North Carolina State University Athletics
Thursday Football Notebook
11/21/2013 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 21, 2013
Game 11: NC State Wolfpack vs. East Carolina Pirates
November 23, 2013 • 12:30 p.m. • ACC Network/ESPN3
Raleigh, N.C. • Carter-Finley Stadium (57,583)
NC STATE VS. EAST CAROLINA
NC State and East Carolina have met 27 times on the gridiron, with 21 of those matchups taking place in Carter-Finley Stadium.
The two teams first played in 1970 and the Pack won 11 of the first 15 meetings between the two schools (all of which were played at Carter-Finley Stadium).
The two teams met every season from 1970-1987, but since then have played just nine times, with three of those contests being played at neutral sites. In 1992, the Pack played the Pirates in the Peach Bowl, losing 37-34. In 1996 and 2004, the two teams played regular-season contests in Charlotte, with ECU winning 50-29 in ‘96 and the Pack gaining a 52-14 victory in 2004.
OUT OF CONFERENCE
Saturday’s game against East Carolina will mark the latest in the regular season that the Wolfpack has played a non-conference game since 2006, when State closed the season against the Pirates in Carter-Finley.
PACK HONORS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
Ten new members will be inducted into the NC State Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday evening and will be honored on the field in Saturday’s contest. The list of inductees includes former football star Torry Holt and former head coach Earle Edwards.
Holt was a consensus first-team All-American and the ACC Player of the Year in 1998 and was a two-time first-team All-ACC performer. The 1999 St. Louis Rams Rookie of the Year, he went on to be a seven-time Pro Bowl selection and a two-time All-Pro. He was the ACC’s all-time leader in receiving yards (3,379) at end of his career
Edwards was a four-time ACC Coach of the Year (1957, 1963, 1965, 1967) and a two-time NCAA District III Coach of the Year (1965, 1967). He still holds the NC State career record for football wins (77) and led the Pack to five ACC football championships, second in ACC history to only Florida State’s Bobby Bowden.
| Tommy Burleson | Men's Basketball | 1972-74 |
| Mike Caldwell | Baseball | 1968-71 |
| Earle Edwards | Football (coach) | 1954-70 |
| Steve Gregg | Men's Swimming | 1973-77 |
| Torry Holt | Football | 1994-98 |
| Ronnie Shavlik | Men's Basketball | 1953-56 |
| Norm Sloan | Men's Basketball (coach) | 1966-80 |
| Betty Springs Geiger | Women's Track, Cross Country | 1879-83 |
| Andrea Stinson | Women's Basketball | 1989-91 |
| Sylvester Terkay | Wrestling | 1990-93 |
PACK IS CLOSE, LATE
One of the most frustrating, yet promising facts about the Wolfpack’s ACC losses in 2013 is that with the exception of one game (vs. No. 2 Florida State), the score was close late in the game.
In the Pack’s other ACC contests, the average difference in the score after the third quarter has been just 7.1 points. In only one game (vs. then No. 3 Clemson) did the Pack trail by more than a touchdown and that was only by 13 points following the third quarter.
The scores have been even closer than that at other points in the second half. Here’s a look at how close the Pack has been in the second half vs. ACC opponents this season (with the exception of FSU):
| Opponent | Closest 2nd half score | Diff. | Quarter |
| Clemson | 7-13 | -6 | 3rd |
| Wake Forest | 21-13 | -8 | 3rd |
| Syracuse | 10-10 | 0 | 4th |
| North Carolina | 21-19 | +2 | 3rd |
| Duke | 20-17 | +3 | 4th |
| Boston College | 14-20 | -6 | 4th |
RAMOS CONVERTS
Freshman wide receiver Jumichael Ramos has 18 catches this season - a mark that ties as the third-highest on the team. He is averaging 16.3 yard per reception - a mark that trails only senior Quintin Payton for Wolfpack players with more than 10 catches in 2013.
However the category in which Ramos leads the team by leaps and bounds is in making big plays when the Wolfpack needs it most. Eight of his 18 catches this season have been to convert a third or fourth down. Only one time when Ramos was the target on a third or fourth down play did the rookie fail to convert and that was a 3rd and 15 against Syracuse when he only gained 11 yards.
Ramos caught his first touchdown pass at Boston College last week - a 52 yarder. Here’s a look at his efforts on third and fourth down this season:
| Opponent | Down/Distance | Yds. Gained |
| Clemson | 4th & 6 | 10 yds |
| 4th & 10 | 13 yds | |
| Central Mich. | 3rd & 6 | 10 yds |
| Wake Forest | 3rd & 7 | 14 yds |
| Syracuse | 3rd & 10 | 19 yds |
| 3rd & 15 | 11 yds | |
| Boston College | 3rd & 6 | 10 yds |
| 3rd & 9 | 14 yds | |
| 3rd & 10 | 18 yds |
BIG RETURNS
Over the last two season, senior wide receiver Rashard Smith has proven to be a dangerous threat on punt returns and is putting up some of the best numbers in school history in that category.
Smith has three punt returns for long touchdowns in his career, two 73-yarders (against The Citadel in 2012 and at Duke last Saturday) and a 67-yarder earlier this season against Central Michigan. Those 73-yarders tie as the eighth-longest punt returns in school history.
Smith ranks second in the ACC with 16.2 yards per punt return, a mark that ranks eighth in the NCAA. He is also only one of nine players nationally that has returned two or more punts for a touchdown this season.
For his career, Smith has compiled 568 punt return yards, a figure that is tied for sixth in the NC State record books.
As a team this season, the Pack leads the ACC in punt return average (14.6), a mark that ranks 11th nationally.
FIRST-TIME STARTERS
Through 10 games this season, 43.6 percent of the total games started on offense and defense (96 of 220) has come from players who had never started a game prior to 2013.
The Wolfpack has had 20 different players earn their first career start in an NC State uniform this season, with those 20 players combining for 96 starts.
The offensive line has seen the highest amount of new starters, as four players earned their first NC State starts this year, and those four have combined for 29 starts this season. Among linebackers, three players who had never started prior to this season have combined for 15 starts. In the defensive secondary, two first-time starters have combined for 15 starts.
Here’s a position-by-position breakdown of games started by new starters in 2013:
| Position | 1st-time Starters | Starts in 2013 |
| Offensive Line | 4 | 29 |
| Linebackers | 3 | 15 |
| Defensive Backs | 2 | 15 |
| Quarterbacks | 2 | 10 |
| Defensive Line | 3 | 9 |
| Tight Ends | 1 | 7 |
| Wide Receivers | 3 | 6 |
| Fullbacks | 2 | 5 |
