The Replay: Reliving N.C. State’s win over Clemson that shook up the ACC
A monumental win, a stunning departure and the starting moves of new seasons for the Carolina Hurricanes and area college basketball teams highlighted the Triangle sports world over the past week.
NC State finally slays the ACC giant
Last Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, the N.C. State Wolfpack flipped the ACC championship race and the College Football Playoff picture aside.
N.C. State’s 27-21 double-overtime win over Clemson handed the Tigers their second loss of the young season, essentially eliminating Clemson’s chances of appearing in the College Football Playoff for the seventh consecutive year.
The last time the Wolfpack defeated Clemson was 2011.
The win vaulted the Wolfpack (3-1, 1-0 ACC) into the national rankings at No. 23 and boosted its chances of winning not only the ACC Atlantic Division, but perhaps the league championship. N.C. State last won the ACC in 1979.
Quarterback Devin Leary authored the upset win for N.C. State with four touchdown passes, including two during the two overtime periods. His final throw was a 22-yard scoring strike to Devin Carter that put the Wolfpack up 27-21.
N.C. State’s defense backed Clemson into a fourth-and-5 situation and Tigers quarterback D.J. Uiagalele fired a pass into the end zone that fell incomplete, setting off a wild celebration as Wolfpack fans rushed the field.
Courage fire coach amid allegations
The N.C. Courage fired 58-year-old coach Paul Riley on Thursday after former players accused him of sexual coercion and the NWSL’s player’s union called for an investigation.
“The NC Courage support the players who have come forward and we commend them for bravely sharing their stories,” the team’s statement said. “The North Carolina Football Club is united together in our commitment to creating a safe, positive, and respectful environment, not only within our club but across the league and our great sport.”
The accusations against Riley involve situations that occurred when he coached the Portland Thorns, where Riley coached in 2014 and 2015. Former players Sinead Farrelly and Mana Shim told The Athletic Riley lured them into sexual relationships and socialized with his players.
Farrelly emailed details of her complaint to NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird last April and was told the situation had been “investigated to its conclusion.”
But, when the allegations resurfaced in The Athletic report on Thursday, the Courage fired Riley. Baird released a statement in support of the move, saying she was “shocked and disgusted” by the allegations.
“The league, in concert with the North Carolina Courage, has reacted swiftly in response to these new allegations, and former head coach Paul Riley has been terminated,” Baird said.
The Courage, which won two NWSL championships with Riley as their coach, were in third place in the NWSL standings when he was fired. Assistant coach Sean Nahas was named interim coach.
College basketball season arrives
Well, the practices for the season have started officially, anyway.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski led the team through practice on Tuesday, officially kicking off his 42nd and final season as the Blue Devils head coach. Krzyzewski announced last June he would retire following this season, with associate head coach Jon Scheyer set to take over as head coach for the 2022-23 season.
Krzyzewski said he’d rather people not use the word `last’ as he navigates this season seeking his sixth NCAA championship at Duke.
“I’ve told my staff and everyone around me not to use ‘the last,’ ” Krzyzewski said. “This is my 47th year, my 42nd year at Duke, and I’m going after it the way I’ve gone after every year. As soon as you start saying ‘savor,’ ‘let’s remember this thing,’ whatever, you open up the door for rationalization of not putting it all out there, that it might be OK not to do it to this level. I know that can take place. We’re not having any of it. I’ll savor in May or whatever, after that.”
In Chapel Hill, UNC began practice under head coach Hubert Davis, who replaced the retired Roy Williams in April.
After the pandemic eliminated players working and playing basketball together during the summer of 2020, Davis is glad guards Caleb Love, Kerwin Walton and R.J. Davis had those opportunities this past summer. He said it will make them better players as sophomores.
““They came on campus and put the ball in their hands gave them the keys and said, ‘Hey, you’re in North Carolina, let’s go,’ ” Hubert Davis said. “So they never had that older player to kind of help them along. And so having that experience as a freshman coming back as a sophomore, you can see the confidence, their understanding of what it takes to be successful, and all three of them have improved so much and I’m really excited to see the development from them from their freshman year to their sophomore year.”
N.C. State head coach Kevin Keatts put his team through its first practices with eight players returning from last season’s NIT squad plus a top 25 recruiting class.
“My biggest challenge to this point is how to get guys to play together,” Keatts said about a roster with five new faces. “Which combinations are going to play better together? We have several guys who can play multiple positions.”
This story was originally published October 3, 2021 at 6:00 AM with the headline "The Replay: Reliving N.C. State’s win over Clemson that shook up the ACC."