There have been a lot of different contours to a lot of different moments to what has been, well, a confusing year of football. But last week it felt a little like NC State found an identity on the offensive side to match its defense, and this week State maintained that simplified approach, let its defense cook, and rode the results to a surprisingly straightforward win in Blacksburg.
State came out with an emphasis on running the ball, unsurprisingly, and decided to play the long game, which is I guess a generous way of saying that they were hoping the ground game could ground down the other team—just as Virginia Tech was doing the same.