NC State Wolfpack

By Tony Haynes

I can now confirm that everything you've ever heard about Indiana is true: there is a basketball goal in almost every driveway; musician John Cougar Mellencamp does attend IU games; the Indiana football team does not have a very good defense; and a Bobby Knight controversy is always just around the corner.

NC State fans will always remember Sept. 9 for what happened on the football field. The Wolfpack went up to Bloomington and staged an incredible comeback to edge the hometown Hoosiers, 41-38. But for the Indiana faithful, the weekend was a 'Knightmare'-as in Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight.

For the Pack, it all started with a short flight to Indianapolis. The bus trip that followed was a lot longer. The 50-miles that separates Indy and Bloomington seems more like a hundred miles. And it didn't end there. The team hotel was another 30-minutes south of Bloomington. NC State stayed at a place called the Fourwinds Resort & Marina, which is located somewhere between Bedford and Vallonia. In other words, no one in the traveling party had any earthly idea where they were.

I've never been to the moon, but I do now have a better sense of how Neal Armstrong must have felt when he first set foot on the baron lunar surface in 1969.

Soon after NC State arrived on Friday, the cow chips hit the fan. A freshman student at Indiana had accused Knight of grabbing him by the arm and cursing him outside Assembly Hall. Knight was apparently offended when the student addressed him by his last name only.

At 5:30 p.m., Knight told his side of the story at press conference. At about that same time, several of us took a bus back into Bloomington in search of a place to eat. The scene was eerie; it was as if the entire town had shutdown. Hardly anyone could be seen on the streets while Knight's press conference was being televised locally.

By Saturday morning it had become rather obvious that Indiana's college football opener had become an off Broadway production. Make no mistake about it, basketball has been and always will be king in Indiana. A story in the local paper Saturday morning said it all. The report boasted that interest in Hoosier football was at an all-time high and that as many as 30,000 fans were expected for the home opener against the Wolfpack. We're talking about 30,000 spectators in a stadium that seats over 52,000.

In the press box prior to the game, there was a feeling that Knight's controversial and successful tenure at IU was about to come to an end. Several Indiana basketball players sought out members of the press to defend their coach. Singer John Cougar Mellencamp, wearing his trademark sunglasses, also made an appearance.

Indiana fans are accustomed to Bobby Knight explosions; they're also used to watching their football team lose high-scoring games. Hoosier quarterback Antwaan Randle El was as good as advertised. The defense also lived up to its advanced billing when it allowed NC State to score 15-points in the last four minutes of the game.

Late in the game when Indiana's safeties should have been trying to keep everything in front of them, they allowed Wolfpack receiver Koren Robinson to run by them three straight times. On the first two, the ball hit the ground. But on the third attempt, NC State quarterback Philip Rivers hit Robinson with the game winning touchdown pass from 47-yards out.

And after safety Terrence Holt blocked a potential game-tying field goal attempt, it was over. NC State's players, holding their bright white helmets above their heads, celebrated an amazing comeback win. On the other side, Indiana coach Cam Cameron watched in disbelief.

Indiana's fans slowly exited Memorial Stadium not knowing that the most shocking news was still 24-hours away.

On Sunday afternoon, University president Myles Brand announced that he had fired Indiana's famous basketball coach.

The 'Knightmare' is over.