Call it a signature win for new head coach Scottie Montgomery. Call it business as usual for the East Carolina football team.

Saturday’s 33-30 win over N.C. State marked the sixth straight victory over an Atlantic Coast Conference team for the Pirates and third straight against the Wolfpack.

Since 2013, ECU has as many wins over ACC opponents as N.C. State and only Clemson has a longer winning streak against such opponents. For a school that just got spurned by the Big 12, ECU put yet another mark on the Power 5 perception. Just ask the Wolfpack, Tar Heels or the Hokies of Virginia Tech.

Of course, ACC schools have nothing to do with the Big 12’s decision and understandably the conference looked at more than on-the-field results when making its decision. But the gap is continuing to close for the Pirates and they’re making their mark in the place that matters most — North Carolina.

Pirate fans will always remember the 70-41 thumping ECU put on UNC in 2014. Though wins against in-state opponents aren’t anything new, it doesn’t detract from the value. As far as some Pirate fans are concerned, non-conference wins against in-state opponents mean more than conference wins. That’s because of the growing expectation, it seems.

Rightfully or wrongfully, the fans, and perhaps the university itself, feel bigger than the American. Teams like the Tar Heels and the Wolfpack are conveniently there to take the lumps for it.

It’s an inconvenient truth for triangle-based fans. ECU won’t ever out-recruit their in-state rivals, but the Pirates will likely always carry the bigger motivating factor for as long as these teams meet. The fact of the matter is that it means more to a program that constantly feels pushed aside.

Again, that’s the perception, at least.

N.C. State head coach Dave Doeren, who reached deep into his bag of tricks, hoping to gain hidden yardage, felt what Montgomery calls “the gravity of the moment.” He faked field goals. He took various risks. He ran more end arounds and reverses than most run in a season.

Yet, when the final whistle blew, his team still wound up on the losing side.

That’s not to say ECU is a better football team than N.C. State. Let the two teams meet ten times and the scale perhaps leans toward the Wolfpack because of talent alone. But, ECU will always have the edge because the game itself means more to the team, the fan base and the university.

Many wondered how Montgomery would carry the torch lit by former head coach Ruffin McNeill, especially when it comes to picking up big wins against tough competition. Montgomery passed his first test in dramatic fashion and perhaps it’s a sign of what’s to come.