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After a one-game suspension of the reigning Heisman winner Jameis Winston, the Florida State Seminoles had to dig deep and find a way to win against Clemson in week four. The game went to overtime and the Seminoles pulled it out in the end, keeping their national title hopes very much alive.
Don’t let their record fool you, the NC State Wolfpack haven’t had the easiest of starts to the season as they have almost lost to Georgia Southern and had a close call with Old Dominion to begin the year. However, wins are wins and NC State is 4-0 heading into conference play, putting pressure on teams like Florida State to remain perfect.
With Winston out of commission for the Seminoles’ big game against Clemson in week four, Florida State had to rely on backup quarterback Sean Maguire to sneak out a win in overtime. Maguire passed for 304 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions in his first career start and led the Seminoles to their third win of the young season. On the year, Winston has 626 passing yards and three touchdowns while also throwing two interceptions and running for another touchdown. Rashad Greene has been the favorite target of both quarterbacks, catching 24 passes for 418 yards and two touchdowns on the year, filling in nicely for the departed Kelvin Benjamin. Florida State has struggled to run the ball this season, however, ranking 111th in the nation in rush yards per game behind Karlos Williams‘ 177 yards and two touchdowns.
Unlike Florida State, NC State excels in the run game, ranking 25th in the entire nation in rush yards per contest. The Wolfpack have four guys with over 100 yards rushing on the season and all four average more than five yards per carry. The top dog has been Shadrach Thornton who has 283 yards and five touchdowns while Matt Dayes is very close behind with 267 yards and three touchdowns. Tony Creecy has added 170 yards rushing and quarterback Jacoby Brissett has 118 yards and a score. The run game might be stellar, but the pass game isn’t something to overlook, either, if you’re Florida State. Brissett is having a solid year through the air, passing for 1,005 yards and 10 touchdowns with just one pick on a completion rate of nearly 70 percent. Freshman wide out Bo Hines leads all receivers with 209 yards on 16 catches despite missing the team’s last game.
Defensively, NC State ranks 23rd in college football in points allowed per game — albeit it hasn’t played a quality opponent yet. The Wolfpack also rank toward the upper half of the nation in yards allowed per game with 338.3. Florida State has been a little less impressive than the Wolfpack, however, they have played more quality opponents. The Seminoles rank 30th in the nation in points allowed per game while also allowing 364.3 yards per contest.
Florida State will travel to NC State to take on the Wolfpack at 3:30 p.m. EST on Saturday, Sept. 27. The game will be broadcasted on ABC and ESPN 2.
PREDICTION: Florida State 41, NC State 20
Connor Muldowney is a columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Connormuldowney, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google. You can also reach him at [email protected].
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