NC State Wolfpack football's season ended with a 23-21 loss to Kentucky in Jacksonville, Fla., Saturday afternoon at the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.

It’s time for a final look at the contest with some Monday morning quarterbacking:

The game looked bleak when Kentucky went up 16-7 with 5:45 left, but then the Wildcats handed NC State a gift.

A pair of personal foul flags by the Wildcats on a kickoff return added 30 yards and gave the Wolfpack tremendous field position at the UK 37. On the next play, a 21-yard pass from redshirt junior quarterback Bailey Hockman to his classmate and receiver Thayer Thomas added an extra eight yards on the end for a roughing the passer.

Two snaps later, sophomore running back Zonovan Knight scored on a 13-yard TD run, and just like that, in a span of 59 seconds, NC State was back in at 16-14.

The defense then stepped up, forcing a three-and-out that included an incomplete pass on second down and ultimately took just 1:35 off the clock. NC State took over at its own 20-yard line with 3:11 left and with momentum.

That's when disaster struck.

Hockman's pass attempt over the middle to fifth-year senior tight end Cary Angeline was deflected by a junior linebacker DeAndre Square, who appeared to read Hockman's eyes on the play, and then picked off by junior linebacker Jamin Davis. A play later, redshirt sophomore running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. scored on a 26-yard touchdown run.

1. Defense (relatively speaking): Playing without arguably its three best players in junior nose tackle Alim McNeill, redshirt sophomore linebacker Payton Wilson and junior safety Tanner Ingle plus a fourth starter in sophomore linebacker Drake Thomas was compounded when redshirt junior linebacker Isaiah Moore was injured and did not play much of the first half.

Thus at halftime, about half of the normal starters was not available. Yet the bottom line is with three minutes to go the defense had held Kentucky to 16 points.

2. Using wide receiver depth: Six different wideouts caught passes, as did some rarely used fullbacks/tight ends like fifth-year senior Dylan Autenrieth and redshirt sophomore Trent Pennix. It was also a second straight good performance for fifth-year senior receiver C.J. Riley, who seemed to be rounding into form in his return from a torn ACL in 2019, as Riley caught three passes for 38 yards and a score.

3. Not quitting: Nothing really went right in the first half. A shorthanded defense became even more shorthanded. There was a missed field goal and zero points from the offense. Down 13-0, it would have been easy for this to be an even longer afternoon, but that's not the character of the 2020 Wolfpack team. It was rarely pretty Saturday, but the Wolfpack still gave itself a chance to win.

1. Defending the run: Kentucky is a good running team, and it was going to get its yards, especially with all the missing components for the Wolfpack's defense. Still, Kentucky ended up with 281 yards rushing and averaged 5.9 yards per carry. Three different tailback for the Wildcats ran at least nine times, and all three had at least one run that went at least 18 yards.

2. Running the football: The harsh reality is that, perhaps in spite of its reputation, NC State was not a good running team in 2020. That was further illustrated when it ran for just 50 yards against Kentucky. That put a lot of pressure on Hockman to be great, and unfortunately for the Wolfpack offense Hockman threw three interceptions.

3. Playing a clean game: Three interceptions, two missed field goals and giving Kentucky a third-down conversion three times due to penalties are just some of the areas where NC State shot itself in the foot. Simply put: it made too many mistakes to win.

NC State’s offensive line vs. Kentucky’s defensive front

Against a unit averaging just 1.2 sacks per game and that had allowed some big rushing totals in SEC play, NC State ran for just 50 yards and surrendered three sacks. This was a win for Kentucky.

Kentucky’s offensive line vs. NC State’s defensive front

Without McNeill going against a Kentucky offensive line that has three All-SEC members and a quarterback with mobility, this was a tall order. Statistically, it shows Kentucky won: 281 yards rushing and no sacks.

NC State’s wide receivers vs. Kentucky’s secondary

UK did a good job taking away some of the downfield options, but overall NC State's receivers did their part and probably could have been more effective had Hockman performed better.

Kentucky's wide receivers vs. NC State’s secondary

To be fair to UK's wideouts, they didn't really have a chance, but this was a win for NC State.

Quarterbacks

Kentucky's Terry Wilson only threw for 99 yards and was not a threat running on Saturday, but he also did not turn the football over (did throw an apparent pick that was overturned upon review). Hockman's three interceptions were a critical factor in the loss. Otherwise, Hockman probably performed better.

Running backs

The best running back performances mainly belonged to Kentucky. The trio of senior Asim Rose (12 rushes for 148 yards), redshirt sophomore Kavosiey Smoke (nine rushes for 45 yards) and Rodriguez (17 rushes for 84 yards and two scores) all had their moments on Saturday.

Tight ends/fullbacks

Autenrieth and Pennix got involved in the passing game, but Angeline did not and that's not ideal for the Wolfpack offense. Kentucky's duo of senior Justin Rigg and redshirt sophomore Keaton Upshaw had a combined three receptions for 33 yards and were more productive.

Special teams

In addition to missing two field goals, the Wolfpack had a great chance to block a punt and didn't. This was a win for Kentucky.

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