“My long-term goal was we’re gonna go in, we’re gonna win the national championship. I feel like that’s everyone. If you don’t have that mindset, then you’re not going there for the right reasons.”



This is Justin Witt, a returning starter at right tackle whom N.C. State chose as its offensive representative at the ACC’s annual preseason media days. He is, as he said, speaking for pretty much anyone who has ever stuck his hand in the dirt when it comes to wanting to win championships. The Wolfpack play in the same conference as Clemson, winner of two of the past three national titles, and they have come close to knocking off the Tigers on multiple occasions, most notably in a 2016 overtime affair that could have changed the trajectory of that year’s championship race.



Witt is no different than most of his ACC peers in using that example to show how the gap between the haves and have-nots is not necessarily as wide...