N.C. State’s biggest win this season is over Louisville, on a beautiful moonlight night at Carter-Finley Stadium. The Wolfpack’s second biggest win is over its own worst instincts, at a time of soul-searching in dark places.
In the wake of the season-opening loss to South Carolina, a game the Wolfpack dominated statistically only to sabotage itself at key moments, N.C. State rallied and regrouped. Against a lower caliber of opposition, to be sure, but the Wolfpack avoided the cardinal sin of letting one loss beat it twice.
By the time it was called upon to be at its best again, it went down to Tallahassee and took care of business against a weakened Florida State team, then staked its claim in the Atlantic Division with the Louisville win.