NC State football countdown to kickoff: 39

The NC State football season opener for 2022 is at East Carolina on Sept. 3 — or 39 days away from Monday. The Wolfpacker continues its countdown for the season with a note about the number 39.

39: Significant moments involving the number 39 in NC State football history

• Scoring 39 points in a game is unusual. In NC State football history, there have been only eight games in which either the Pack or its opponent has scored exactly 39 points.

Turns out that is a bit of a lucky number for NC State, too. The Pack is 5-0 when it scores 39 points, and 1-2 when the opponent hits the mark.

Since 1952, there have been just three games involving NC State in which a team scored 39 points, and only one under current head coach Dave Doeren. That was a memorable Thursday night contest in Carter-Finley Stadium against No. 17 Louisville, led by reigning Heisman Trophy winner and recent NFL MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson.

When current Cincinnati Bengals starting linebacker Germaine Pratt scored on a pick six of Jackson with 2:52 left in the contest, that secured the final score of 39-25 in NC State’s favor.

• Miami leads the all-time series with NC State football, 11-5-1. The first time the two ACC rivals met was well before the Hurricanes joined the conference in 2003. On Dec. 1, 1939, Miami would host NC State and defeat the Wolfpack, 27-7, in the season finale during a 2-8 year for the Pack.

That was the first of four meetings between 1939-45 between the two teams, all in Miami. The Pack and Canes would split those four contests, two apiece.

• NC State super senior kicker Christopher Dunn has broken a lot of school records during his time in Raleigh. Currently, Dunn has the best point-after-touchdown (PAT) percentage ever at NC State, a perfect 170-for-170.

Technically, although last season was Dunn’s fourth in Raleigh, he was listed as a junior by NC State football since the NCAA froze eligibility in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Thus, if Dunn goes perfect again this year, he will become the sixth senior in NC State history to do so on PATs. The most made without a miss by a senior is 39 by Chris Hensler in 1997.

• The fewest pass completions during a season ever allowed by NC State (that was recorded) came in 1947, when opponents completed just 39 passes.

• No former NC State football coach won more games away from Raleigh than legendary Earle Edwards. Between 1954-70, Edwards won 39 road contests. He finished his career with a 39-54-3 road record.

Doeren the second most road wins. He has gone 20-25 away from Carter-Finley Stadium between 2013-21. Only two Wolfpack coaches in the ACC era had above-.500 records on the road — College Football Hall of Famer Lou Holtz went 11-10-1 from 1972-75 and Bo Rein went 11-8 in the four seasons succeeding Holtz.