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A little trickery on offense. A lot of jarring hits on defense, especially the one that knocked the quarterback on his back and out of the game.
That was all No. 17 North Carolina State needed to dissolve the Irish mystique Wednesday in the Gator Bowl.
Led by quarterback Philip Rivers and a defense that didn’t give up a touchdown for the second straight game, the Wolfpack (11-3) finished off their best season in history with a 28-6 win over Notre Dame.
Dantonio Burnette set the tone early when he hammered Irish quarterback Carlyle Holiday, separating his shoulder.
“When I hit him I heard him groan, and when I looked down he was still on the ground,” Burnette said. “I was like, ‘OK, this is going to turn the game around now.’ “
