N.C. State at FSU: Good Times, Bad Times

After two weeks off thanks to Hurricane Irma, Florida State will be back in action on Saturday as it plays host to North Carolina State.

N.C. State has traditionally been a thorn in the FSU side, at least over the last decade. Since FSU joined the ACC in 1992, the Wolfpack have defeated the Seminoles seven times. The only conference foe to beat FSU more often over that span is Clemson with eight wins over the Seminoles.

Heading into Saturday, FSU has won four straight in the series, although it was forced to come from double-digits down in each of the last three. With Saturday set to be the latest installment in the series, we look at the good times for FSU and the bad times in its history with the Wolfpack:

All-Time Series: FSU leads 26-11
Good Times: The first ACC meeting between Florida State and N.C. State on Sept. 19, 1992 was also the first meeting between the schools as ranked teams. Despite having to travel to Raleigh, No. 3 FSU handled 16th-ranked N.C. State, 34-13. Charlie Ward threw three touchdown passes — all of at least 32 yards — for Florida State, including a pair of strikes to Shannon Baker. Ward finished with 275 yards passing while Sean Jackson eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark and Tamarick Vanover did likewise receiving. Corey Sawyer came up with three interceptions for the FSU defense.

The Sept. 16, 1995 contest in Tallahassee saw Florida State set a new school-record for points in a game with 77 in a 77-17 victory over the Wolfpack. Danny Kanell threw for 310 yards and five touchdowns before Thad Busby came in and tossed for two more scores as FSU tallied 745 yards of offense. E.G. Green and Andre Cooper each finished with more than 100 yards receiving and each caught a pair of touchdowns. Warrick Dunn eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the ground and scored three total touchdowns in the win, including two receiving. Peter Boulware finished with a sack and forced fumble for the FSU defense. The record scoring day was eclipsed in 2013 with an 80-14 win over Idaho, but the 77 points remains a school-record in ACC play.

The ACC title was on the line as N.C. State made its way to Tallahassee on Nov. 15, 2003. Led by quarterback Philip Rivers, the Wolfpack gave FSU everything it wanted and more. N.C. State was able to take an early 20-10 lead before a Chris Rix touchdown pass to Craphonso Thorpe late in the first half cut the lead to 20-17 at the break. The second half saw two ties and four lead changes, but with just seconds remaining, kicker Xavier Beitia set up for a 32-yard field goal to win the game for FSU. Unfortunately, Beitia’s kick was blocked by Derek Morris and the contest went to overtime. After exchanging touchdowns in the first overtime, the FSU defense was able to get a fourth down stop after Rivers’ pass to Jerricho Cotchery was broken up. FSU running back Leon Washington needed just two carries to find the end zone, scoring from 12 yards out to give the Seminoles a 50-44 win and an 11th ACC title in 12 years.

Bad Times: Fresh off a neutral-site victory over Texas A&M, Florida State entered Raleigh ranked second in the nation on Sept. 12, 1998. The Seminoles struck paydirt on the very first play as quarterback Chris Weinke, who was making his first road start, found Peter Warrick for a 74-yard touchdown on the game’s very first play. Unfortunately for FSU, that would be its only highlight as the Wolfpack scored the game’s final 24 points in a 24-7 victory. FSU had no answer for N.C. State receiver Torry Holt, who finished with 135 yards receiving and a touchdown to go with a 68-yard punt return for a score. As for Weinke, he wound up throwing six interceptions while completing just nine of 32 pass attempts.

Prior to Nov. 10, 2001, FSU had never lost an ACC game at home. That changed as former FSU assistant Chuck Amato and the Wolfpack came to town and the boys from Raleigh left with a 34-28 victory. Led by quarterback Philip Rivers, N.C. State put up 463 yards of offense, but with more than two minutes remaining, FSU got the ball back down just six. Chris Rix, who accounted for 302 yards passing and four total touchdowns, moved FSU into the N.C. State red zone, but his final throw into the end zone was tipped away as time expired. Bradley Jennings finished with 14 tackles, including two for loss, for FSU, but the Seminoles never could seem to slow the Wolfpack. The loss was FSU’s second in ACC play and prevented it from winning a 10th straight conference crown.

Two weeks removed from a monumental win over No. 10 Clemson, FSU arrived in Raleigh on Oct. 6, 2012 ranked third in the country and looking to start 6-0 for the first time since 1999. Early on, things moved smoothly as FSU raced to a 16-0 halftime lead behind a touchdown pass from E.J. Manuel to Nick O’Leary and three Dustin Hopkins’ field goals. Unfortunately for the Seminoles, that’s where the scoring would stop. After a field goal from Niklas Sade in the third quarter, N.C. State quarterback Mike Glennon threw a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns, including the game-winner to Bryan Underwood with 16 seconds left. The 17-16 victory for N.C. State would serve as the only ACC loss for FSU, who would go on to win its first ACC title in seven years.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson