NC State football quick hits from win over North Carolina

Here are quick hits and notes from NC State football’s 30-27 double overtime road win at No. 17 North Carolina. The game was played in front of 50,500 fans at Kenan Stadium on a classic fall afternoon in Chapel Hill.

Column: A sweet win for NC State football

Continuing Recent Rivalry Success

NC State football head coach Dave Doeren improves to 6-4 all-time against North Carolina and is 4-1 in games played at Kenan Stadium. Two of those victories in Chapel Hill came in overtime. In 2018, NC State defeated the Heels, 34-28, after a missed UNC field goal to start OT was followed by Reggie Gallaspy’s fifth touchdown of the game.

The Wolfpack is 2-1 all-time in overtime games against their archrival. This was the first time the teams went to multiple OTs.

The Pack is 14-9 against North Carolina since 2000, a .609 winning percentage. Although UNC leads the all-time series in lopsided fashion, 68-38-6, the Heels’ edge is just 36-33 since the ACC was formed.

North Carolina head coach Mack Brown falls to 7-9 all-time against NC State, including prior stops at Appalachian State and Texas in addition to his two stints in Chapel Hill. While at Chapel Hill, Brown is 7-7 against the Wolfpack and 2-2 since his return to UNC for the 2019 season.

The 2022 NC State football squad also became the only in the state team to go undefeated against fellow in-state opponents. The Pack knocked off East Carolina on the road and defeated Wake Forest at home. Both the ACC rivals were ranked when NC State beat them.

Notable NC State Football Accomplishments

NC State super senior kicker Christopher Dunn won’t go through the season perfect, as he kicked a 43-yarder wide left in the third quarter. But Dunn made his three other attempts and also connected on all three extra points.

That gives Dunn 479 career points, passing former Clemson running back Travis Etienne for the most points in ACC history.

Fifth-year redshirt junior receiver Devin Carter more than doubled his previous season-high in receiving yards by catching six passes for 130 yards and a score. Meanwhile, part of the future of the receiver room, true freshman Terrell Timmons Jr., caught his first career score by beating the defense for a 28-yard TD.

Carter and Timmons were 2 of 10 different NC State players to catch a pass from third-year redshirt freshman quarterback Ben Finley, who was making his first career start. Finley completed 27 of 40 passes for 271 yards and 2 scores without a turnover.

The Wolfpack defense also held UNC to its season-low in total yards (351) and yards per play (3.9).

The End Of Divisional Play In ACC For NC State

After this season, the ACC will disband the divisions, much to the excitement of teams in the Atlantic Division.

North Carolina was one of the schools in the Coastal that seemed to argue in favor of keeping divisions, but new ACC commissioner Jim Phillips pushed hard to eliminate them.

Friday’s win over North Carolina pushed NC State to an even .500 since divisions started in 2005 against the Atlantic Division members at 21-21. That does not include the 2020 campaign when the divisions were thrown out due to the pandemic and the makeshift scheduling that resulted.

However, the Pack went 4-3 that year vs. current teams of the Coastal, which would improve the record to 25-24 if counted.

For those wondering, NC State was 40-57 against Atlantic Division teams in that span, counting the 2020 season. If you remove the pandemic year, the record is 37-57.

NC State Football Freshman Watch

We will keep track of this list throughout the season to see who burns their redshirt from the 2022 recruiting class. The final tally is four players will be true sophomores next year.

Receiver Terrell Timmons Jr. became the first NC State player to officially burn his redshirt. Quarterback MJ Morris joined him next followed by running back Michael Allen last Saturday at Louisville.

Defensive lineman Brandon Cleveland is the last one to go through the redshirt, as he played in his fifth game. No other player will reach the threshold of losing the redshirt year.

Players can play up to 4 games to preserve a redshirt.

• Wide receiver Terrell Timmons Jr. — 8 games (Connecticut, Florida State, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Boston College, Louisville, North Carolina)

• Running back Michael Allen — 6 games (Connecticut, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Boston College, Louisville, North Carolina)

• Defensive lineman Brandon Cleveland — 5 games (Connecticut, Wake Forest, Boston College, Louisville, North Carolina)

• Quarterback MJ Morris — 5 games (Charleston Southern, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Boston College)

• Linebacker Daejuan Thompson – 3 games (Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, North Carolina)

• Defensive lineman Nick Campbell — 1 game (Connecticut)

• Cornerback Jackson Vick — 1 game (Boston College)

What The Win Means

NC State football finishes the regular season 8-4 overall and 4-4 in the ACC.

Doeren has won at least 8 games in the regular season three straights year and 5 of the last 6. NC State also finished at .500 or better in the ACC for the fifth time in six seasons.