The good news for N.C. State is that while losing to Notre Dame may wipe out whatever hopes it had of College Football Playoff participation, it meant nothing in the ACC race. The same can’t be said of No. 4 Clemson (7-1) on Saturday. Assuming No. 20 N.C. State (6-2) doesn’t collapse down the stretch, this is a de facto Atlantic Division elimination game. It’s almost certainly going to be one of these two teams.
All of which is to say, N.C. State did a good job of not letting the South Carolina loss beat it twice.