Sixteen seconds are left on the clock, the Wolfpack is down by five and an inexperienced, young quarterback is at the offensive helm.

Fast forward to an incomprehensible throw, catch and 7.5 seconds later, and State is on the verge of a major upset.

The clock crawls to zero, and out of more than 57,000 spectators, three storm the field.

Of the three brave souls to leave the stadium in flexcuffs sporting Carter-Finley grass stains, one was a student.

Tony Botros, a junior in political science, found himself face first, a knee in his back — entirely in shock — that is until he was escorted off the field, past the student section.

“All the students started cheering for me — they were all looking at me,” he said. “I had a little smile on my face, but I wasn’t trying to act too excited with the cops handcuffing me.”

He said he soon realized that he was the only student who made it from the stands to the field after the game.

“It was just like wow, I am the only guy on the field,” he said. “Just me versus the cops now.”

Campus Police trespassed Botros from Carter-Finley, including the parking lots, for 30 days, leaving him ineligible to attend both tonight’s game against Florida State and the Wake Forest game Oct. 14.

Botros declined to comment on whether he jumped or fell onto the field.

According to Sgt. Jon Barnwell of Campus Police, Botros “caught a break” with his punishment.

“An announcement wasn’t made not to come on the field [during the game],” he said, indicating that if an announcement was made, the resulting punishment is a year trespass from the stadium and its parking lots.

He said that if anyone storms the field after an announcement is made, the offense goes on the person’s permanent criminal record.

According to Barnwell, student conduct also gives students a 90-day suspension from all N.C. State athletic events. Paul Cousins, director of the office of student conduct, did not return a phone call Wednesday afternoon to confirm the punishment.

Botros indicated that student conduct dismissed his case and he received no suspension; his only penalty — a 30-day trespass from the stadium — came from Campus Police.

Barnwell noted that if the field is stormed following a game, the events are videotaped and the footage is reviewed to identify anyone not initially caught.

He said Campus Police witnessed Botros jump and have video of the incident.

“We saw him jump,” Barnwell said. “We have him on film jumping.”

Rushing the field is a popular way for students to celebrate a major victory — particularly when FSU is upset in Raleigh.

Barnwell said since the last storming of the field against FSU, opposition to the crowd storming the field has “stepped up.”

He also noted a situation when a fan rushed the field at Purdue and was hit by a falling goal post.

“He is now paralyzed from neck down,” he said.

Barnwell added that injuries following NCSU games include someone tearing up their knee and another receiving a compound fracture in their leg.

He noted the opportunities fans have to get injured while storming the field — many of which have no bearing on whether the goal posts come down or not.

“You got areas where there are eight to 10-feet drops on uneven ground — then you have safety problems when people are running to the goal posts,” he said. “We have video footage of a small child — 10 years old — being lifted out of the crowd by a deputy to keep him from being run over during the last celebration that made it onto the field.”

Botros acknowledged safety concerns, especially with students.

“If all students are rushing onto the field at once someone will probably get hurt,” he said.

He offered an alternative to the current practice, suggesting that students are slowly and orderly let onto the field after a big game.

“You can get students onto the field and have police guarding goal posts or have the goal posts that fold down to prevent people from jumping onto the goal posts and falling and getting hurt,” he said.

Barnwell said Carter-Finley already has collapsible goal posts, but storming the field is not an option and is illegal.

“Don’t try it — because this go around you will be arrested,” he said. “If you want to go to jail — it is a great opportunity for you.”

He also said tearing down the goal posts isn’t an integral part of celebrating.

“You don’t have to damage something to celebrate,” he said.

Barnwell suggested that the University come up with an alternative, safe method of celebration — a new tradition.

“The fans should look to the University, Student Government or athletics for somebody to develop a celebration tradition that is planned and safety is addressed where people can gather at a location after the game and celebrate with one another,” he said.

Barnwell said Campus Police is “in no way, shape, form, or fashion” threatening fans, but he did say that “the last thing we want to do is arrest the students, but it is the first thing we will do if they come on the field.”

He added that storming the field, as an NCSU fan, is never an appropriate action.

“Being a Wolfpack fan like me, I would look at it as a fan that we have the ability to win this game all along, and if we do win this game, to me, it is a win like any other win,” he said. “If you don’t expect to win, then you can’t have the amount of pride in your team that you should have.”

Botros said he has no regrets whether he jumped or fell out of the stands, but he is disappointed that he can’t attend the FSU game — the biggest game of the year in his eyes.

Not only will students face criminal charges if they storm the field, but tonight is the first game the new student ticketing policy will be implemented — where students are awarded sections in the stadium contingent on their arrival time to the gates — kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.