NC State Wolfpack

Many brazen Tar Heel fans will tell you that there is only one Carolina. That claim, of course, is foolish. Just in our state alone we have Carolina at Wilmington, Carolina at Charlotte and Carolina at Greensboro. Sure, it's true that there's only one Carolina in Chapel Hill, but isn't that enough?

That brings us to this weekends football game at Carter-Finley Stadium.

When Gamecock fans refer to their school as 'Carolina,' they do it without sticking their noses up in the air. With that in mind, we here at GOPACK.com are sanctioning USC as the REAL CAROLINA.

Now that we've cleared that up, we can discuss this week's renewal of the NC State-CAROLINA rivalry. Two of the Wolfpack's greatest victories came against CAROLINA.

Let's take a trip back to November 23, 1957. Those who were present in Columbia that day will never forget what they witnessed. The fact that the Pack tripped up CAROLINA 29-26 to win the ACC Title became secondary, thanks to the efforts of one man. NC State's Dick Christy put together an individual performance which will never be equaled.

The senior halfback scored all 29 of his teams points, including the game winning field goal as time expired. The headline in the local paper the next day read: Christy 29 CAROLINA 26 (it probably didn't really say CAROLINA, but for our purposes, we've made a slight alteration). Christy was by no means a one-day wonder. At the conclusion of his career, he held a total of 14 NC State records.

It was only by divine intervention that NC State defeated CAROLINA in 1986. Hail Mary visited Carter-Finley Stadium that day, and it's a good thing she blessed the Wolfpack with all of her powers. With CAROLINA up 22-17, time expired before State could get off a snap for one final play.

On the radio, the great Wally Ausley said the game was over. But wait a minute, there's a flag on the play. A CAROLINA defensive lineman has jumped off sides. One second is put back on the clock.

Pack quarterback Eric Kramer, who turned his ankle two plays earlier, limps back in the pocket. He cocks his arm and floats a pass towards the end zone. >From the sidelines, the ball appears to fall into a sea of CAROLINA defenders. Momentary silence. Then, the crowd erupts. Running out of the pile with football in hand his NC State receiver Danny Peebles. NC State 23 CAROLINA 22!

This Saturday, CAROLINA will be back in Raleigh for the first time since 1990. Adding spice to the visit will be the return of former NC State coach Lou Holtz. Sounds to me like it has all the trappings of another memorable Wolfpack-CAROLINA contest.