Wake Forest visits N.C. State at noon on Sunday, Feb. 3, continuing a scheduling tradition that began when the Wolfpack met Maryland prior to Super Bowl VII on January 14, 1973.
North Carolina also travels to Florida State for a game at 2 PM.
The '73 meeting between the third-ranked Wolfpack and second-ranked Terrapins was far more than just another ACC regular season game. Both programs were undefeated, with N.C. State sophomore David Thompson, the greatest player in ACC history, just coming into his own.
The Super Bowl was a relatively new phenomenon back then, largely free of the hype and crush of commercialism that today engulf the game. And, in those pre-cable days, college basketball was a relative rarity on national TV.
The intense clash of ACC heavyweights prior to the '73 football game drew considerable attention, and came to a fitting conclusion on a tip by the 6-4 Thompson, who soared above Maryland's Tom McMillen and Len Elmore, both far taller players. That proved the winning basket in an 87-85 victory. (Dunks were not allowed, so a tip-in was Thompson's best option.)
The forward finished with 37 points and the Wolfpack went on to an undefeated season that ended with the ACC Tournament. (On probation for violations during Thompson's recruitment, N.C. State was barred from NCAA participation in 1973.)
Led by Thompson, an eventual two-time national player of the year and three-time ACC player of the year, Norman Sloan's Wolfpack dethroned UCLA, the perennial champion, en route to the following season's NCAA title.
The 1973 game benefited the ACC, heightening its stature with a showing far more captivating than the NFL version put on by Miami and Washington. The Dolphins prevailed handily, and finished 17-0.
New England seeks to match - and exceed - that unblemished mark against the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXXII, the Patriots' 19th game of this NFL season.
| SUPER SUNDAY | ||
| ACC Records When Playing Same Day As Super Bowl | ||
| Boston College | 0-0 | .000 |
| Clemson | 0-2 | .000 |
| Duke | 3-2 | .600 |
| Florida State | 3-3 | .500 |
| Georgia Tech | 2-5 | .286 |
| Maryland | 4-6 | .400 |
| Miami | 0-0 | .000 |
| North Carolina | 7-4 | .636 |
| N.C. State | 9-5 | .643 |
| Virginia | 4-2 | .667 |
| Virginia Tech | 0-0 | .000 |
| Wake Forest | 3-5 | .375 |
| Date | Super Bowl Result | Basketball Result |
| 2/3/08 | N.Y. Giants vs. New England | Wake Forest @ N.C. State |
| UNC @ Florida State | ||
| 2/4/07 | Indianapolis 29-Chicago 17 | Florida State 68-Duke 67 |
| 2/5/06 | Pittsburgh 21-Seattle 10 | N.C. State 62-Maryland 58 |
| 2/6/05 | New England 24-Philadelphia 21 | UNC 81-Florida State 60 |
| 2/1/04 | New England 32-Carolina 29 | N.C. State 81-Maryland 69 |
| Florida State 88-Savannah State 73 | ||
| 1/26/03 | Tampa Bay 48-Oakland 21 | Wake Forest 71-Florida State 60 |
| N.C. State 86-UNC 77 | ||
| 2/3/02 | New England 20-St. Louis 17 | Maryland 89-N.C. State 73 |
| Missouri 81-Virginia 77 | ||
| 1/28/01 | Baltimore 34-N.Y. Giants 7 | UNC 60-N.C. State 52 |
| 1/30/00 | St. Louis 23-Tennessee 16 | Virginia 76-Wake Forest 67 |
| 1/31/99 | Denver 34-Atlanta 19 | Wake Forest 85-Maryland 72 |
| UNC 75-Ga. Tech 66 | ||
| 1/25/98 | Denver 31-Green Bay 24 | Wake Forest 74-Missouri 65 |
| N.C. State 56-Ga. Tech 51 | ||
| 1/26/97 | Green Bay 35-New England 21 | UNC 61-Clemson 48 |
| Maryland 74-Duke 70 | ||
| 1/28/96 | Dallas 27-Pittsburgh 17 | Duke 83-Maryland 73 |
| Connecticut 76-Virginia 46 | ||
| 1/29/95 | S.F. 49-San Diego 26 | Ga Tech 81-Florida State 68 |
| 1/30/94 | Dallas 30-Buffalo 13 | UNC 85-Wake Forest 61 |
| 1/31/93 | Dallas 52-Buffalo 17 | N.C. State 72-Clemson 70 |
| Florida State 96-Ga. Tech 77 | ||
| 1/26/92 | Washington 37-Buffalo 24 | NO ACC ACTION |
| 1/27/91 | N.Y. Giants 20-Buffalo 19 | Ga. Tech 88-UNC 86 |
| 1/28/90 | S.F. 55-Denver 10 | Virginia 71-Wake Forest 70 (OT) |
| Duke 88-Ga. Tech 86 | ||
| 1/22/89 | S.F. 20-Cincinnati 16 | Illinois 103-Ga. Tech 92 (2OT) |
| 1/31/88 | Washington 42-Denver 20 | N.C. State 71-DePaul 66 |
| 1/25/87 | N.Y. Giants 39-Denver 20 | Kansas 74-N.C. State 60 |
| 1/26/86 | Chicago 46-New England 10 | UNC 73-Notre Dame 61 |
| 1/30/83 | Washington 27-Miami 17 | Arkansas 68-Wake Forest 65 |
| 1/24/82 | S.F. 26-Cincinnati 21 | Virginia 74-Louisville 56 |
| 1/25/81 | Oakland 27-Philadelphia 10 | Virginia 89-Ohio State 73 |
| 1/20/80 | Pittsburgh 31-L.A. Rams 19 | Maryland 92-UNC 86 |
| 1/21/79 | Pittsburgh 35-Dallas 31 | Duke 75-N.C. State 69 |
| 1/15/78 | Dallas 27-Denver 10 | UNC 71-Wake Forest 69 |
| 1/9/77 | Oakland 32-Minnesota 14 | Maryland 87-N.C. State 80 |
| 1/18/76 | Pittsburgh 21-Dallas 17 | N.C. State 68-UNC 67 |
| 1/13/74 | Miami 24-Minnesota 7 | N.C. State 80-Maryland 74 |
| 1/14/73 | Miami 14-Washington 7 | N.C. State 87-Maryland 85 |
- N.C. State is 1-1 when New England reaches the Super Bowl; each time the Patriots won. The Wolfpack is 0-2 when the N.Y. Giants make the Super Bowl.
- This is Wake Forest's ninth game on Super Bowl Sunday. Wake has not played previously on the same day either New England or the N.Y. Giants were in the Super Bowl, and never faced N.C. State in Super circumstances.
- North Carolina has played on three of the five occasions New England appeared in the Super Bowl. The Tar Heels won all three, two when the Patriots lost (1986 and 1997) and once when they were victorious (2005). The most recent UNC triumph was over Florida State, this year's opponent.
- UNC played twice when the N.Y. Giants were in the Super Bowl, winning when the Giants lost (2001) and losing when the Giants won (1991).
- FSU is 1-1 when the Pats are in the Super Bowl, having defeated mighty Savannah State in 2004. Florida State has yet to play when the Giants made the Super Bowl.
- No ACC team has played more on Super Sunday than N.C. State, with 15 games counting this year's. UNC has been the next most frequently featured, with a dozen appearances prior to a Super Bowl.
- Duke played on Super Sunday once since 1997, losing at home to FSU last season. Florida State, in the ACC since 1992, has played more often than Duke as prelude to pro football's big game.
- There have been 11 nonconference games played by ACC teams on Super Bowl Sunday. League teams are 6-5 in those contests.