It's hard to find a silver lining, but after the way it started it could have been much worse.
The NC State defense continued to struggle mightily against ranked opponents, surrendering 553 yards of offense Saturday afternoon in a 45-34 loss to rival North Carolina. Granted, they were no ordinary offenses—Clemson, Carolina, and Florida State will likely all be top 10 teams when the rankings are released today and the Tar Heels are second in the nation in yards per play—but the Pack allowed an insurmountable 7.29 yards per snap in those three losses to ranked opponents.
Led by a spirited performance by senior quarterback Jacoby Brissett, State kept up with Carolina in total yardage if not explosiveness but ultimately failed to turn long drives into touchdowns; that and an unfortunate first quarter where the team missed several opportunities to stall drives ultimately spelled doom.