Heavy sigh. NC State outgained Clemson, even slightly edging the Tigers in yards per play, but a special teams score, a minus-one in turnover margin, and a confounding replay reversal—among other things—conspired to hand the Pack a 38-31 defeat on homecoming. Rather than all but sewing up a first appearance in the ACC title game, State will need to win out and hope for a Clemson loss to Florida State in order to play for a league title.
It’s been a rough couple of weeks, with Notre Dame dashing the college football playoff dream and Clemson wrestling away the coveted control of your own destiny in the ACC, but the Pack can still go 9-3 against a difficult schedule and post a 10-win season for just the second time in school history by adding a bowl win (or, less likely, an ACC title win).