Survive and advance: It's not just a March Madness term. For college football teams with playoff aspirations, there will inevitably be one regular-season game -- at least -- in which you have to scrap just to get the "W." It won't be pretty and it will likely raise more questions than it will answer, but to the victorious team, the only thing that matters is the score.

Clemson was that team in a 24-17 overtime win at home against NC State.

The Tigers continued to struggle offensively despite compiling 495 yards. Namely, Clemson had turnover issues in the red zone and quarterback Deshaun Watson threw a pick-six in the third quarter.

A miss NC State field goal as regulation ended sent the game into overtime. Otherwise, the Tigers would have suffered their first loss of the season.

In overtime, Watson hit Artavis Scott for a 10-yard touchdown. Marcus Edmond's interception on the Wolfpack's ensuing drive sealed the deal.

And Clemson, like other times this year, escaped with a win. What did we learn from another narrow win by the Tigers?

1. Clemson's offense is still MIA: We're halfway through the 2016 season and what should be a historically great offense continues to struggle to find itself ... and the end zone. More and more, that 42-36 win over Louisville looks like an anomaly. Clemson put up points against Boston College and South Carolina State, but far too often they've struggled to move the ball. Ranking 109th in giveaways hasn't exactly helped matters, either. Ball security was an issue last season, but Clemson survived it. Can they do it this time around?

2. It could also be that NC State's defense is good: The Wolfpack are giving up just 17.6 points per game -- that's tied for 15th nationally heading into Week 7. Granted, the likes of William & Mary may not be the best litmus test, and Notre Dame was played in the middle of a hurricane, but NC State did a lot of good things against Clemson. The Wolfpack had a pick-six on the first play of the third quarter and played tenacious red zone defense. The Tigers may get some yards, but the Wolfpack had them on the ropes. They'll be a tough opponent moving forward.

3. It's going to be hard for Clemson to go undefeated in the regular season again: This was true anyway before the year started. It doesn't matter how talented your team is or how good your coach is, going undefeated is almost impossible statistically. To do it two years in a row would be even more so. It's a good thing Clemson got that early-season win over Louisville as a potential tie-breaker. The next game is at Florida State and there are one or two other games that could be a trap.