Northern Illinois committed four crucial turnovers, leading to a 24-17 loss to North Carolina State on Saturday. It was the Huskies’ second straight loss.

N.C. State could use a win after blowout losses to ranked Tennessee and Clemson teams. Northern Illinois is coming off its first loss in falling to Buffalo in the Mid-American Conference, which knocked the Huskies out of the AP Top 25.

Those questions remain unanswered. Northern Illinois jumped into the rankings after beating Notre Dame but also had the following week off. It’s too early to tell if a close loss to Buffalo means that NIU isn’t as good as people thought. Nor does it help us determine if NIU is a playoff contender or if Notre Dame had a bad day — or both.

Following a physical week of practice, N.C. State football responded with a strong defensive effort in its win vs. Northern Illinois. Here's what happened.

N.C. State scored a defensive touchdown, set up another with a backfield takeaway, and the Wolfpack held off NIU with a fourth-quarter defensive stand.