A back-and-forth battle at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday afternoon resulted in an N.C. State win, 31 – 27 over North Carolina. Despite an early lead, the Wolfpack would lose its momentum, only to win the cliff-hanger — its first win in four years against the Tar Heels.
“Just another day at the ballpark,” coach Tom O’Brien said with a smirk. “This is the way these games ought to go.”
With less than two minutes to play in the fourth quarter, State trailed 27-24. Like many other plays in the afternoon, quarterback Daniel Evans looked to running back Jamelle Eugene. The redshirt sophomore rushed for his third touchdown of the game, with 1:41 on the clock.
After converting a fourth down and marching down the field to the 7-yard line, the Tar Heels had four chances to win the game — with less than a minute remaining.
Yates threw three straight incomplete passes, which set up a 4th-and-goal situation with less than 10 seconds remaining. On a prayer to UNC receiver Hakeem Nicks at the left corner of the end zone with 1.7 seconds left, cornerback Jimmie Sutton III made the decisive play.
Mid-air, the senior knocked the ball out of Nicks’ hands, giving State the victory.
“The pride that I have within myself and in my team, I definitely didn’t want that play to happen,” Sutton said. “I always want a challenge. Great players go out there and make great plays.”
Eugene, who finished the game with 159 yards on 32 carries, said he wanted to win the game for the seniors. He also said he wanted to give the fans something to brag about at work on Monday.
O’Brien said he hasn’t had to rely so heavily on one player for six or seven years. And Eugene said it’s nice to know the coaches trust him.
“It makes me feel good that they trust me with the ball and want to give me the ball in pressure situations,” Eugene said.
Pressure situations abounded as the Pack started off strong but had to fight its way out of a hole in the fourth quarter.
The Pack had early momentum after two touchdowns and a field goal, but it was interrupted in the second quarter after a UNC touchdown on a 92-yard interception return by Charles Brown, the third longest in UNC history.
State answered with a historic play of its own. With 3:02 to play in the half, senior Marcus Stone scored the first touchdown of his career.
He caught a 14-yard pass all alone in the end zone.
“To be honest with you, that was the longest I’ve ever seen a ball in the air,” Stone said. “It felt like it was slow motion to me. I was like, ‘please, just drop in my hands.'”
UNC scored on yet another interception, but DeMario Pressley responded with an interception of his own, putting the Pack into position for the last key plays.
This is the fourth successive win for the Pack, putting it at 5-5 overall. Players and coaches don’t credit the turn-around in performance to any one factor. According to Stone, the team just got tired of losing.
But the team must get better to beat Wake Forest next weekend, according to O’Brien.
“Coulda-shoulda-wouldas don’t count anymore,” O’Brien said. “We’ve got to do some things better or we’re not going to be able to win next weekend.”