It’s been more than 40 years since Jim Donnan, Fred Combs, Chuck Amato, Harry Martell, Dennis Byrd and Mark Capuano led N.C. State to the brink of national championship football contention.
But in all those seasons since, a North Carolina-based team has not gone any higher in the national rankings than No. 3.
The ’67 Wolfpack -- coached by Earle Edwards and nicknamed the “White Shoes Team” in the national media -- reached the No. 3 spot in the Associated Press poll before its 8-0 start was spoiled in a 13-8 loss at Penn State.
Deflated after the heart-breaking loss, the Pack then dropped its final regular-season game at Clemson, 14-6, before going to the Liberty Bowl and defeating Georgia for a 9-2 final record.
“We were so close that it still hurts some to think about it,” Donnan said this week. “We were so good on defense that I know we could have played any team in the nation a close game _ close enough to win.”
State wasn’t ranked or even seen as the ACC’s best team until back-to-back wins over Florida State and nationally second-ranked Houston suddenly propelled the Pack to No. 9 in the polls.
The Associated Press voters wound up selecting Southern California (10-1 after a Rose Bowl win over Indiana) as the national champ. The Pack took No. 17 in the final poll, but the final rankings in those days were at the end of regular season.
Had State finished 10-0, it likely would have moved past the Trojans and No. 2 Tennessee by the end of regular season.
In the years since, a team from North Carolina hasn’t been ranked higher than third. UNC got to No. 3 in 1981 and ’83 under Dick Crum. But the ’81 team finished No.11 after losing to South Carolina and eventual national champ Clemson. The ’83 Tar Heels finished out of the polls after starting 7-0 and winding up 8-4.
Mack Brown’s best UNC teams got as high as fourth in the polls. ECU in 1991 finished No. 9 nationally and won 11 straight games but could not completely overcome a season-opening 38-31 loss at Illinois.
Caulton Tudor
Comments
I remember the excitement in
Mon, 05/17/2010 - 11:33 — unc098I remember the excitement in the good years of Mack Brown. I seem to remember a 3 ranking but thats just splitting hairs. Mack at his best along with Bowden seemed to generate some upward mobility in the ACC.
God forbid I dredge up the ghost of Dick Crum but he has some great teams in the early 80s before he checked out.
All this being said I have to say the expansion has helped beef up the football profile of the ACC but we have a long ways to go before we can compete nationally. I believe the current group of coaches are high quality and if everyone stays in place for 5 years or more they can further the maturity of the league.
Really?
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 22:29 — heelsno1Another "Blinding Glimpse of the Obvious" from Toots. ACC Football is fun, but it has never been and is not remotely close to being competitive on the national championship stage. Miami and FSU had their day before joining the ACC, and their programs are now bankrupt from the vantage point of top talent. WVU, Pittsburgh or ECU would have been better additions (despite their limited TV market appeal). For that matter, the ACC should have courted and welcomed back the Gamecocks. Many years ago, I heard the deafening roar when the fabled "hounds-tooth" hat emerged from the tunnel prior to kick-off for a 'Bama-UT contest. It literally sent shivers done my spine.
To suggest that the ACC has ever come close to that type of energy and capability...well, it is just silly...but that is our Toots.
Re: Really?
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 22:59 — Heels20I agree that the ACC is pretty much a joke, but FSU was one of the best programs in the country their first 9 years in the ACC. They were a national title contender every year until '01. As far as the theory on WVU, Pitt and ECU, I really don't think ECU would be a better option than anyone we got in the expansion. You could make the argument that they would make more sense than BC, but BC has played in 2 ACC championships in football, 1 in basketball and seen multiple NCAA tournaments. It's also more prestigious as far as education goes. I would definitely like to see Pitt in the ACC over BC, but not VT or Miami. VT has done good things for the conference as far as football goes, and Miami's idiotic/delusional fans make for a good laugh.
Anyway, it's true that the ACC is pretty much the laughing stock when it comes to football. Maybe Butch can change that? Of course, there'd be a lot of work to do before we reach that point.
idiotic fan base and delusional?
Sun, 05/16/2010 - 12:02 — gvillegatrThe U? you must hang out at the Miami Herald.
Dry spell gonna last longer
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 09:19 — Heels20Heard a rumor that Shaun Draughn is going to be ineligible. Just what we needed...
b/c u said it
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 12:33 — gvillegatrI believe it. you seem to have the rumor market cornered in the Triangle.
Oh well...
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 17:24 — UNC1998in college school work is important. He needs to take care of that first. If Bernard is all he's cracked up to be he could probably get a few package plays to spell Houston. I think the Heels will be ok.
State's missed opportunity.....
Thu, 05/13/2010 - 22:15 — wolfdonIf I recall correctly, the top two ranked teams above State lost the weekend that State played Penn St. and State had driven downfield steadily on the last series needing only a touchdown from the one yard line on fourth down to win the game and be ranked #1. A Penn St. linebacker named Neil Onkowitz stopped the runner just short of the goal line and the dream ended......Penn State and Joe Paterno went on to become an annual powerhouse.
What the teams in the ACC need...
Thu, 05/13/2010 - 19:05 — UNC1998is one quality coach who sees an ACC school as a "destination job". If that coach then created a stand out program (think B. Bowden) then that would make other schools in the conference more attractive to coaches (see $EC). A tradition must start with the first step. Certainly one can look at the past and point to near misses, and coming up just short. Excitement born of hopes for improvement is what can create fan enthusiasm. Obtaining success and maintaining it is what would create tradition. I'll admit as a UNC fan I've seen a near miss or two. My hope is that the present staff can lay a foundation that will attract a good candidate when it's time for the next coach. Hopefully it will be long time before that happens.