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Seriously? NC State’s Huge New Video Board Hit By Thunderstorm During Home Opener

Author Phil Harris
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - SEPTEMBER 9: A cheerleader of the NC State Wolfpack performs during the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Carter-Finley Stadium on September 9, 2023 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)

It was a heartbreaking weekend for many of North Carolina’s college football teams. The Charlotte 49ers couldn’t hang on to win against Maryland. The App State Mountaineers probably feel like they were robbed by the Tar Heels. And the ECU Pirates had a rough outing against Marshall. But no one could have felt worse over the weekend than the folks who manage NC State’s Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.

In addition to delaying numerous college football games on Saturday, the storms that rolled through the state of North Carolina also put the hurt on a seriously expensive TV. This season, NC State unveiled a brand new $15-million scoreboard in Carter-Finley Stadium. The 7,121-square-foot video board is the 11th largest in all of college football, according to USA Today. Apparently, Mother Nature was not impressed.

One quarter into the NC State’s home opener against Notre Dame on Saturday, a thunderstorm caused the scoreboard to short out, leaving a glitched video display. The initial theory was that it was struck by lightning, but the school says that didn’t happen. The video board was mostly working after the storm delay, but it will have to be checked out to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

This is like driving a brand new car off the lot and immediately getting into a wreck, only much pricier. To make matters worse, the Wolfpack was trounced by Notre Dame, 45-24. They play VMI at Carter-Finley Stadium this coming Saturday (9/16). Hopefully for NC State, everything is working the way it should. CBS Sports Senior Writer Will Brinson posted this video of the storm-battered scoreboard:

Phil Harris is 50% of "Phil & Mel in the Afternoon" on K104.7. He has been with the station since 2013 and on the air in Charlotte since 2000. Before coming to the Queen City, Phil worked for radio stations in Pittsburgh, Austin, and Seattle. In addition to the weekly "Throwback Threesome" music video feature, Phil writes about things that matter to Charlotte sports fans and pet owners. He happens to be both.

Here's What ESPN Thinks About The Major North Carolina College Football Teams

Well, we have made it folks. We have made it! College football is finally here and it is undisputably my favorite part of fall. There is nothing better, than the passion, the rivalries, and the gameday outfits. Turning on College GameDay on a Saturday morning (when it’s an away game of course because you better believe I’m at every home game). The band, cheerleaders, and dance team are just some of what makes college football the best sport in my opinion.

But how are the major North Carolina college football teams expected to perform this year?

ESPN compiled a list of all 133 FBS teams and ranked them in different tiers ahead of the season. But these aren’t your typical 1-133 rankings. Because honestly, those preseasons mean nothing. It’s the end of the season when I want my team to be ranked. So instead these range from tier 1 (yes, them again) to tier 20 (told you it could be worse). Other interesting tiers include “kinda, sorta, maybe” and “so hot right now”.

There are 7 major North Carolina college football teams. Duke, NC State, Wake Forest, and UNC are all in the ACC.  Some with high expectations and others with basically zero expectations. Appalachian State is in the Sun Belt and East Carolina and Charlotte are both in the American Conference. There are some returning coaches and superstar players with high expectations amongst these teams. There are also teams with new coaches or who are starting over at key positions with a lot of unknowns.

So take a look at each of these major North Carolina college football teams and what ESPN thinks about their upcoming season. Each team is listed in alphabetical order (to take out my admitted bias). You can read the full tiers list of every Division 1 team via ESPN here.

  • App State

    BOONE, NORTH CAROLINA - OCTOBER 19: Tyler Page #20 of the Appalachian State Mountaineers gets tackled by Chance Singleton #11 of the Georgia State Panthers in the second quarter at Kidd Brewer Stadium on October 19, 2022 in Boone, North Carolina.

    BOONE, NORTH CAROLINA – OCTOBER 19: Tyler Page #20 of the Appalachian State Mountaineers gets tackled by Chance Singleton #11 of the Georgia State Panthers in the second quarter at Kidd Brewer Stadium on October 19, 2022 in Boone, North Carolina.

