The modest goals for this NC State football team were established a while ago. Perhaps expectations were heightened in the preseason/early games by the perceived soft nature of its overall schedule, both outside and within the conference.

But in recent weeks any such talk of an overachieving record settled back into the realistic realms.This year for NC State is about making sure you are playing some bowl game over the holidays, showing real potential of returning real soon to the level of the past pair of seasons and most of all finding a quarterback for the future.

Reaching those goals is going to require an ugly win or two, and that’s what NC State accomplished Thursday night against Syracuse. Wolfpack fans should take it and move on.