CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Ben Finley picked up an NC State flag as he and his teammates celebrated Friday’s double-overtime victory against rival North Carolina. After waving it toward his team’s joyous fans a few times, he planted it at midfield just above the Tar Heels’ logo.

It was a gesture meant to stake the Wolfpack’s claim to bragging rights for the next 12 months.

But he could easily have been taking ownership of Kenan Stadium, at least symbolically, as his own. Or more precisely, reclaiming it in the name of his family.

Finley’s older brother, Ryan, went 3-0 against UNC as State’s quarterback from 2016-18. Two of those wins came at Kenan at a venue he derisively nicknamed “Carter-Finley North.”

Carter-Finley Stadium, the Wolfpack’s home venue, is actually located due east of Chapel Hill as the crow flies. It’s a mistake Ben corrected in the postgame media room after doing his part to keep the Finleys undefeated as starters in the rivalry between State and UNC.

“It’s cool to keep the tradition going for the Finleys,” Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren said after the wild 30-27 victory, secured when the Tar Heels’ Noah Burnette missed a 35-yard field goal on the 2nd overtime possession. “I can’t say enough about Ben and his performance today.”

There are any number of superlatives from which he could choose, based solely on the numbers.

Or the fact that it was his first career start.

The redshirt freshman completed 27-of-40 passes for 271 yards and 2 touchdowns with no major mistakes to outduel UNC’s Heisman Trophy candidate Drake Maye.

The descriptives became a lot more difficult when considering that Finley started the season as State’s 4th-string quarterback and that as recently as 3 weeks ago, he was – in his own words “messing around” running the opponent’s plays as a member of the Wolfpack’s scout team.

Finley made a splash as a true freshman when he came off the bench – against the Tar Heels at Kenan, of course – to give State a brief spark before dropping like an anchor down the depth chart.

He threw only 9 passes last season and none this year before being sprung from witness protection in last week’s loss at Louisville as a last resort after injuries to starter Devin Leary and backup MJ Morris, and the ineffectiveness of transfer Jack Chambers.

Doeren suggested that Finley’s 10 weeks playing against State’s stout defense helped him improve and contributed to Saturday’s surprise performance. Still, his rapid and unexpected ascendence was such a bolt out of the (Carolina) blue, that it even took the Wolfpack’s newly minted hero by surprise.

“My roommate, who starts on our PAT and field goal unit, we were like: First week (of the season at East Carolina), there’s no way we thought we’d both be starting at UNC,” Finley said of offensive lineman Matt McCabe. “It’s just surreal.”

Improbable might be more accurate.

Until this week at practice, it had been a year-and-a-half since Finley had thrown a pass to teammate Devin Carter.

Saturday, his first pass of the game was a 52-yard completion to the junior receiver. They connected 5 more times in the game, including a perfectly-delivered 26-yard dart in traffic for a go-ahead touchdown with 3:54 to play.

Finley completed passes to 10 receivers in all, most of which – including an offensive lineman Chandler Zuvala – were still relatively unfamiliar to him.

“It was kind of weird,” he said. “It’s like I was playing on some kind of an All-Star team. I’ve just got ballers everywhere.”

Besides the quality of his receiving corps, Finley’s job was made easier by an offensive line that allowed him to “camp out” in the pocket. But he also showed the poise of a seasoned veteran and never let himself get rattled no matter what the circumstance.

That included a key 4th-down completion to Porter Rooks to extend a drive late in the 3rd quarter and the 2 possessions in overtime, in which he got his team to within range for a pair of Christopher Dunn chip-shot field goals.

“Leading up to the game, if you’re not nervous something’s wrong with you. So I was a little nervous,” Finley said. “But it’s just football.”

It is, once you get on the field. In this day and age, though, players who don’t get onto the field in due time often find refuge in other places by way of the transfer portal.

Especially those that find themselves relegated to the scout team.

But Finley didn’t do that, in large part because of his desire to graduate from State, which he’ll do next month.

Before heading back to Raleigh to pick up his diploma, he couldn’t resist taking a backhanded swipe at his more heralded Tar Heel counterpart Maye, who earlier this season suggested that the only reason anyone would go to State was because they couldn’t get into UNC.

“I never tried to get into UNC, but according to Drake I couldn’t have,” he said. “So I think it’s good that I get a nice degree from NC State.”

Just another family tradition for the Finleys.