The No. 10 NC State had a prime opportunity for a program-defining win Saturday night at No. 5 Clemson, but the Wolfpack couldn’t get the job done.

NC State fell 30-20 to the Tigers, the Pack’s 9th straight loss at Death Valley as Clemson established itself as the early frontrunner in the ACC Atlantic Division.

For the Wolfpack, the loss was a missed opportunity, a somewhat familiar defeat for a program that has been on the cusp for a while but hasn’t quite been able to get over the hump. The Pack isn’t out of the ACC title picture, but the road got a whole lot more difficult Saturday night in South Carolina.

Here are 5 reasons NC State came up short against the Tigers:

Momentum shift around the half

NC State scored its lone touchdown of the opening half with just 1:51 left on the clock, as Devin Leary dropped back and hit tight end Cedd Seabrough in the end zone on a well-designed play.

The touchdown gave the Wolfpack a 10-6 lead, breaking the early mold of settling for field goals. With that lead, NC State had a prime opportunity to seize all the momentum in the game. The Pack just needed to hold Clemson for 1:51, head into the locker room with the lead and get the ball back to start the 2nd half.

Instead, the Tigers marched 75 yards down the field on 8 plays, burning just 1:20 off the clock. DJ Uiagalelei completed his first 2 passes of the drive for 17 yards, with Will Shipley adding a 12-yard rush.

Uiagalelei then hit Shipley wide open on the sideline, with the star running back carrying it to the 1. Uiagalelei punched it on the very next play, giving Clemson a 13-10 lead heading into halftime.

Then on the opening offensive play of the 2nd half, Leary got sacked en route to a very quick 3-and-out for the Wolfpack’s offense. Clemson got the ball back, and marched 58 yards down the field in just 4 plays to take a 20-10 lead.

The Pack’s inability to close the opening half and start the 2nd cost it a chance at the victory. The momentum was there for the taking, and NC State gave it away.

Couldn’t get the 1 big play

In a heavyweight battle between good teams, the advantage is going to lie with the more talented roster playing at home.

How do you offset that? By getting 1 or 2 key plays, home runs on offense or a big takeaway on defense to make up for the talent disparity. And the Pack just couldn’t get that.

On offense, the Wolfpack had just 5 passing plays go for 15 or more yards and no rushing plays for more than 10. And on defense, NC State couldn’t get a turnover it desperately needed.

But that wasn’t for lack of opportunity. In fact, Aydan White dropped a clear interception during the 3rd quarter with NC State still within a score. White had a real shot to take it to the end zone if he had hauled it in. And then when the Pack got the ball back, Clemson got a tip-drill interception to help put the outcome to bed.

Pack lost the line of scrimmage, badly

The biggest talent gap between the teams made the biggest difference, as NC State lost the battle on the line of scrimmage badly on both sides of the ball.

When Clemson was on defense, the Tigers’ line dominated up front. The Wolfpack had just 34 rushing yards and averaged 1.6 yards per carry. Clemson had 3 sacks and 5 quarterback hurries, as Clemson lived in NC State’s backfield and made things as difficult as possible for the Wolfpack’s offense.

When Clemson was on offense, the line did a great job of dominating. Clemson had 145 rushing yards, and while the Tigers averaged just 3.8 per carry, they had a handful of big runs. In the passing game, NC State had just 3 hurries and no sacks as Uiagalelei had all the time in the world to make plays.

The strength of Clemson’s team is its defensive front, and that was on full display. The Pack had no answer, and it was a major reason NC State lost the game.

Playing behind the chains

NC State’s subpar offense made it even harder on itself, as the Wolfpack spent a lot of the game playing behind the chains.

The Wolfpack had 14 plays where the distance to go was greater than 10 yards, as penalties and negative plays doomed NC State throughout. NC State’s offense has struggled to move the ball enough, and playing behind the chains that often is not a recipe for success — especially against Clemson.

Offensive play-calling

One of the biggest questions with NC State’s performance Saturday night was the offensive play-calling, as Tim Beck’s unit just didn’t establish a ton of flow.

Jordan Houston averaged 4.6 yards per carry, yet he only had 7 carries. The Pack ran countless screen passes that went nowhere, as the it just couldn’t create space against the Clemson defensive front.

The Wolfpack survived it, but NC State nearly turned the ball over on a trick play throw from depth running back Demarcus Jones. NC State didn’t take many shots down the field, and it seemed like Leary was over and over again quickly resorting to 2nd and 3rd options that halted drives.

Beck’s play-calling has been questioned by fans consistently through the year, and it was a point of contention again against the Tigers.