NC State football bowl games in Charlotte memories: 2005
In 2002, Charlotte hosted for the first time a bowl game. At that point, the sponsor was Continental Tire Bowl, and Virginia defeated No. 15 West Virginia handedly, 48-22, in front of a crowd of almost 74,000 fans. NC State football would make their debut in the bowl in 2005, the first time the game was called the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
That was the first of three trips to Charlotte for NC State football.
Here is the first recap of the three bowl games in the Queen City for the Wolfpack.
NC State Football in 2005 Meineke Car Care Bowl
The 2005 NC State football team overcame a 2-4 start to the season to win 4 of 5 games to cap the year. That late-season stretch was highlighted by the emergence of freshman running back Andre Brown, who ran for 248 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 21-17 win over visiting Southern Miss to start the turnaround.
A week later, Brown ran for 179 yards and a score in a 20-15 upset win at No. 9 Florida State. NC State rebounded from a lopsided loss at Boston College with back-to-back home wins over Middle Tennessee and Maryland to reach bowl eligibility at 6-5 overall (3-5 in the ACC).
Awaiting them in Charlotte was upstart South Florida. The Bulls started the program in 1997, and four years later were in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The Meineke Car Care Bowl represented USF’s first-ever bowl appearance.
Like NC State, South Florida had a 6-5 record, but they came into Charlotte on a two-game losing streak. The offense combined to score just 23 points in losses to Connecticut on the road and No. 12 West Virginia at home.
That, in hindsight, was a precursor of what was coming in Charlotte.
NC State in 2005 had one of the nation’s top-ranked defenses in yards allowed. The issue for the Wolfpack had been a sputtering offense. The Pack failed to score more than 24 points in a non-FBS game all season.
So, unsurprisingly, a defensive slugfest broke out in Charlotte, although the game did not look that way from the NC State perspective at halftime. Two second quarter touchdowns, one a pass from quarterback Marcus Stone to receiver Brian Clark and the other a Brown rush, gave the Pack a 14-0 lead at the break.
Those would be the lone points in the game.
NC State would win 14-0 after gaining just 300 yards of total offense. South Florida had just 295 yards themselves, and the difference was the Bulls had 3 turnovers compared to just one for NC State. The two teams would combine to complete just 19 of 49 pass attempts, or 38.8 percent.
Wolfpack linebacker Stephen Tulloch would be the game’s MVP, making 15 tackles and forcing a fumble. He led a stellar defense in their final game together. Tulloch, defensive end Mario Williams and defensive tackle John McCargo would all turn pro after the game. Williams, McCargo and defensive end Manny Lawson were drafted in the first round. Tulloch was chosen later round but had a lengthy career.
