NC State football’s uphill climb, as illustrated in the 1971 school yearbook

I’ve been looking through old NC State yearbooks—they’re all online!—because what else am I supposed to be doing in June? Going outside? The heck with that, there’s bugs outside.

I like to comb through old stuff for interesting sports-related finds, which in this case led me to the discovery of this cartoon from the 1971 edition of the Agromeck:

(Artwork by Ron Scullin, ‘72, in the 1971 Agromeck. Via NC State Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center.)

The years pass but the sentiments remain the same, huh. It feels like this cartoon describes every season, anyway.

In particular, it’s a reference to NC State’s unfortunate 3-7-1 1970 campaign, which also was head coach Earle Edwards’ final season in Raleigh. Edwards had an up-and-down tenure but led the Wolfpack to five ACC championships—hence the “Mt. Edwards” bit.

Lou Holtz would take over a couple years later and remind everybody that actually it’s better to pack light if you’re going mountain climbing.