7:30 pm • ABC

Radio Coverage begins at 5:30 pm on the Wolfpack Sports Network

the game

• The Wolfpack will be playing at Clemson for the first time since 2018. When COVID forced the ACC to reschedule the 2020 season and took the Tigers off NC State’s schedule, it marked the first time in 50 years the two teams had not played (1970).

• Clemson had won eight straight, and 15 of the last 16, prior to last season’s Wolfpack win in Raleigh. The last time the Wolfpack won in Clemson was in 2002 (the last time the Pack was ranked in the top 10).

• Three of the last five contests against Clemson have been one-score games and two of the last five (at Clemson in 2016 and last season in Raleigh) have gone into at least one overtime.

• NC State has three wins against a top-10 Clemson team all-time (1987, 1988 and 2011).

• This will mark the first time the teams have faced other with both teams ranked in the top 10 and only the fifth time when both teams were ranked.

• For more than three decades, the series between NC State and Clemson was dubbed the Textile Bowl, as that industry has a major economic impact on both states and both universities boast renowned textile colleges. NC State’s College of Textiles produces more than half of the textile graduates in the nation each year. The North Carolina textile manufacturers donate money to NC State’s scholarship fund every year in honor of the Wolfpack’s MVP from the game.

top 10's

This week’s game will mark the first battle of top 10 teams in NC State history.

The only other time the Pack has faced Clemson while ranked in the top 10 was in 1967. That year, the 10th-ranked Wolfpack - led by the ‘white shoes defense’ was 5-0 in the ACC while Clemson was 4-0 heading into the Nov. 18 game in Death Valley. A win would secure the ACC title.

NC State had not allowed more than one touchdown in a game all season, but allowed two by the Tigers that day, as Clemson won the game, 6-14, and went on to win the league crown.

legacy

The Clemson game is an extra special one for NC State’s experienced center Grant Gibson. Gibson’s maternal grandfather, Harvey Gantt, was the first African American student to enroll at Clemson, entering the University in January 1963. His grandmother, Lucinda, entered in the fall semester of that same year, making her Clemson’s second African American student to enroll.

Harvey went on to become the first black mayor of Charlotte, where he served two terms. In 2009, the Afro-American Cultural Center and the City of Charlotte honored Gantt by building the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, recognizing his contributions to the civil rights movement and as the city’s first black mayor.

Continuing that legacy, his grandson Grant has been a force for change on NC State’s campus as well. He and fellow student-athletes helped establish “Pack United” at NC State - a student-led initiative through the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee that focuses on diversity, equity and social justice and encourages NC State’s student-athletes to use their platform to push for change and is focused on three platforms: awareness, action, and education.

Gibson enters the Clemson game after earning an unprecedented 97.5% coaches grade for the win over Connecticut. He was named ACC co-Offensive Lineman of the Week for that effort.

pack in the storm

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from the beginning of June until the end of November - encompassing the entire football regular season. With Raleigh being just 140 miles from the coast, dealing with the weather challenges surrounding hurricanes have become almost a way of life for NC State. That trend could continue for 2022 as Hurricane Ian could be arriving just about the time the Wolfpack is traveling to Clemson.

Since 1933, NC State has played host (or almost played host) to 19 games effected by hurricanes and tropical storms, posting an 11-6-1 record in the games that were actually played contests.

In 2018, West Virginia was scheduled to visit Raleigh on Sept. 15, but Hurricane Florence forced the cancellation of that game.

The most memorable was in 2016, on the day the Wolfpack celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first game in Carter-Finley Stadium against Notre Dame. That weekend, the effects of Matthew dumped eight inches of rain in Raleigh (most of which seemed to fall during that 10-3 Wolfpack win over the Irish).

In 1996, Hurricane Fran ripped through Raleigh two days before the season opener with Georgia Tech. Although 162 trees had to be cut just to get the equipment down the fieldhouse ramp and much of the area was without power, the game was played under sunny skies.

jersey strong

On a team known for its #HOMEGROWN talent, there is a definite northern slant in the Wolfpack’s offensive backfield. Quarterback Devin Leary and running back Demie Sumo-Karngbaye both hail from the Garden State - Leary from Sicklerville and DSK from Willingboro.

The pair’s hometowns are about 30 miles apart, and Leary’s younger brother Donovan (now a QB at Illinois) actually played against Sumo-Karngbaye in high school (with the latter taking the “W”).

Wide receiver Jasiah Provillon also hails from New Jersey.

fine-backers

Not only does NC State boast one of the most talented linebacking corps in the country, but also one of the most experienced. The Wolfpack trio of Isaiah Moore (MLB), Drake Thomas (SLB) and Payton Wilson (WLB) have combined to post some pretty impressive numbers.