JACKSONVILLE, FLA. ? A little trickery on offense. A lot of jarring hits on defense, especially the one that knocked the quarterback on his back and out of the game.

That was all No. 17 North Carolina State needed to dissolve the Irish mystique Wednesday in the Gator Bowl and state its case as a program on the rise.

Led by quarterback Philip Rivers and a defense that didn’t give up a touchdown for the second straight game, the Wolfpack (11-3) finished off the best season in school history with a 28-6 victory over Notre Dame.

“We had a great season, then we put a stamp on it,” coach Chuck Amato said. “To have (victory) No. 11 be Notre Dame, to win back-to-back against Florida State and Notre Dame, two of the best programs in America … It’s hard to do.”

The defense didn’t allow a touchdown in the last two games, and while the trick plays were entertaining Wednesday, it was linebacker Dantonio Burnette who set the tone.

The Irish had second-and-goal from the 1 on their second possession of the game when Carlyle Holiday ran right and was hammered by Burnette, separating his shoulder.

“When I hit him I heard him groan, and when I looked down he was still on the ground,” Burnette said. “I was like, ‘OK, this is going to turn the game around.”‘

The Irish had to settle for a field goal, and they never found an answer for Rivers and a Wolfpack offense that made them look bad for the second game in a row.

The 11th-ranked Irish (10-3) not only lost Holiday, they lost their temper with three personal fouls and wound up losing their sixth consecutive bowl game.

This one put a damper on an otherwise remarkable year.

Coming off a 5-6 season, Notre Dame won its first eight games and started thinking about a record ninth national championship. Instead, the Irish lost three of their last five games, and the last two were embarrassing.

North Carolina state quarterback Philip Rivers, right, celebrates a fourth-quarter touchdown against Notre Dame in Wednesday's Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla. North Carolina State defeated Notre Dame, 28-6.