The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1502339
JULY/AUGUST 2023 ■ 49 drive's only pass attempt, a 5-yard catch on first down that got the Pack to midfield. Burden, a future ACC Player of the Year, broke free on the biggest gainer of the drive, a 32-yard off-tackle run that made the hopeful crowd believe the Pack might just be able to get all the way down the field. Fritts finished off the drive with a 6-yard run that gave the Wolfpack a 14-3 lead going into in- termission. "Their 99-yard drive after our fum- ble put us in a hole we never recovered from," Tar Heels coach Bill Dooley said. The drive was unusual in that Holtz and Rein abandoned their effective split-back veer to go with a straight power game. Fritts, Burden, Charley Young and Roland Hooks all carried at least once, almost exclusively between the tackles. There wasn't a single option play from goal line to goal line. "That drive was a backbreaker for them and quite a momentum switch for us," Yoest said. "It was just a great in- your-face kind of drive." A Satisfying Victory The Pack added to it by taking the second-half kickoff 80 yards down the field. Buckey hit Pat Hovance with a 36-yard touchdown pass to give State a 21-3 lead. Mistakes on Wolfpack special teams — a shanked punt, a fumble on a kick- off return and a snap over the punter's head — put North Carolina back in the game. Paschall ran for a touchdown and connected twice with tight end Charles Waddell for scoring plays. Burden gave the Pack a comfortable nine-point lead with a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter, but the Tar Heels stayed close. Another costly UNC mistake — a holding penalty on State's 8-yard line — ended a go-ahead touchdown drive, and the Tar Heels missed a 38-yard field goal. The bad snap allowed Carolina to score with 1:30 remaining, but the Wolfpack was able to hold on for a 28- 26 victory. Burden finished the game with 100 yards on 15 carries, and Fritts added 91 on 19 short-yardage attempts. It was a satisfying victory for the Wolfpack. "We wanted them to know how we felt after last year's game," said Burden after his only career victory over the Tar Heels. What happened over the next two months is what made that outcome so special. Some say the 10 consecu- tive nights of hosting the Billy Graham Crusade at Carter Stadium while the Wolfpack football team took its lumps at Nebraska and at Georgia may have earned some divine intervention against Dooley's Heels. State beat budding conference power Maryland 24-22 the next week at Carter Stadium and then embarked on a four- game road trip that gathered wins at Clemson, independent South Carolina and Duke, along with a 35-29 loss at No. 6 Penn State. That tough loss — in which Young tied the score late in the fourth quarter on a 69-yard touchdown run, only to see eventual Heisman Trophy winner John Cappelletti score his third touchdown of the day to put the Nittany Lions back on top —returned Holtz's team to the national polls. A 52-13 win over Wake Forest completed the only undefeated conference season, at 6-0, in Wolfpack football history. The Pack rose to No. 16 in the national polls and recorded its school-record- tying ninth victory with a 31-19 win over Kansas in the Liberty Bowl. ■ Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker and can be reached at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu. Quarterback Dave Buckey was called on to make his first start of the '73 season when NC State welcomed the Tar Heels to Carter Stadium. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS