One of the most rewarding aspects of the 2020 football season for NC State Wolfpack football was that this squad took advantage of most of the opportunities in front of them:

• The Pack avoided a head-scratching late-season loss against a slate of ACC teams it was supposed to beat, even if some of them were too close for comfort like the 7-point win at Syracuse.

• It defeated two ranked teams in Liberty and Pittsburgh by coming through in the clutch with big plays on offense, defense and special teams.

• It won most of the so-called 50-50 games, matchups against teams like Wake Forest, Virginia, etc.

The season was not perfect. Most notably, the Pack had a win staring them in the face against Miami and let it slip away in the fourth quarter, but overall it was hard to look back on the 2020 season with regrets.

That remains the case after the year concluded with a 23-21 loss to Kentucky in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla., on Saturday, but the loss to the Wildcats was one of those rare missed opportunities this season for the Wolfpack.

It was well-documented going into the game that Kentucky does not throw the football that well. Viewing them shows why. There is no downfield passing threat for the Wildcats. Thus the recipe for a win Saturday turned out to be potentially simpler than first believed: get a lead.

NC State could never get a lead.