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 record, finishing 5-7, 6-7 and 5-7.

But then came 2010.  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.  A team predicted to finish near the bottom of the ACC in the preseason by almost every media outlet came out and finished with 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.

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, giving fans a glimmer of hope before a demoralizing drought of wins.

I am not one of these people. Maybe I just haven’t been around long enough to experience the gut-wrenching roller-coaster ride that is N.C. State athletics, but I believe this is just the beginning of good times for the football program.

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

In those first three years, State was unusually decimated by injuries in all three seasons. Rarely in any of those 37 games were the starting lineups from a week before the same heading into the next game. 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-to-grasp defensive system and constantly rotating a set of offensive skill players, means you’re going to struggle.

However, once the injury bug was squashed and the players began to understand the system, the team flourished. That is what we saw this season.  The unit’s turnaround 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 more than 40 points. This year the defense only allowed 21.3 points per game 29th best in the NCAA.

But this turnaround wasn’t just a stroke of luck. Instead, it’s just the beginning of what’s to come. 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’s reason to believe that next year’s defense will be even better and more improved than this year’s. The entire secondary is composed of only sophomores or freshmen who will continue to get better.  

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.

Offensively, 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 and O’Brien now has the type of offensive line that made him famous at Boston College. It’s also 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 Owen Spencer, Jarvis Williams and Darrell Davis. All three of those players were the top targets this season. But their departure 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’ve shown over the last few seasons into steady contributors.

Even if the passing game struggles, the emergence of James Washington and Mustafa Greene means that he running game has the ability to carry the offensive load if necessary.

Then there is Russell. He may be the one player who could vault this team next season but his next move is still up in the air. He may stay or leave, but 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 rated one of the top-3 quarterback recruits in the nation for a reason; he just hasn’t had a chance to show it.

I’m not saying the football team will jolt into national attention playing for the BCS title year after year, but I do believe that from here on out O’Brien won’t accept sub-.500 records. 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 a Champs Sports Bowl title is not the peak—there will be much more to come.