North Carolina State University Athletics
Special Teams Helped Make Win Special
11/21/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 21, 2010
BY TIM PEELER
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - When several members of the media crowded around NC State placekicker Josh Czajkowski after Saturday afternoon's classic 29-25 victory over North Carolina, he seemed a little stunned, as if coming back from the "will not return" list was not all that special.
"There is nothing magical or mysterious about it," said the senior from Springfield, Va. "It was just working hard and getting back as fast as possible. That was the whole game plan.
"I wanted to be ready. For Carolina, even though I'm not from here, you always want to be ready."
Czajkowski made two important field goals, including a 47-yarder late in the first half that was just one yard off his career best kick. The other, a 24-yarder with 5:41 remaining in the game, gave the Wolfpack an eight-point lead that forced North Carolina to go for a two-point conversion with a little over a minute remaining in the game.
That conversion failed, preserving the Wolfpack's lead in its fourth consecutive victory over the Tar Heels.
The Pack's kickoff return unit recovered two onsides kick late in the game, the final successes by NC State's special teams that have sometimes been inconsistent at times this season.
The Pack grabbed the lead in the fourth quarter on junior T.J. Graham's first career touchdown on a punt return, an 87-yard jaunt that tied the third-longest punt return in school history. It was a touchdown that not only gave his team the lead, but also brought tears of joy to his teammates.
"I have to be honest with you," senior wide receiver Owen Spencer said. "I was tearing up as T.J. was running down the sidelines. It was just a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful return."
And, late in the game, punter Jeff Ruiz came off the bench and kicked a 57-yarder that backed the Tar Heels deep in their own territory. When linebacker Terrell Manning sacked North Carolina quarterback T.J. Yates in the end zone for a safety, it gave the Wolfpack the final margin in the 29-25 victory.
Ruiz had lost his starting job earlier this season to transfer Andy Leffler. But Leffler had struggled in recent games, so O'Brien took a chance that Ruiz could pin the Tar Heels deep in their own territory. His high, booming kick came to rest on the UNC 4-yard line.
"We just weren't getting what we needed out of the punting game," O'Brien said. "He has been booming them in practice the last few weeks. We needed to make a switch.
"Jeff is a guy who has bided his time, who didn't complain and he didn't sulk," the coach said. "He worked hard. When he had a chance to make something happen, he did.
But the bigger surprise for the coach was Czajkowski's return after he had been told the kicker's hamstring injury suffered in the final quarter of the 14-13 loss at Clemson was season-ending.
"He was on crutches leaving the game, and the early part of the next week," O'Brien said. "[The medical staff] told me he wasn't coming back. But he did a good job working hard.
"That's what all these kids are doing. That's why we're where we are today."
The Wolfpack (8-3 overall, 5-2 ACC) will play its final game of the regular season at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Maryland. If NC State wins, it will claim the ACC's Atlantic Division title and earn the right to face Virginia Tech in the league's championship game Dec. 4 in Charlotte.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