    Tier 11: They’re frisky enough to pull a surprise. Joined by several other teams in their conference App makes the “they could be overlooked and win a game” class. And that is something the Mountaineers have been known to do. ESPN put 11 teams in this tier- Air Force, Army, Coastal Carolina, FAU, Fresno State, Georgia Southern, James Madison, Marshall, North Texas, Ohio, San Diego State, and Western Kentucky.

  • Charlotte

    CHARLOTTE, NC - NOVEMBER 11: Wide receiver Trent Bostick #81 of the Charlotte 49ers celebrates with fans after scoring a touchdown during the fourth quarter of the 49ers' football game against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Jerry Richardson Stadium on November 11, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

    CHARLOTTE, NC – NOVEMBER 11: Wide receiver Trent Bostick #81 of the Charlotte 49ers celebrates with fans after scoring a touchdown during the fourth quarter of the 49ers’ football game against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Jerry Richardson Stadium on November 11, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

    Tier 20: Told you it could be worse. ESPN doesn’t have high hopes for this team that honestly I forgot was even D1. New coach Biff Poggi has created an interesting stir around Charlotte, but will he win on the field? Joining UNCC in this worst of the worst tier are Akron, FIU, Hawaii, Kent State, New Mexico State, Texas State, and UMASS.

  • Duke

    WINSTON-SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA - OCTOBER 30: A.T. Perry #9 of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons makes a catch againt Leonard Johnson #33 of the Duke Blue Devils during the first half of their game at Truist Field on October 30, 2021 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

    WINSTON-SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA – OCTOBER 30: A.T. Perry #9 of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons makes a catch againt Leonard Johnson #33 of the Duke Blue Devils during the first half of their game at Truist Field on October 30, 2021 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

    Tier 6: Something good to watch before basketball season. Duke has been above average at some points in football, but they will always be a basketball school.

  • East Carolina

    ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND - NOVEMBER 20: Quarterback Holton Ahlers #12 of the East Carolina Pirates celebrates a touchdown against the Navy Midshipmen during the first half at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on November 20, 2021 in Annapolis, Maryland.

    ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND – NOVEMBER 20: Quarterback Holton Ahlers #12 of the East Carolina Pirates celebrates a touchdown against the Navy Midshipmen during the first half at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on November 20, 2021 in Annapolis, Maryland.

    Tier 16: They probably won’t be awful. I mean, I guess that’s something to be proud of? Joining ECU in this category are Buffalo, Louisiana, Louisiana Tech, Miami (Ohio), Northern Illinois, Old Dominion, Tulsa, Utah State, and Wyoming.

  • NC State

    Wake Forest v NC State

    RALEIGH, NC – NOVEMBER 05: Cyrus Fagan #4 of the North Carolina State Wolfpack intercepts a pass intended for Taylor Morin #2 of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons during the second half at Carter-Finley Stadium on November 5, 2022 in Raleigh, North Carolina. NC State won 30-21.

    Tier 3B: Teams that should prevent a lot of points from being scored. This tier included 6 teams with anticipated impressive defenses- NC State, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, and Pitt.

  • North Carolina

    UNC Football

    CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 25: Drake Maye #10 of the North Carolina Tar Heels breaks away from Drake Thomas #32 of the North Carolina State Wolfpack for a touchdown during the first half of their game at Kenan Memorial Stadium on November 25, 2022 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Wolfpack won 30-27 in overtime.

    Tier 3A: Teams that should score a bunch of points. In contrast, these 4 teams including UNC behind Drake Maye, are expected to have high-powered offenses. Other teams in this tier are Arkansas, Ole Miss, and TCU.

  • Wake Forest

    RALEIGH, NC - NOVEMBER 05: Sam Hartman #10 of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons drops back to pass during the second half of their game against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Carter-Finley Stadium on November 5, 2022 in Raleigh, North Carolina. NC State won 30-21.

    Tier 6: Something good to watch before basketball season. It will be interesting to see how Wake Forest fares without quarterback Sam Hartman. Unlike Duke who is also in this tier, I also don’t think of Wake as a basketball school. But ESPN but them in this tier along with Duke, Kansas, Maryland, Syracuse, and UCLA.

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