After looking terrible in a loss to lowly Boston College, the NC State football team must rally against Florida State this weekend. The Wolfpack has lost three straight games, due to its Clemson hangover extending to its contests against Louisville and Boston College.
The Wolfpack offense has sputtered, as its rushing attack has been nonexistent and its passing attack behind redshirt sophomore Ryan Finley has been toothless.
The Seminoles might have a Clemson hangover of their own, losing to the Tigers 37-34 at home last weekend, and head coach Jimbo Fisher ripped officials after the heartbreaking loss.
The Seminoles are loaded at several positions, and it should take some Carter-Finley magic for the Wolfpack to win on Saturday.
Defensive Line
Enough has been said about the talent on NC State’s defensive line. They gave up two big runs to the Eagles for touchdowns and more disappointingly had only two sacks on Patrick Towles. With a more talented Florida State offense coming to town this weekend, the Wolfpack defensive line will have to get back to its dominant ways if the Pack wants to have a chance at winning.
The Seminoles are fifth in the nation in sacks per game, led by senior defensive end DeMarcus Walker, who has 8.5 sacks this season. The Wolfpack may be able to find running room against the Seminoles’ defense, which is just 51st in rushing yards allowed.
Walker is more talented than anyone on NC State’s defensive line, but NC State wins the category on depth.
Advantage: NC State
Linebacker
Junior linebacker Jerod Fernandez had 12 tackles against the Eagles, and he and junior Airius Moore have teamed up to be a solid tandem in the middle of NC State’s talented defense this season.
The Seminoles run a 3-4 defense, meaning three down linemen and four linebackers, and of the four linebackers, only one has more than 20 tackles this season. That would be redshirt junior linebacker Matthew Thomas with 25. The unit as a whole has combined for 12.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks this season.
Advantage: Florida State
Safety
The anemic Boston College offense passed for 218 yards against the Wolfpack and scored on a trick play to take the lead in the fourth quarter. Redshirt junior Josh Jones had a clutch interception that turned into seven points for the Wolfpack and served as a huge momentum swing. Jones also added 15 tackles.
Seminoles’ sophomore corner Tarvarus McFadden has six interceptions this season. The Florida State secondary has been anything but stout against the pass, ranking 90th in the nation in passing yards allowed this season and has seen several changes in the rotation.
The NC State secondary ranks just 83rd, but has been far less opportunistic, as they rank 73rd in interceptions compared to Florida State’s 13th.
Advantage: Florida State
Special Teams
The Wolfpack passed up the opportunity at a 47-yard field goal at the end of the first half, a questionable call by Dave Doeren which shows the faith he has in his kickers. The good news for the unit is that sophomore kicker Kyle Bambard was two for two on extra point attempts and sophomore Nyheim Hines had a 56-yard kick return in the fourth quarter. Bad news was that sophomore punter A.J. Cole had a tough day, averaging only 37.7 yards per kick, and sophomore kicker Jackson Maples had a kick-off go out of bounds.
Florida State kicker Ricky Aguayo took over for his brother at the position this season and has been a perfect nine for nine inside of 40 yards. Outside of 40 has been a little trickier for Aguayo, as he is hitting just 50 percent of his kicks.
The Seminoles are averaging just 21.6 yards per kick return.
Advantage: Florida State
