University of North Carolina Athletics
The Tar Heels Take N.C. State in OT
June 21, 1999 | Football
November 28, 1998
By DAVID DROSCHAK
AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - What seemed like a lost season in September turned into a winner for North Carolina.
The Tar Heels blew a pair of 21-point leads and fell behind by three in overtime before beating North Carolina State 37-34 Saturday on Oscar Davenport's 14-yard touchdown pass to Na Brown.
Brown's catch over the outstretched arms of Lloyd Harrison, who leads the nation in interceptions, gave the Tar Heels (6-5, 5-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) their ninth straight winning season and kept their bowl hopes alive.
North Carolina won six of its last eight games after an 0-3 start to tie the school record for consecutive winning seasons set in 1905.
Carl Torbush shook off the poor start to become the first North Carolina coach since 1943 to post a winning record in his first year - a span of nine coaches.
Davenport also hooked up with L.C. Stevens on a pair of scoring passes, and Deon Dyer added scoring runs of 1 and 36 yards to provide the offensive spark for the Tar Heels, who led 24-3 at halftime and went on to beat their arch-rival for the sixth consecutive time.
It's unclear how much the bowl-bound Wolfpack (7-4, 5-3) were distracted this week after three reserves were charged with misdemeanors in connection with the shooting death of another student.
But N.C. State was not its usual self early on. The top offense in the ACC turned the ball over a season-high five times and record-setting wide receiver Torry Holt was nearly shut out in the first half, catching two passes for 18 yards.
The Wolfpack elected not to throw Holt's way in the opening quarter, and when they finally did Dre' Bly was in the way, picking off the 20th pass of his career. Holt finally caught a pass 4:55 before the half, but the Wolfpack already trailed 17-3.
Holt warmed up in the second half. His 65-yard punt return cut the score to 24-10 midway through the third quarter and his 49-yard TD reception with 9:29 left trimmed the North Carolina margin to seven and made him the ACC's all-time receiving yardage leader.
Ray Robinson's second 3-yard scoring run of the final period with 2:44 left capped a 21-point Wolfpack rally and tied the score at 31-31. Holt had five catches for 106 yards in the final period, and his 15-yard fourth-down reception set up the trying score.
After a 3-3 first quarter, the Tar Heels exploded for three touchdowns in the final 6:55 of the second period.
The second of three first-half turnovers by the Wolfpack gave the Tar Heels the lead for good. Jomo Legins stripped the ball from Robinson at the Wolfpack 15 to set up Dyer's 1-yard plunge.
Wolfpack coach Mike O'Cain's gamble on a fourth-and-1 near midfield backfired when the Tar Heels stuffed Jamie Barnette for no gain on a quarterback keeper.
On the next play, Stevens split defenders Tony Scott and Rodney Redd for a 49-yard TD reception.
The Tar Heels got the ball back with 55 seconds left at the Wolfpack 46 as Davenport returned two plays after Ronald Curry sprained his left ankle to lead North Carolina on another scoring march.
Stevens beat Scott again five seconds before halftime as the Tar Heels had their biggest halftime lead since last year's 22-0 advantage over Virginia Tech in the Gator Bowl.
