North Carolina State University Athletics
HAYNES: Pack Relives Groundhog Day
11/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 8, 2010
NC State-UNC Gametime Set For Noon
RALEIGH, N.C. -- It will likely rank as one of the most bizarre scenes in the history of NC State football. After the Wolfpack's charter flight had touched down at Raleigh-Durham airport just a few hours removed from a disappointing 14-13 loss at Clemson on Saturday, players and coaches boarded buses bound for the Murphy Football Center.
Heard on the bus radio was the familiar voice of longtime University of North Carolina play-by-play announcer Woody Durham describing the final seconds of the Tar Heels' game at Florida State.
As it turns out, yet another "wide right" for the Seminoles allowed Carolina to escape with a 37-35 victory. And while the Heels celebrated on the field in Tallahassee, NC State's players were put in the strange position of celebrating right along with their arch rivals.
Strange indeed.
"We were on the bus listening to the game on the radio," said Wolfpack offensive tackle Jake Vermiglio. "The announcer for UNC was like, `the kick is up, it's high enough, it's long enough....it's no good!' We all went nuts. That's the first time I think any of us had rooted for UNC. It was crazy."
By virtue of North Carolina's win, NC State (6-3, 3-2) remained in control of its own destiny in the ACC's Atlantic Division race. In other words, despite the defeat at Clemson, the Wolfpack can still make it to the ACC Championship game by winning its remaining games against Wake Forest, North Carolina and Maryland.
NC State head coach Tom O'Brien likened his team's second chance to the movie "Groundhog Day." Like Bill Murray's zany character in the movie, the Wolfpack woke up on Sunday morning in the same position it had been the day before.
"Even as down as they were, because of the events that happened on Saturday afternoon, they were more upbeat than they'd normally be for a Sunday practice. They got a second lease on life. They're not going to get a third."
There will be some major concerns when the Deacons come to Raleigh for NC State's 2 p.m. Homecoming game at Carter-Finley Stadium, among them, the placekicking situation. Starting kicker Josh Czajkowski is out for the rest of the season after injuring his leg trying to make a tackle on a long Clemson kick off return in the fourth quarter on Saturday.
The candidates to replace Czajkowski are freshman Chris Hawthorne and junior transfer J. Ellis Flint. Flint is the only one of the two who has seen game action after kicking a pair of extra points in the season-opening win over Western Carolina.
"We'll take those two kids this week, they'll kick and we'll make a decision on who ends up kicking," said O'Brien. "It is what it is. We have to make the most of it and everybody else is going to have to pick up the slack and do a better job and rally around whoever the kicker is."
Although redshirt junior quarterback Russell Wilson has another year of eligibility remaining, he will participate in senior day ceremonies preceding Saturday's game against Wake Forest. But O'Brien says that shouldn't be taken as a sign that Wilson has made a decision about next year.
"Last year I had this discussion with [tailback] Toney Baker and he sat in my office and told me he was coming back, but then he didn't," O'Brien said. "He didn't have a chance to go out [with the other seniors] because he changed his mind. With that being said Russell is going to go out and this could very well be his last [home] game. If it is, we're going to honor him with everyone else who's playing his last game.
Regardless of his football future, Wilson, drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the fourth round of June's baseball draft, is expected to be at spring training next February or March. O'Brien says he and his quarterback will sit down and have a discussion about his plans following the season.
