Tim Peeler: Looking back on NC State-Virginia Tech's electric 2005 clash at Carter-Finley Stadium

There has rarely ever been an atmosphere like the one in Carter-Finley Stadium on Sept. 4, 2005, a Sunday night game with extreme Saturday night vibes.

Think about the most overhyped season-opener for any Triangle school in recent memory, except with fans still in the stands during the third and fourth quarters. It was better than that.

Think about an East Carolina rivalry game, except with a few remaining blue laws in place to temper the pregame tailgate activities by fans who could only get so riled up after attending Sunday School earlier in the day. It was better than that.

Think about the excitement of a brand-new $39 million luxury box for the highest-giving donors, crammed full of 1,004 well-heeled patrons, all of whom had comfortable seats that practically nobody used all night long. On that night, VT was for Vaughn Towers, not Virginia Tech.

Think about the sheer improbability of NC State football winning the first instant-replay challenge in ACC football history, as it did in the game’s opening quarter. What could be better than that?

That’s what it was like when the Wolfpack hosted eighth-ranked Virginia Tech for the first time as an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent.

The Brothers Vick were on hand with the Hokies, Marcus for the first time as the Hokies starting quarterback after a year-long suspension and Michael on leave from his NFL preseason training duties with the Atlanta Falcons. Their appearance electrified a stadium filled to the brim.

Oh, there were some familiar sights. Head coach Chuck Amato, entering his sixth season at his alma mater, was breaking in two new coordinators, Marc Trestman on the offensive side and Steve Dunlap on the defensive side. They were the ninth and 10th replacement assistants Amato hired in his first six seasons.

The Wolfpack, which had led the nation in defense the year before despite a 5-6 record, still had an immovable defensive front, with four linemen who would eventually be taken in the NFL Draft, three of them in the first round.

And the Hokies, as always, were strong on special teams, a unit that had let head coach Frank Beamer down a year before against the Wolfpack, when State used 10 sacks and a last-second field goal to grab a 17-16 victory in Blacksburg, the Hokies’ only loss in their inaugural ACC season. Tech went on to finish 7-1 in the league, 11-3 overall, and it was looking to avenge its loss to the unranked Wolfpack.

“I remember that game and atmosphere like it was yesterday,” says middle linebacker Stephen Tulloch, a junior in 2005 who was ready to step into a starting lineup that included first-round picks Mario Williams, Manny Lawson and John McCargo, along with fourth-round pick DeMario Pressley, 2004 leading tackler Oliver Hoyte and defensive back A.J. Davis. “They had a great, hall-of-fame caliber head coach in Frank Beamer, and we had a lot of talent on defense.

“It was a nail-biter, game-of-possession kind of game.”

There was a certain circus-like atmosphere that night, befitting the appearance of ACC basketball Player of the Year Julius Hodge, who was presented with a framed No. 24 jersey during on-field ceremonies.

As the only major game being played that evening, ESPN2 went with its top announcers for its national broadcast and unleashed a season-opening hype sequence.

Little Vick wasn’t great that night, especially in the early going against NC State’s brick-wall defense. He managed to complete just 10 of 21 passes for 108 yards and to rush for 31 yards on 13 carries for an offense that managed just 232 yards in the game. However, he threw the game’s only touchdown pass, eclipsing NC State quarterback Jay Davis’ gaudy total of 27 completions on 43 passes for 311 yards.

In the end, Virginia Tech didn’t so much win the game, as the Pack gave it to them with 3 turnovers, 12 penalties for 105 yards and a particularly bad fair-catch decision in the fourth quarter with the score tied at 13-13 that put the Wolfpack offense on the Hokie 1-yard line. It was a precursor to Vick’s touchdown pass in the fourth quarter that gave Tech a 20-13 advantage.

NC State added a John Deraney field goal later in the game and was driving on its final possession when a Hail Mary pass from Davis was intercepted in the end zone as the game came to an end.

As a whole, the loss wasn’t devastating for Amato’s squad. However, over the next four weeks, the Pack lost home games to North Carolina and Clemson plus a road game at Wake Forest to enter the second half of the season with a 2-4 record.

The team finished with a home win over Southern Miss, a 20-15 upset of No. 9 Florida State in Tallahassee, a loss at Boston College and season-ending home wins over Middle Tennessee and Maryland.

That finish earned the Pack an invitation to the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, where it beat South Florida 14-0 in the only postseason shutout in school history.

“That was a year we really thought we would get over the hump,” said Tulloch, who declared for the NFL draft after his junior season following his MVP bowl performance, was taken in the fourth round and ended up lasting longer than any of his highly regarded teammates in the NFL. “We ended up 7-5, with three first-rounders on our defense.

“We should have been better than that.”

Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker and can be reached at [email protected].