28 ■ THE WOLFPACKER
BY NOAH FLEISCHMAN
AND ETHAN MCDOWELL
C State ended its regular
season with a five-game
winning streak and went
into the Pop-Tarts Bowl on
Dec. 28 with a chance to
reach the double-digit vic-
tory milestone for only the
second time in program history.
Following an October bye week, the
Wolfpack defeated Clemson, Miami,
Wake Forest, Virginia Tech and North
Carolina. It was an impressive late-sea-
son surge that lifted NC State back into
the Top 25, with the Pack sitting at No.
19 in the Associated Press poll prior to
its bowl matchup against Kansas State.
After dropping to 4-3 following to a
24-3 loss to Duke on Oct. 14, the Pack
rallied around its leaders. Graduate line-
backer Payton Wilson said the defense
needed to play with more toughness,
and the unit answered that call, allow-
ing 15.4 points per game during the
team's last five games.
The offense, with both sophomore
MJ Morris and graduate Brennan Arm-
strong under center, continued to take
steps forward and scored 28.8 points
an outing over that same span of five
contests.
Here are some of the year's top per-
formers and most memorable mo-
ments.
Offensive MVP
Freshman wide receiver Kevin "KC"
Concepcion made an electrifying debut,
THE LATE THE LATE
SHOW SHOW
Unfazed By A Quarterback Switch,
NC State Comes On Strong
In The Season's Second Half
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