From my seat in the student section of the Citrus Bowl, I had a perfect view of Russell Wilson and company celebrating the crushing defeat of West Virginia and a Champs Sports Bowl title. It was a fitting way for a group of seniors, which had been through some rough times, to go out.

There were trying times in the beginning of the Tom O’Brien era in Raleigh. In his first three seasons he failed to ever have a winning season finishing, 5-7, 6-7, and 5-7.

But then you had this year, a 9-4 campaign, tying for the second most wins by a State football team in school history, a Champs Sports Bowl title and a beat down of the hated Tar Heels.  All done by a team predicted to finish near the bottom of the ACC in the preseason by almost every media outlet came out and started off 4-0 and went on to finish a single game out of a ACC Atlantic Division title and playing for a chance to win the ACC.  

Some people say that it could just be a simple fluke of a season, a one and done year for the Pack where all of the stars, moons and planets aligned perfectly together, giving fans just a single glimmer of hope to keep them around to demoralize and let them down for years to come.

I am not one of these people. Call me foolish, someone with a false sense of hope or someone who just hasn’t been around long enough to experience the gut-wrenching ways of N.C. State athletics but I believe that this is just the beginning of good times for the football program.

In the first three years of the O’Brien era there were extraneous factors that led to the disappointing seasons, factors that not even Bill Belichick or Vince Lombardi himself could have fixed.

In those first three years, State was unusually decimated by injuries in all three seasons. It hardly ever occurred in any of those 37 games where the starting lineups from a week before were the same heading into the next game. Yes, injuries happen to every team and good teams learn to just plug in another player, but couple that with a new coach installing a tough defensive system to grasp and a rotating offensive skills players, means your going to struggle.

However, once the injury bug was squashed and the players begin to understand the system, the team flourished and that is what we saw this season.  First and foremost example is the defense. The turnaround that the unit had from last year to this year is miraculous. Last season the defense was giving up 31.2 points per game, including four games in which it gave up over 40 points. This year it was far different as the defense only allowed 21.3 points per game, 29th best in the NCAA.

But this turnaround was not a just a stroke of luck. Instead it’s just the beginning of what is to come. Now that O’Brien and defensive coordinator Mike Archer have developed a recruiting base where they are getting their kind of players built for the defensive system and are not forced to have to play them as soon as they get here. There is now time for the players to learn and understand the defense instead of being thrown out into the game like sacrificial lambs.  

There is no reason not to believe that next year’s defense will be even better and more improved than this years. The entire secondary is only sophomores or freshmen who will continue to only get better.  The only real big lose will be that of the Predator.

You can’t replace a Nate Irving, his combination of talent and instincts are very rare and he will go down as one of the best defensive players State has had in the past 20 years. But Terrell Manning and Audie Cole will only improve on there already terrific seasons this year, while an influx of younger linebackers and transfer players will be able to adequately fill the gap.

As you move to the offensive side of the ball you lose offensive lineman Jake Vermiglio, wide receivers Owen Spencer, Jarvis Williams and Darrel Davis as well as the possible loss of quarterback Russell Wilson.

Vermiglio has been a staple since arriving at State four years ago. He has been the only real consistent on the offensive line and has been the senior leader this past season for a line that lost three starters from last year. But the good thing is outside of Vermiglio the offensive line will stay the same.

Andrew Wallace, Camden Wertz, Zach Allen and R.J. Mattes are all just sophomores and have an entire season under their belts. Couple that with the injection of five star prospect Robert Crisp means that O’Brien has gotten the type of offensive line that made him famous at Boston College and one that should be able to easily dominate any defensive front it sees.  

The receiver position will be the biggest drop off with the loss of Spencer, Williams and Davis. All three of those players were the top targets this season. But with their departure, it offers the opportunity for many other receivers such as Steven Howard, Jay Smith and T.J. Graham to step up and see if they can turn the glimpses of greatness they have shown over the last few seasons into steady contributors.

Not to mention even if the passing game struggles, with the emergence of James Washington and Mustafa Greene, the running game, if needed, has the ability to carry the offensive load if it is necessary.

Then there is Russell. He may be the one player who could vault this team next season but its still up in the air at what he is going to do. He may stay he may leave, either way the quarterback position will be manned by someone who understands the offense and is more than likely capable of moving the ball. Mike Glennon was not rated as one of the top-3 quarterback recruits in the nation for no reason; he just hasn’t had a chance to show it. So either way expect a capable person slinging the ball around.

So its not like I am saying that the football team is going to jolt into national attention playing for the BCS Title year after year, but I do believe that from here on out as long as O’Brien is in charge sub .500 records will no longer be acceptable and will be few and far between. State has the players, talent and ability to compete for the ACC title next year and the next few years after that. Past that, who knows, but just know that a Champs Sports Bowl title is not the peak and there is going to be much more to come.