The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/197085
■ pack past fourth quarter with a 69-yard touchdown run. But Penn State's John Cappelletti, the eventual Heisman Trophy winner that season, scored his third touchdown on the day with a 27-yard run, capping off a 220-yard performance. two more postseason bowl appearances, even though the Pack did not win another ACC title in his brief tenure. His 1974 team had only two losses, at North Carolina and at Maryland, and finished with the highest ranking in school history, No. 11 in the "To the players, I want to say that it wasn't coaching that did it. It was the love, the feeling and the camaraderie you had for each other. It was special feeling we had. Winning that championship was great. I couldn't love you any more there than I do from here right now." ■ Former Wolfpack head football coach and current ESPN announcer Lou Holtz in a taped interview Sophomore Dave Buckey (above) split time with senior Bruce Shaw at quarterback, directing an offense that ranked fifth nationally with an average of 33.2 points per game. Photo courtesy nc state media relations only one pass in the 14-play churn, Buckey handed off to his running backs, and the offensive line established control of the game. Fritts gave State a 14-3 advantage with a six-yard touchdown run. "That drive was a back-breaker for them and quite a momentum switch for us," Yoest said. "It was just a great in-your-face kind of drive." The Pack added to its advantage by taking the second-half kickoff 80 yards down the field, with Buckey hitting Pat Hovance with a 36-yard touchdown pass to give State a 21‑3 lead. The Heels made the game close in the fourth quarter, but fell 28‑26. The Pack reeled off four straight wins, all over ACC foes, establishing itself as the most productive ball-control team in school history. Behind the four all-star backs, the Pack averaged 272.3 rushing yards per game, which is still by far the most in school history, and was fifth nationally at 33.2 points per game, a school record that stood until Philip Rivers' senior year when the Pack averaged 37.6 points per contest. Burden, a hometown hero from Enloe High School and one of the program's first black scholarship players, established himself as one of the top players to ever wear the red and white, becoming the first 1,000yard rusher in school history and winning the 1973 ACC Player of the Year award. In November of that season, the Pack traveled to Penn State to face another pretty good rushing team, the sixth-ranked Nittany Lions. Young, Burden's high school teammate, tied the game at 29-29 late in the It was the second straight year that Joe Paterno's team beat Holtz and his charges, but it had no bearing on the more important conference race. The Pack whipped both Duke and Wake Forest to win the sixth ACC title in school history and the first under a head coach other than Earle Edwards. Holtz and his team traveled to Memphis to face Kansas in the Liberty Bowl, a game played just two days after Norm Sloan's basketball team faced perennial national champion UCLA in St. Louis. The basketball Pack lost that made-fortelevision contest against the powerhouse Bruins, but won the rematch four months later in Greensboro in the NCAA semifinals en route to the school's first NCAA championship. The football Pack held up its end of the bargain, bowling over the Jayhawks in a 31‑18 victory. Holtz continued his successful run with Associated Press media poll and No. 9 in the United Press International coaches poll. Holtz regretted he could not celebrate with his only ACC champion team when it gathered for the Syracuse game. He has always fondly remembered his time as the head coach of the Wolfpack. "There are few things I regret in my life, but one of them is not being able to be there with you tonight," he said in his taped message. "If I was there, I would want to say thank you to the fans, you are the absolute best. "To the players, I want to say that it wasn't coaching that did it. It was the love, the feeling and the camaraderie you had for each other. It was special feeling we had. Winning that championship was great. I couldn't love you any more there than I do from here right now." ■ You may contact Tim Peeler at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu. Senior running back Willie Burden led the way for a potent ground attack, becoming the first 1,000-yard rusher (1,014) in school history and earning the 1973 ACC Player of the Year award. Photo courtesy nc state media relations 130 ■ the wolfpacker 128,130.Pack Past.indd 130 10/22/13 11:54 AM