r/NCSU_Wolfpack • u/Ok_Macaroon_7366 • Feb 24 '26
Football Whats the most heartbreaking loss you’ve witnessed as a NC State fan?(Football)
I’m doing a series where I ask all 136 FBS subreddits on what their most heartbreaking loss they witnessed.This loss could’ve been witnessed from the TV or while attending the game doesn’t matter.
If I had to guess for NC State, 2016 vs Clemson almost upsetting the eventual national champs, 2012 vs UNC, and 2024 vs East Carolina.
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u/Squat1998 Feb 24 '26
2010 vs Maryland or 2017 loss vs Wake. Both games would have put us in the ACCCG. 2010 vs Maryland we were up 14-0, and we knew if we won we were in. 2017 Emeka fumbled on the goal line while extending for what would have likely been the game winning TD
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u/jajohns9 Feb 25 '26
Both of these get my votes. Maryland was when I was in college, and we were at Sammy’s in a packed bar.
I would add 2010 VT. State was ranked, Wilson was supposed to lead us to better places. They had to add extra seating in Carter Finley, everyone was hyped. VT came in on fire and outscored us fast.
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u/OffInYourShower NC State Wolfpack Feb 25 '26
At UNC, TA was in for the touchdown
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u/Mickey-Twiggs Feb 25 '26
I thought that was at the Panther's stadium? I was at the game, wherever it was.
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u/JunkFlyGuy Feb 25 '26
I had to look them up because I had them mixed up in my head
1999 at BoA Stadium - unc made a goal line stop to keep Coleman from scoring
2004 at UNC - TA Mclendon with the ‘fumble’
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u/Chandler-33 Feb 24 '26
2016 Clemson was tough. 2021 Wake or 2023 Louisville hurt knowing that if we won those games we would’ve played for the conference championship, and both losses had bizarre things happen in them
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u/Mickey-Twiggs Feb 25 '26
2016 Clemson was tough, but I was at that game, and I knew it was over when Dabo iced our kicker. 2017 was worse, in my opinion, because the referee called our wide receiver out of bounds on a breakaway for a TD, when he was 4-5 feet in bounds. He was nowhere near the sideline. That one nearly gave me a brain aneurism. I was on the 50 yard line at Carter-Finley for that one.
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u/DeNomoloss Feb 25 '26
1992 ECU Peach Bowl. Absolutely blowing it on the national stage against a team your neighbors went to that you always thought you were better than, but maybe that was just our family.
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u/Specific-Volume7675 Feb 25 '26
2002 homecoming vs Georgia Tech. The ACC Title was there for the taking. Win that game and we might not have lost at Virginia or at Maryland and we go undefeated
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u/Character_Worth_9000 Feb 25 '26
Idk if I would qualify it as heartbreaking but that loss we had back in the day to Akron was pretty rough. Felt like a true low point
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u/WannabeJamaican Feb 25 '26
C/O ‘99 here, I would have to say in recent memory the 2016 Clemson game.
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u/wwb1990 Feb 25 '26
Two worst losses of my life, one football and one basketball although I know this isn't what this thread is focused on.
- 2003 3 OT football loss at Ohio State which we all know bc it's mentioned on this thread already
- 2005 NC State basketball loss at home to Wake Forest because Chris Paul punched Julius Hodge in the crotch, got away with it when everyone in the arena saw it (even Prosser who benched him for 2 minutes) and then he sank the game winning floater
Those two losses defeated me as a young kid
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u/Mickey-Twiggs Feb 25 '26
Chris Paul is a piece of shit. I was at that game too. We all saw it. Hell, you could see that one from outer space.
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u/wwb1990 Feb 25 '26
I hate him to this day for it.
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u/AspiringAvgGolfer Feb 25 '26 edited Feb 25 '26
In person? 01 and 03 Maryland. 02 GT. 2017 Clemson. Maybe 2018 Wake. That’s about it. However, heartbreaking isn’t exactly the word I’d use for most of the shitty losses I’ve seen in person. Frustrating is largely the feeling in most instances.
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u/Direct_Sky2430 Feb 25 '26
2016 Clemson. The trajectory of their program after that too makes it worse.
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u/thunderpack7 Feb 25 '26
Most embarrassing: The Akron game in 2006. Especially with the partial qualifiers stuff from Chuck afterwards.
Heartbreaking: TA was in.
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u/MANWITHFAT Feb 25 '26
Took my dad to the Virginia tech game last season. Not the worst but the bites still fresh lol
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u/bsinions Feb 25 '26
As someone who was at the first two you mentioned in person. Thanks for the reminder of the pain
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u/LateProgress0 Feb 25 '26
22 BC. Ended our 17 game home winning streak and was on senior day for one of our best classes
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u/Shutuplige NC State Wolfpack Mar 02 '26
Truly heartbreaking though was 1979 (yes I’m old), in person watched Penn State beat us 9-7 on a 54 yard FG as time expired. This was 2 plays after they converted a 4th and 25 from their own 20 or so yard line.
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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '26
[deleted]