Football flashback: The NC State-ECU Peach Bowl clash of 1992 rekindles strong emotions
It seemed like a big ask at the time: an 11 a.m. kickoff on New Year’s Day?
N.C. State and East Carolina fans were to spend New Year’s Eve in Atlanta, partying, celebrating, doing up the town, then be up early and in their seats at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium the next day for the Peach Bowl.
No worries. They were there. Filling every one.
It might have led to record coffee sales that morning but it did set a bowl record with a crowd of 59,332. And the game Jan. 1, 1992 would not disappoint.
When the Wolfpack and Pirates play Saturday in the Military Bowl, it will be hard to match the interest, anticipation and enormity of the 1992 Peach Bowl.
Think of this: ECU was 10-1 and ranked No. 12. N.C. State was 9-2 and No. 17.
Bad blood? The two schools played every season in Raleigh from 1970 to 1987 until a melee after the 1987 game put a halt to the series. ECU fans, their team the winner, stormed the field at Carter-Finley Stadium, some Wolfpack fans tried to defend it and a security guard by one of the goal posts was seriously injured.
But the Peach Bowl committee had an idea: get the two together again on the football field in Atlanta. Wolfpack coach Dick Sheridan agreed to it. ECU coach Bill Lewis agreed. It was on.
Peach Bowl excitement
The North Carolina media corps treated it like a College Football Playoff game. The media arrived in big numbers with the teams soon after Christmas, packing bowl practices each day. Every angle was covered.
A big storyline for State was whether Terry Jordan would start at quarterback. Jordan broke an arm during the Pack’s win over UNC at midseason but was back and practicing in Atlanta.
A sign of the times: The N&O did daily player diaries, getting the thoughts of ECU receiver Hunter Gallimore and the Pack’s Charles Davenport. Those newspapery things could be dry, but the excitement level of each player was palpable in the week leading up to the game.
Finally, after all the talk, it was 11 a.m. on New Year’s Day. The ESPN cameras came on.
‘The worst I’ve ever felt’
The next few hours would be riveting football. The Pack, with Jordan at quarterback, took a 34-17 lead in the fourth quarter. But ECU had an answer: quarterback Jeff Blake, soon to be in the NFL, and a prolific offense.
The Pack shanked a punt, dropped a third-down pass and Blake and the Pirates kept on coming, scoring three times. ECU fans thundered “We believe!” after tight end Luke Fisher gave the Pirates a 37-34 lead with a diving TD catch.
The Pack then reached the ECU 30 before going for the tie on a 49-yard field-goal try by Damon Hartman. But Hartman’s kick was wide right. Let the partying begin again — at least for ECU.
The Wolfpack football contingent packed up quickly and left the stadium. Senior linebacker Billy Ray Haynes, before leaving, had one memorable line that echoed that of many Pack fans: “I’m sick on my stomach. This is the worst I’ve ever felt.”
If the Pack’s 2002 romp over Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl would be N.C. State’s tastiest bowl win, that Peach Bowl had to be the most painful loss.
“ECU made the big plays when they had to and we simply didn’t,” Davenport said for his final diary entry. “You win some and you lose some. That’s just the game of life.”
As for ECU …
The Pirates, at 11-1, finished No. 9 in the final AP poll, although Lewis soon left to replace Bobby Ross as head coach at Georgia Tech.
Much of the media was staying at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, which also happened to be an ECU fan hotel. Several media members, their stories filed, settled in to eat a quiet dinner and catch part of the other New Year’s bowl games.
Suddenly, every TV in the restaurant and Champions bar was switched to another game. Someone had stuck in a VHS cassette (remember those?) with the Peach Bowl game.
Every TV was showing a replay of the fourth quarter — and ECU’s big comeback. “We believe!” chants started again among the giddy ECU faithful in the hotel lobby.
For the second straight night, the partying went late into the night in Atlanta.
This story was originally published December 26, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
