Syracuse’s high-flying, air-it-out offense played as advertised. The Orange kept the ball out of the hands of freshman quarterback CJ Bailey, running over 30 more plays than the Pack and holding the ball for almost 14 more minutes. Syracuse converted eight of 15 third downs while NC State converted just one of six.

An NC State fumble late in the second quarter and another fumble early in the third resulted in the Orange's first two touchdowns. Prior to those giveaways, the Wolfpack managed to limit the damage from Syracuse's time-consuming drives.

The Wolfpack fell to the Orange at Carter-Finley Stadium, 24-17, and moved to 0-3 in ACC play — its worst start since 2014. N.C. State is tied with North Carolina for last in the conference. N.C. State (3-4,