The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/73006
■ PACK PAST down, VMI did not allow the Farmers to cross midfield and rolled to a 42-6 victory. So the Aug. 31 contest in Atlanta, where the Wolfpack has played in seven Peach Bowls, against the Volunteers harkens back to the very beginnings of the sport at NC State. NC State and Tennessee met again in 1911, a year after A&M had the last undefeated season in school history (4-0-2) and one of its Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Associa- tion championships. Despite playing without its best player — halfback Dave Robertson broke both his shoulders earlier in the year in a game against Bucknell — the Aggies still managed to beat Tennessee, 16-0, in the home finale of a 5-3 season. In 1939, when NC State celebrated its golden anniversary as an institution, the defending national champion Volunteers, coached by Gen. Robert Neyland, came to Raleigh to play a Homecoming game at Rid- dick Stadium. At the time, NC State College was trying Cardinal International Trucks 1526 South Blount Street, Raleigh, NC 27603 (919) 832-5871 www.cardinalinternationaltrucks.com Featured in: N&O Independent Weekly Spectator Magazine Esquire Magazine Southern Living Magazine Rachel Ray's Everyday SushiBlues Cafe Downtown Raleigh's Original Since 1999 301 Glenwood Ave • (919) 664-8061 • sushibluescafe.com 146 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Owned and operated by NCSU grad 1993. GO PACK! * Home of the Famous Wolfpack Roll * to mimic Neyland's success at Tennessee, which had gone undefeated at 11-0 in 1938 to win the first of its six claimed national titles with an Orange Bowl victory over Oklahoma on New Year's Day. Williams "Doc" Newton had spent time on Tennessee's coaching staff before becoming a head coach at Davidson and then NC State. Herman Hickman had been an All-American guard at Tennessee, before playing profes- sional football. He joined Newton's staff as an assistant. Newton also hired as his freshman coach Walter "Babe" Wood, a tailback who was the hero of the Volunteers' 1938 national cham- pions. Like this year's contest, the '39 game was played on a Friday night. Some 14,000 spec- tators filled Riddick Stadium to see if All- American lineman Ty Coon and quarterback Artie Rooney could keep up with the mighty Volunteers, who entered the game ranked No. 1 in the nation and in the middle of one of the most impressive streaks in NCAA football history — 17 consecutive shutouts and 71 scoreless quarters. Alas, the Wolfpack had no better chance of scoring against the defending champions than anyone else. Tennessee scored 13 points in the first seven minutes of the game and the teams played to a draw afterwards. Just keeping the score that close was con- sidered a victory for Newton's team, which finished 2-8 on the season. It's been nearly three-quarters of a century since the teams have played each other. NC State is now celebrating its 125th anniversary and Tennessee has won five more national titles since then. ■ You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.