FSU at N.C. State: Gameday Primer

No. 22 Florida State will look to stay in the polls and become bowl-eligible on Saturday night as it invades Carter-Finley Stadium to take on host North Carolina State. Both teams are coming off tough losses; FSU dropped a heartbreaker to Clemson at home, 37-34. N.C. State also fell at home, allowing Boston College its first ACC win in 13 tries, 21-14.

At their best, the Wolfpack have proven to be very good, particularly on defense. Bradley Chubb, a junior defensive end, is one of the best in the ACC while Josh Jones has had a monster junior year from his safety position. Airius Moore leads a very good corps of linebackers. On the offensive side of the ball, running back Matt Dayes and tight end Jaylen Samuel are the guys to watch for a unit that has averaged less than two touchdowns over its last four games.

For Florida State, running back Dalvin Cook will need 192 yards to break Warrick Dunn’s career mark and become FSU’s all-time leading rusher. At quarterback, redshirt freshman Deondre Francois is as tough as they come and he has to be with a suspect offensive line that also happens to be beat up. On the other side of the ball, senior defensive end DeMarcus Walker is the unquestioned leader while Tarvarus McFadden, a sophomore cornerback, leads the nation with six interceptions.

Quick Hits

• Florida State is 4-5 in its last nine trips to Carter-Finley Stadium and just 1-2 under head coach Jimbo Fisher.
• N.C. State looks to join Clemson as the only schools to defeat Fisher three times.
• FSU hasn’t won four straight games over N.C. State since 1994-97. The Seminoles haven’t won consecutive games in Raleigh since doing so in 1994 and 1996.
• N.C. State is 0-7 against ranked opponents under head coach Dave Doeren.
• FSU has never finished with more than three losses in ACC play under Fisher. The worst the Seminoles had done was 5-3 in 2011. FSU last finished with four losses in conference in 2009.
• FSU is just 7-6 in its last 13 games against FBS schools. It was 48-4 in its previous 52.
• Florida State is 5-0 when holding opponents to 35 points or fewer this season. The Seminoles are 0-3 when allowing more.
• N.C. State’s last victory over a ranked opponent came against FSU on Oct. 6, 2012 by a 17-16 margin.
• In 2001, N.C. State became the first team to beat FSU at home in ACC play. The Wolfpack were also the first team to beat the Seminoles in ACC play twice.

Good Times, Bad Times

All Time Series: Florida State leads 24-11.
Good Times: In the 35 previous meetings between the teams, there have been six shutouts and four of them belong to Florida State. The most recent case came in 2011 when FSU blanked the Wolfpack 34-0 in Tallahassee. E.J. Manuel passed for 321 yards and two touchdowns in the win while the FSU defense held N.C. State to 166 yards of offense and forced four turnovers. FSU also blanked the Wolfpack 7-0 in 1955 and 14-0 in 1956 and 1963.

In Tallahassee in 1995, Florida State defeated the Wolfpack 77-17 behind 310 yards passing and five touchdowns from quarterback Danny Kanell. The 60-point victory was the largest margin for FSU in an ACC game at the time and the 77 points was a school-record. Those records stood until 2013 when the Seminoles beat Maryland 63-0 and Idaho 80-14.

The 2003 contest in Doak Campbell Stadium was perhaps the most thrilling in the series. The teams went back and forth and with the contest knotted at 37, FSU looked to have a chance to win in regulation, but kicker Xavier Beitia’s 32-yard field goal attempt was blocked. After the teams traded scores in the first overtime, the Seminoles managed a fourth down stop in the second. Leon Washington then ended the game with a 12-yard touchdown run in a 50-44 victory. The win gave the Seminoles their 11th ACC crown in 12 years.

Bad Times: Florida State was ranked second in the country when it traveled to Raleigh for its 1998 ACC opener. FSU quarterback Chris Weinke hit Peter Warrick for a 74-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage, but that would be the last time the Seminoles would sniff the end zone. Weinke finished the day with six interceptions while the FSU defense had no answer for N.C. State receiver Torry Holt, who finished with 135 yards receiving and a touchdown on nine catches. Holt also returned a punt for a score.

FSU had won the ACC in each of its first nine years in the conference and appeared to be on the verge of doing it again in 2001. The Seminoles had never lost an ACC game at home, but in November of that year, the Wolfpack came to Doak Campbell Stadium and did the unthinkable, beating FSU 34-28. Ray Robinson ran for 106 yards and two scores for the Wolfpack. N.C. State held on by knocking away FSU quarterback Chris Rix’s last second throw into the end zone.

FSU was 5-0 and ranked third in the country when it came to Carter-Finley Stadium in 2012 and looked like it was going to cruise to victory after going up 16-0 in the first half. The Wolfpack however, would storm back with the game’s final 17 points. Mike Glennon’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Bryan Underwood with 16 seconds left served as the game-winner in a 17-16 upset.

For Your Reading Pleasure

Here’s everything The Daily Nole had to offer breaking down FSU’s Saturday night contest against North Carolina State:

FSU Football: A First Look at N.C. State
Preview: FSU Invades Raleigh in Prime Time
Staff Predictions for FSU-N.C. State
FSU-N.C. State: Five Things to Watch
FSU’s Five Most Heartbreaking Moments in Raleigh

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