The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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NC State College Football Hall Of Famers At Carter-Finley CARTER-FINLEY STADIUM 14,306,926 The total attendance at Carter-Finley Stadium in 50 years, an average of 46,451 per game. Since 2003, NCSU has averaged at least 53,117 fans per contest each season, including a school-record 56,988 last year. 308 Number of football games NC State has played at Carter-Finley. The Pack has compiled an overall home record of 193-109-6 in that span. Its first victory was a 49-21 triumph over Virginia on Oct. 29, 1966. The most home wins in one season are six, done five times, most recently in 2011. 5 Undefeated seasons at home for the Wolfpack: 1967 ◆ 1972 ◆ 1973 ◆ 1974 ◆ 1986 32 Yards on Billy Morrow's interception return against South Carolina in the first game played at Carter-Finley for NC State's first touchdown in the venue. 10 Honored / retired jerseys on the facade of the upper deck: All but Williams' and Wilson's numbers are retired. Those two are honored by patches bearing their name on the uniforms worn by current players. 16 RUSSELL WILSON 51 JIM RITCHER 9 MARIO WILLIAMS 40 DICK CHRISTY 18 ROMAN GABRIEL 77 DENNIS BYRD 17 PHILIP RIVERS 63 BILL YOEST 23 TED BROWN 81 TORRY HOLT 17 Longest winning streak at Carter-Finley. When Lou Holtz took over as head coach in 1972, he went 15-0-1 in his first three years at home. The Pack won its home opener in 1975, Holtz's final season in Raleigh, before hav- ing the streak snapped by a loss to Wake Forest. That would be the only home loss in Holtz's four-year tenure (the Pack went 20-1-1). 57,600 Capacity of the current-day Carter-Finley, which includes more than 22,000 in the lower decks, 18,000 in the upper decks and 13,000 in the end zones. Coach Lou Holtz (1972-75) NC State was the second stop of Holtz' Hall of Fame coaching career, which was most noteworthy for his time as head coach at Notre Dame. Holtz arrived in Raleigh after three seasons at William & Mary. He went 33-12-3 in four years with the Pack. Those 33 victories were the most ever in a four-year span for NCSU until 1991-94 when the Pack went 34-16-1, but Holtz' four-year mark had a better winning percentage (.686 compared to .667). He left NC State to be the head coach for the NFL's New York Jets for one season, and then returned to a lengthy col - lege career that included stops at Arkansas, Minnesota, Notre Dame (where he won the national title in 1988) and South Carolina. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008. Offensive lineman Jim Ritcher (1976-79) One of the greatest football players ever at NC State, Ritcher is one of three ACC players to have received the Outland Trophy, given to college football's best blocker, win- ning in 1979. He was a two-time All-American for the Pack, and then went on to a lengthy NFL career with the Buffalo Bills and Atlanta Falcons. He was a three-time All-Pro choice with the Bills. Ritcher, who had two sons (John and Harrison) play football for the Pack, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1998. Defensive tackle Dennis Byrd (1965-67) Byrd played two seasons at Carter-Finley, including its first year in 1966. He was named first-team All-ACC three years, and in 1967 he became the Pack's first-ever consensus All-American. After his college days were over, he became a first-round NFL Draft pick for the then-Boston Patriots of the AFL. A knee injury he suf- fered as a senior for the Pack limited his professional career to one season. Byrd, a native of Lincolnton, N.C., passed away in July of 2010, five months before his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. Running back Ted Brown (1975-78) The High Point, N.C., native was inducted in 2013, a fitting honor for the ACC's all-time leading rusher. He ran for 4,602 yards during his time in Raleigh, and the mark is still holding strong in the confer - ence nearly 40 years later. Brown was the ACC Fresh- man of the Year in 1975 when he rushed for 913 yards, and he went over 1,000 yards on the ground each of the next three years, including a school-record 1,350 yards as a senior in 1978. He is the ACC's only four-time first- team All-ACC performer. Quarterback/punter Jim Donnan (1965-67) Donnan helped the Pack defeat Georgia in the 1967 Liberty Bowl, but his 2009 College Football Hall of Fame induction had nothing to do with his time in Raleigh. Donnan, a Burlington, N.C., native, became a successful head coach, first at Marshall and then, ironically, at Georgia. From 1990-2000, Donnan compiled a 104-40 record, winning the Division 1-AA title at Marshall in 1992 and four bowl games at Georgia from 1996-2000. HISTORY 50 2016 By The Numbers