NC State football countdown to kickoff: 95
The NC State football season opener for 2022 is at East Carolina on Sept. 3 — or 95 days away. The Wolfpacker continues its countdown for the season with a note about the number 95.
95: Significant moments involving the number 95 in NC State football history
• The number 95 is the career touchdown passes thrown by legendary former NC State football quarterback Philip Rivers from 2000-03. That is still the school record, nearly two decades later, by 19 more than the next former Wolfpack signal caller on the list — Russell Wilson with 76 from 2008-10.
Rivers’ longevity may play a role in why he still commands the record, which remains second best in ACC history behind Clemson’s Tahj Boyd (107). Wilson was on pace to break the mark before he transferred to Wisconsin.
Rivers threw 34 touchdowns as a senior, which was a school record till last fall when Devin Leary had 35 scoring tosses. Rivers’ next best season mark for TDs at NC State came in his freshman campaign when he had 25. Rivers is the only Wolfpack signal caller to have at least one game of five touchdown throws in three different seasons.
However, unlike Wilson’s career and Leary’s season, Rivers had others scoring touchdowns on the ground, namely T.A. McLendon. In Rivers’ junior year, McLendon set a NC State record for rushing scores in a season with 18, which was matched by Reggie Gallaspy Jr. in 2018.
• The longest rushing play in NC State history was a 95-yarder by College Football Hall of Famer Ted Brown. The rush came in 1977 against Syracuse in 1977 Brown’s first game since the death of his mother.
That remains the lone rush by a NC State football player longer than 90 yards.
A year later, Brown would rush for 198 yards against the Orange. That performance is tied for the ninth most in a single game in Wolfpack history. Brown’s 4,602 career rushing yards is nearly 1,000 more than any other NC State running back (Joe McIntosh is second at 3,642 yards).
• Former NC State receiver Torry Holt first game of his College Football Hall of Fame career began in ’95. Over the course of four seasons with the Pack, Holt would haul in 191 passes for 3,379 yards. The yardage total still remains a NC State school record nearly 25 years later.
• In ’95, former NC State kicker Marc Primanti would start what remains a school record for longest streak of consecutive made field goals. He made the last seven he attempted that season, and then the following year proceeded to make all 20 of his attempts on Primanti’s way to being named the Lou Groza Award winner.
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