."
While he was turning the National Football League into America's number one television sport in the 1960s, former NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle often spoke of the importance of parity. It's a concept that seems to be taking hold in the college game as well. The result has been more and more close games each and every week.
"It is so hard to win anymore," Amato said. "I don't care who you're playing. It's difficult to win on the road and we're going on the road this week. You take wins any way you can get them."
Rock'Em, Sock'Em: One of the most popular toys of the late 1960s was Rock'Em, Sock'Em robots by Mattel. The goal, of course, was for one boxing robot to knock the other's block off. After watching three Wake Forest players lose their helmets while trying to tackle McLendon last week, North Carolina coach John Bunting thought he was looking at the king of Rock'Em, Sock'Em.
"He's very physical," Bunting said. "I don't know him personally very well because I only met him once, but he has a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for the game when he's out there on the field. He is a Rock'Em, Sock'Em Robots guy. You remember those robots? He knocks the heads off."
The last time the two rivals met in Chapel Hill, McLendon helped NC State knock off North Carolina, 34-17. A freshman that year, McLendon powered his way to 164 yards and two touchdowns, contributing to a ground game that produced 258 yards overall.
So far this season, McLendon has broken a total of 35 tackles in three games and leads the ACC in rushing with an average of 108 yards per contest.
