3. Throttling Florida State, Louisville
I know it’s a copout to put two games here, but these wins were majorly symbolic for NC State and showed how far in the opposite directions these programs were trending. NC State had finally broken through and beaten these two squads in 2017 in hard-fought matches, but these games were absolute beatdowns.
NC State out rushed Florida State 177-24 and sacked quarterback Deondre Francois five times. It thoroughly outclassed the Seminoles and jumped out to a 27-7 lead early. Ryan Finley was 21-27 passing for 240 yards and three touchdowns. Freshman running back Ricky Person burst onto the scene with two rushing touchdowns. The home game was probably the most entertaining and fun game for Wolfpack fans to watch all season.
NC State’s win over Louisville was simply a good team cruising past a hapless squad. NC State out-gained Louisville 354-157 through the air and was 10-14 on third down conversions. Kelvin Harmon, Jakobi Meyers and Emeka Emezie each had seven catches. It was a stark contrast to the first four years of the series, which had seen the Wolfpack lose six of eight games against the Cardinals all-time.