It's funny how things work out in the NC State universe sometimes. You expect a close, low scoring game and the next thing you know it's 31-10 and then it's 31-24 and then how the hell did this crap happen this is some crap. But it was too little too late for Louisville, despite their kickoff shenanigans, despite Wil Baumann's inability to cleanly catch a long snap.
That's the fun part about bowl games--with all that time off, something is guaranteed to explode in unfortunate fashion, but as for which thing, your guess is as good as anyone else's. In NC State's case, it was a special teams unit that at the very least had managed not to botch a snap in a punting situation.
Mike Glennon was really good. He threw an ill-advised pass that was underthrown and picked off, but he again carried an NC State offense that couldn't really bother the opposing defense with running plays. Tobais Palmer helped him out with a brilliant catch near the end of the first half.
And T.J. Graham...good lord. He may have had the reception of his career in his final game, at least in terms of the way things went after the ball hit his hands.
Defensively, Audie Cole racked up 10 tackles, including four for a loss. David Amerson picked the ball off twice, and Terrell Manning was huge in halting Louisville's first drive with a right-place-right-time interception. Brandan Bishop led the way with 12 tackles.
It was enough, despite the obvious necessity of an interesting finish.