While it now seems like eons ago, back-to-back losses to Furman in the 1980s had rippling ramifications for N.C. State football.
Those losses helped seal the fate of Wolfpack coach Tom Reed, who resigned in 1985 after three straight 3-8 seasons.
They helped usher in Dick Sheridan, the former Furman coach who impressed then-NCSU athletic director Willis Casey and was hired to replace Reed.
The turnaround was swift for the Pack. Taking basically the same group of players, Sheridan and his staff went 8-3-1 in 1986 and took the Pack to six bowls in seven seasons, making N.