The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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the hapless Terps, who entered the contest with a 2-9 overall record and six straight ACC losses. Then with 5:57 left to go in the third quarter, redshirt junior quarterback Mike Glennon connected with classmate Tobais Palmer for a six-yard touchdown pass. One of NC State's co-captains, fifth- year senior tight end George Bryan, had a sense at that moment a comeback could happen. Bryan appreciated how Palmer handled the score. Palmer simply tossed 32 ■ THE WOLFPACKER The Year In Memories T A Look Back At The Best And Worst Of 2011 BY MATT CARTER he 2011 campaign looked bleak as late as the third quarter of the regu- lar-season finale against Maryland Nov. 26. State trailed 41-14 against the ball to the referee and clapped a couple of times while he headed straight to the sideline. "Everybody was basically like, 'It's time to go to work. We just scored a quick score, we can do it. No celebrations, the job's not done,'" Bryan noted. "That's to me when the mindset kind of changed, and as a team we realized we can come back and do this." NC State scored five straight touchdowns in the fourth quarter for a 56-41 win. The comeback was the largest in school history and one point shy of matching the biggest in an ACC game. More importantly, it gave State win No. 7. Seven victories clinched a second con- secutive winning season for the Pack and also secured the third bowl trip in four years. NC State will play Louisville in the Belk Bowl at Charlotte Dec. 27. The bowl will cap an emotional year for Wolfpack foot- ball. Here's a look back at some of the memorable moments from 2011. Biggest Win: The comeback against Maryland was one for the books, but that game would have been meaningless had it not been for State's stunning 37-13 rout of No. 7 and eventual ACC champion Clem- son. The victory snapped a seven-game los- ing streak to the Tigers and gave the Pack a crucial sixth win. Most Satisfying Win: Nothing is finer than beating Carolina. For the fifth consec-