North Carolina State University Athletics
All-Time Greatest Games at Carter-Finley - No. 6 (2000 vs. Georgia Tech)
9/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Raleigh, N.C. - Philip Rivers made his national television debut, Koren Robinson showed why he had all-world potential as a wide receiver/kick returner and the official start of Carter-Finley Stadium’s six-year, $110 million remodeling began when fans tore down the goal posts in the south end zone following the game.
On Sept. 21, 2000, NC State pulled off its third miracle finish in four games to beat a Georgia Tech team that had been nationally ranked in the preseason and had its sights on an ACC Championship. The 49,857 fans in attendance rocked Carter-Finley, as first-year coach Chuck Amato and his team raced to its fourth consecutive victory in a Thursday night contest that was televised nationally by ESPN.
As part of the 40th anniversary of Carter-Finley Stadium, fans selected this 30-23 overtime victory as one of the seven greatest games ever played at the stadium.
“It was one of those hallmark games that you never forget,” said Dantonio Burnette, who was a sophomore linebacker playing alongside future All-America Levar Fisher in that game.
It was unforgettable in many ways. The Wolfpack entered the game 3-0 after pulling out a double-overtime win against Arkansas State. It then traveled to Indiana, where it pulled out another last-second surprise. It cruised to a 41-0 win over Southern Methodist in its third game. To some, however, the unbeaten record wasn’t impressive until after the win over the Yellow Jackets.
Tech, despite the loss of All-ACC quarterback Joe Hamilton, had entered the season with ACC title aspirations. Those were dashed with an early loss to Florida State the week before, but the Yellow Jackets were intent on extending their five-game winning streak over the Wolfpack.
“Nobody gave us much of a chance,” Amato remembered. “To win it like we did, in overtime, on national television, it just really pushed us, NC State, out there.”
What made the win so gratifying was the way it happened. Georgia Tech jumped out to 13-0 lead in the first half. The Wolfpack’s best scoring opportunity came when Robinson, the ACC’s 1999 Rookie of the Year, returned a kickoff 97 yards for an apparent touchdown, only to see the score wiped out by a blocking-in-the-back penalty 10 yards behind the play. Even the good field possession did the Wolfpack no good, because Kent Passingham missed a short field goal.
But Robinson would have another chance to shine in the second half, as he and Rivers would show why they both had first-round NFL potential.
The Wolfpack’s comeback began when Fisher knocked the ball out of the hands of a Georgia Tech running back and cornerback J.J. Washington fell on the loose ball in the end zone. Thus began a wild second half in which the program’s rebirth was officially recognized by the college football world.
The defensive touchdown brought life to offensive coordinator Norm Chow’s squad and the battered Rivers, the freshman sensation at quarterback who endured seven sacks and two interceptions in the game, and the rest of the Wolfpack offense. On the Pack’s next possession, Rivers found himself – yet again – in the arms of a Georgia Tech defensive tackle, but muscled his way free and flipped the ball to Robinson. The talented receiver picked his way across the field and turned it into a 48-yard touchdown, tying the game at 13.
“That was the game that Philip and Koren really started to click,” Burnette said. “Philip played with such poise for a freshman.”
For the game, Rivers completed 21 of 35 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns, all to Robinson. The Wolfpack’s Robinson duo – Koren at receiver and Ray at tailback – also had a big night, with Ray rushing 16 times for 83 yards and Koren catching five passes for 122 yards.
Rivers, just six months removed from his early graduation from Athens (Ala.) High School, had already pulled off similar heroics in his young career. In the season-opener, which was Rivers first game as a starter and Amato’s first game as head coach, the future NFL first-round pick revealed that he was something special when he brought the Wolfpack back from a 17-7 deficit against Arkansas State in a driving rainstorm. Late in regulation after a defensive stand at the 2-yard line, Rivers marched the team down the field for a game-tying field goal, then produced the points in overtime to get the win.
At Indiana, Rivers hit Robinson with a 47-yard touchdown pass with 54 seconds remaining, his record-tying fifth touchdown pass of the day. The 41-38 victory was preserved on the final play when the Wolfpack special teams blocked a potential game-tying field goal.
“We don’t give up on ourselves,” Rivers said at the time. “As long as there is some time left on the clock, we think we can make something happen.”
That held true even when there wasn’t time on the clock, in overtime against the Yellow Jackets.
State actually had a 23-16 lead late in the game, thanks to a 34-yard Passingham field goal that was set up by Terrence Holt’s first career interception. The Yellow Jackets were able to force overtime, however, thanks to a 50-yard kickoff return by Kelly Campbell that gave the Tech offense the ball at midfield. Godsey moved his team quickly, throwing a seven-yard touchdown pass to Kerry Watkins on fourth down with 1:20 remaining. The Jackets converted the two point play to tie the score at 23.
The Wolfpack got the ball first and Rivers quickly found Robinson, his favorite target all year long, with a 23-yard touchdown pass.
Tech got the ball next, but the Wolfpack defense – which was led by future NFL players Fisher, defensive end Corey Smith and safeties Adrian Wilson and Holt – applied too much pressure for Yellow Jacket quarterback George Godsey to answer State’s score. Under a heavy rush from Smith, Godsey was called for intentional grounding on second down. On fourth-and-20 from the 35, Godsey tried to get a pass down the sidelines to receiver Kerry Watkins, but Watkins couldn’t get his hands on the ball.
The game ended, the celebration began and the Wolfpack was on its way to an eight-win season that included a victory over Minnesota in the Micron PC Bowl in Fort Lauderdale.
“Winning that game really motivated us to have a good season,” said Burnette, who is now a graduate assistant with the Wolfpack football team. “We always knew if we played a team down to the end, we would have a chance to win the game.”
Amato, who had been promised massive renovations to aging Carter-Finley Stadium when he was hired from Florida State, believes the immediate success of that season and the exciting win over the Yellow Jackets jump-started the effort that included closing in the north and south end zone, building the Murphy Center atop the old grassy bank, erecting Vaughn Towers and putting practice fields adjacent to the stadium.
That construction began shortly after the 2000 season ended, and Carter-Finley hasn’t looked the same since.
