The 16th-ranked Florida State Seminoles will try to extended their winning streak this Thursday, as they invade Raleigh to take on the NC State Wolfpack in an ACC showdown at Carter-Finley Stadium.
Thursday Night In The ACC: No. 16 Florida State Vs. NC State
Since getting dismantled by Oklahoma on September 11th, FSU has caught fire, winning each of its last five outings, including four by 20 points or more. The team was last in action on October 16th, when it slipped past Boston College, 24-19, in a hard fought contest.
“Sometimes great seasons are made on games that you can scratch, crawl and fight,” said head coach Jimbo Fisher.
At 4-0, the Seminoles are now off to their best start to ACC play since 2004, as they are enjoying their first five-game overall winning streak since 2005.
As for NC State, it sits behind FSU in the Atlantic Division standings with a 2-1 ledger. The Wolfpack most recently wrapped up their non-conference slate with a tough 33-27 overtime loss at East Carolina on October 16th.
”We got so far behind and fought back, and just couldn’t get over the hump there at the end,“said head coach Tom O’Brien.
The Wolfpack will now try to rebound against a red-hot FSU club that was won the last three meetings in the series. The Seminoles own a 20-9 all-time advantage over NC State and that includes a 45-42 shootout victory in Tallahassee last season.
A 42-yard end-around to WR Bert Reed early in the fourth quarter allowed FSU rally past BC in its last outing. The run helped FSU overcome four turnovers and showed the resiliency of this squad.
“We have a long way to go as a football team and we have a lot of mistakes we have to get ironed out,” stated Fisher. “But I did see a football team that would compete, it stayed together, it didn’t panic, that made enough plays to win a game.”
QB Christian Ponder accounted for all four giveaways, including three INTs, but he did have two TDs passes and 170 yards through the air. The talented gunslinger has the potential to be great, but just hasn't lived up to the hype thus far, passing for only 169.6 ypg with 12 TDs against seven INTs.
Fortunately, the Seminoles have been able to lean on their ground attack to overcome some of Ponder's inconsistent play. FSU is gaining a healthy 211.7 ypg on the ground behind a 5.7 yard per carry average, with 16 scores. Chris Thompson (445 yards), Jermaine Thomas (430 yards) and Ty Jones (318 yards) are all averaging over 6.0 yards per carry, so anyway one of them can break off a big run at any moment.
FSU has been stout on defense for the most part this season, holding challengers to 16.1 ppg and just 308.1 total ypg. The defense has been especially tough on the run, limiting foes to 104.9 ypg and a mere 2.9 yards per carry. However, the run defense was exploited last game, as the Seminoles gave up 171 yards on 33 carries to BC.
It was obviously a letdown from the front, but FSU did make up for it by keeping BC to just 95 yards through the air. The Seminoles are giving up just over 200 passing ypg on the year, so that was a terrific effort, though BC hasn’t exactly had much success throwing the ball. FSU also logged four sacks last game and that has been an area this defense has excelled in, with an impressive 30 sacks on the year. Brandon Jenkins has been a star along the line for FSU and he had nine stops, 3.5 TFLs and a pair of sacks last game. He now has 11.5 TFLs and seven sacks to pace FSU, while also ranking fourth with 34 total tackles.
Despite throwing for 322 yards, QB Russell Wilson had a rough game against ECU, as he lost a fumble and was picked three times in 33-27 overtime loss. Wilson, who had a TD on the ground and through the air, threw his most crucial pick on overtime that ended the game.
“It was a tough game that came down to the wire,” Wilson said. “We had every confidence that our team and our offense could score in overtime. But it didn’t work out that way.”
It certainly wasn’t the best performance by Wilson, but he has still enjoyed a good campaign up to this point, averaging 303.4 passing ypg with 18 TDs against nine INTs. He is also effective with his legs, rushing for 200 yards and two more scores.
Owen Spencer and Jarvis Williams have been the main targets in the passing game, as they have recorded 542 and 421 receiving yards, respectively. In the backfield, Mustafa Greene leads the way with 419 yards for a ground game that is managing 136.3 rushing ypg.
Staying consistent has been an issue for the NC State defense this season and that was certainly the case last game. The Wolfpack gave up 21 first-quarter points to ECU before allowing just six more during regulation. However, the unit couldn’t step up at the end, allowing ECU to drive for the game-tying field goal with just over a minute left before surrendering a TD in overtime.
The Wolfpack were torched for 496 yards by ECU, with 376 of those yards coming through the air. The pass defense has now started to become a concern for NC State, which is permitting 202.0 ypg through the air. NC State did force four turnovers, all on fumbles, and the team now has 17 takeaways on the campaign.
Audie Cole forced a fumble and recovered two, while finishing with nine stops in the losing cause. He currently leads the team with four sacks for the year, while Nate Irving heads the roster with 50 tackles and nine TFLs.
The Seminoles are on a major roll right now and they simply have too many weapons on offense, to go with a stingy defense, for NC State to handle.
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