On day Ted Brown’s record could fall, NC State football may turn back clock vs UNC
It’s fitting that on the Saturday that a cherished and long-standing ACC rushing record may fall, N.C. State’s best chance of winning against North Carolina may be to turn back the clock to the Ted Brown days.
Grind it out. Pound it out. Three yards and a cloud of crunched up tire pieces.
The era in which Brown set an ACC record that it once seemed may never be broken was a different one than the one in which Clemson’s spectacular Travis Etienne is about to break it, these days of spread offenses and speedy backs who can do amazing things in space. No one better exemplifies those trends than Etienne, whose receiving numbers (274 yards) are almost keeping pace with his rushing numbers (436 yards) this season.
He’s a mere 119 yards away from breaking Brown’s record of 4,602 yards, easily achieved Saturday against Syracuse. If Etienne doesn’t, it’ll be for the same reason he hasn’t already this season: Because he’s watching the second half of yet another blowout. Given the way Syracuse’s season has gone, Etienne might be watching by the second quarter.
But that record is almost certain to fall, one that has stood for more than four decades, and while Etienne carves out his niche in the future at noon on Saturday, N.C. State may be digging back into its past at the same time.
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N.C. State’s offense isn’t nearly as dynamic without Devin Leary slinging the ball around, and it’s unfortunate the injured quarterback will miss this first meeting of ranked teams in this rivalry since 1993. But its strength and foundation has always been the power running of Ricky Person and Bam Knight. And with Bailey Hockman delivering decidedly mixed returns in his limited time under center this season, State has no choice but to give its backs the ball and see where they go.
As it did with Amos Lawrence when Brown was piling up yards at N.C. State, North Carolina has that in its arsenal as well. The versatile duo of Michael Carter and Javonte Williams has defied expectations this season, each in his own way, threatening inside and outside and in the passing game. It’s what Mack Brown wanted from his offense, combining modern spread principles with old-school power running. But the Tar Heels also have Sam Howell and an array of dangerous play-makers, and while it hasn’t all been smooth sailing for UNC in the passing game this season, it’s a potentially explosive offense either way.
So as it behooves N.C. State to keep the ball out of Howell’s hands as much as possible, this also argues for a clock-winding, drive-prolonging ball control approach to this one. Bleed the clock and turn it back to the days when Brown exacted a heavy price from anyone who wanted to try to tackle him, and heck, throw Lawrence and Kelvin Bryant in there too, from the days when one running back would carry an entire offense upon his considerable shoulders.
State’s best shot at winning Saturday runs directly between the tackles, just as it did for Brown. It’s a different era and a different generation and the record he set is finally about to fall, but what’s old is new yet again.
This story was originally published October 24, 2020 at 7:56 AM with the headline "On day Ted Brown’s record could fall, NC State football may turn back clock vs UNC."
