Previewing BC Football: History Against the NC State Wolfpack

For as long as I have been a BC fan, I have always looked forward to playing the Wolfpack. It has become a tradition with these two teams seeming to always be pitted against one another in a bout that always ends up being a heavily contested game. NC State always seems to be a coin-flip’s chance for the Eagles to secure a win as the Pack are known to come into these games with a type of ferocity that makes for a difficult match-up. Ever since Tom O’Brien’s tenure in Raleigh ended in 2012, NC State has seen a ton of progression with Dave Doeren at the helm. In the last five seasons, the Pack have had four bowl appearances and won three of the four. Furthermore, they have gradually moved up the ranks in the ACC Atlantic Division with them finishing 2nd last season only behind the All-Mighty and Powerful Clemson and ranking 23rd in the AP Poll standings. This type of progression is not something that Superfans should shy their heads at. NC State is gradually beginning to regain some of its power in the ACC and by no means will this be an easy game to chalk up as a win for BC. This is evident in the last five games that the Eagles played against the Pack:

November 16th, 2013: Boston College 38 vs. NC State 21

• Location: Chestnut Hill, MA
• This was a momentous win for the Eagles as this clinched a bowl-birth for BC for the first time in three seasons.
• Andre Williams instilled his dominance as one of the best running backs in the country as he ran for 339 yards on 42 carries and 2 TDs. I was fortunate enough to have witnessed this game at Alumni Stadium and never in my life had I seen one man solely dominate an entire team. In case you want to re-live the euphoria, here is a link to his highlights from that game:

Andre Williams — Beast Mode Activated

• To emphasize Andre’s dominance, Chase Rettig only threw 15 passes and completed 8 of them for 53 yards.

October 11th, 2014: Boston College 30 vs. NC State 14

• Location: Raleigh, NC
• QB Tyler Murphy once again dominated on the ground and the air against the Wolfpack running for 132 yards on 15 carries while also connecting on 12/19 passes for 101 yards.
• Little-Guy Sherman Alston also had a signature reverse scamper into the end-zone and finished the day with 5 rushes for 53 yards.
• Don Brown’s Defense also stood firm against NC State collecting four sacks on the day along with one interception by Defensive End Brian Mihalik for 21 yards. They also forced two fumbles with one being recovered by LB Steven Daniels in a rather rainy evening in Raleigh.

November 7th, 2015: Boston College 8 vs. NC State 24

• Location: Chestnut Hill, MA
• In a season that seemed doomed from the beginning, BC had four turnovers in the game with three of them coming as interceptions from walk-on QB John Fadule.
• NC State finished with 351 yards of Total Offense on the day with future NFL QB Jacoby Brissett throwing for 212 yards and a TD.
• The Pack also just tore up the BC offensive line securing 7.5 sacks on the day and forcing one fumble.
• Like all other history segments of BC football, this is a season I like to just forget....

October 29th, 2016: Boston College 21 vs. NC State 14

• Location: Raleigh, NC
• On homecoming day for the Wolfpack, the team was looking for an easy win against the Eagles to ignite the cliche spirits of the campus’ Spirit Week. Little did the NC State fan base know that this would turn into the equivalent of a ‘rubber match’ between both offenses.
• With Little-Guy Sherman Alston leaving the Heights, it was time for his replacement, QB turned WR Jeff Smith, to fill the void. Smith took a reverse hand-off for 60 yards capitalizing as BC’s only rushing TD on the day.
• While QB Patrick Towles did throw for 204 yards on the day, it was a trick play having RB Davon Jones take a pitch to the right and throwing a 14 yard pass to TE Tommy Sweeney with 4 minutes left in the game that gave BC the ensuing lead.
• NC State was able to march down the field but on third and goal, QB Ryan Finley floated an interception into the hands of Kamrin Moore to seal the win for the Eagles.

November 11th, 2017: Boston College 14 vs. NC State 17

• Location: Chestnut Hill, MA
• Freshman AJ Dillon was the workhorse that everyone expected him to be running for 196 yards on 36 carries and one TD
• However, with starting QB Anthony Brown going down with a season-ending knee injury in the second quarter, his replacement Darius Wade was not able to get much going for the Eagles’ offense. Wade finished 8/15 through the air for only 82 yards.
• First-team All-ACC and future Denver Bronco Bradley Chubb also became the all time sack leader in NC State history against the Eagles recording 2.5 sacks on the day. In the same game, he also became the Wolfpack’s leader in tackles for a loss.