Florida State finally got a close one to go its way on Saturday night as the Seminoles rallied from 10 points down for a thrilling 24-20 victory over N.C. State at Carter Finley-Stadium to become bowl-eligible for the 35th straight season.
Junior running back Dalvin Cook wasn’t his usual self on Saturday, but there were a number of great individual efforts for FSU. The Daily Nole staff of editor Mike Ferguson, lead writer Clint Eiland, recruiting analyst Jay Brading and contributors T.J. Pittinger and Robert Blackburn each hand out their game balls:
Offense
Unanimous Game Ball: Nyqwan Murray, WR
After playing just sparingly through the first year and a half of his FSU career, sophomore wide receiver Nyqwan Murray was the Seminoles’ leading receiver for a second straight week. Murray finished with career-highs of nine catches and 153 yards receiving in the victory. The 153 yards receiving was a game-high.
Defense
Mike, Clint, Jay, Robert: DeMarcus Walker, DE
As usual, senior defensive end DeMarcus Walker was the leader of the Florida State defense. Walker was tied with a game-high 10 tackles and had two of the three sacks in the contest. In the process, Walker moved into the top 10 all-time at FSU when it comes to getting to the quarterback. Walker now has 10.5 sacks for the season.
T.J.: Tarvarus McFadden, CB
N.C. State’s first scoring opportunity ended abruptly on Saturday night. That’s because sophomore cornerback Tarvarus McFadden came away with his FBS-leading seventh interception of the year to end N.C. State’s opening drive. McFadden was rarely thrown on again throughout the night, finishing with just two tackles.
Special Teams
Unanimous Game Ball: Ricky Aguayo, K
On a night where special teams continued to be suspect for the Seminoles, freshman kicker Ricky Aguayo made good on his only field goal attempt. Aguayo knocked home a 32-yard field goal early to get FSU on the board. Aguayo was also 3-for-3 on extra points.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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