With a four-game win streak under its belt, the NC State football team rolls into its conference opener against No. 1 Florida State Saturday in Raleigh.
Saturday’s matchup will mark the first time in school history that the Wolfpack has hosted the No. 1 team in the country. Previously, the Pack lost to the top-ranked team in the country three times on the road: Florida State in ’99 and ’95, and a loss to the top team in 1948, the Carolina Tar Heels.
The Pack faces its biggest challenge so far in a Seminole team that hasn’t lost a game since a Nov. 24, 2012 contest against the Florida Gators, current State redshirt junior quarterback Jacoby Brissett’s former team. Ironically, the Seminoles’ last conference loss came in an Oct. 6, 2012 shocker in Raleigh at the hands of the Wolfpack.
Florida State arrives in Raleigh having lost five of the last seven contests at Carter-Finley when ranked in the top 25.
Last weekend’s 42-0 shutout over Presbyterian was the last tune up for the Wolfpack before opening ACC play.
“Now, we get ready for a great Florida State team,” NC State Head Coach Dave Doeren said at the ACC coaches’ press conference. “They have a 19-game win streak with tremendous players.”
The Wolfpack offense bounds into Saturday’s showdown clicking on all cylinders after scoring 40-plus points in its last three games; State leads the ACC in total offense (502 yards/game) and rushing yards (248 yards/game).
Redshirt junior quarterback Jacoby Brissett went 14/21 for 195 yards while tossing three touchdowns last weekend, and running backs Shadrach Thornton and Matt Dayes combined for 140 yards on 12 carries for two touchdowns each. The Seminoles, on the other hand, posted just 13 yards on the ground last week against Clemson.
Those 13 yards exaggerate Florida State’s deficiencies, however, as the Seminoles’ offense remains one of the most threatening in the country, according to Doeren.
“They have five senior offensive linemen, a tailback who runs hard and obviously a returning Heisman winner at quarterback,” Doeren said. “It’s a great offense, and it’s going to be a huge test.”
Last season’s trip to Tallahassee didn’t go well for the Pack, which were easily dismantled by the ‘Noles 49-17, but this year’s State team is far improved from the group that went 0-for-8 in the ACC in 2013.
“We’re a different team than we were last year,” Doeren said. “I just feel better being here for a year, seeing the growth of our team and knowing we have a quarterback we can trust in situations so that we can compete in a game like this.”
The Seminole defense that crushed State in Tallahassee a year ago hasn’t displayed the same dominance this season, as the ‘Noles lost a number of key players to the NFL draft and graduation, so the unit that will face State’s confident offense is younger and less experienced, a fact Doeren hopes will swing play in favor of the Wolfpack.
“Last year, I think their defense was good, not to say this year’s isn’t,” Doeren said. “Now, they’re just younger at some of those positions, and they don’t have experience; the rushing yards they’re giving up and the points they’re giving up — it’s different because of that.”
History favors the Wolfpack, and that’s what Doeren hopes will help motivate the Pack come game time.
“Great players play really good football in big-time games, and I want to see that out of our guys,” Doeren said. “We’re not afraid of them. We’re going to play as hard as we can for four quarters and try to make it a physical four-quarter game.”
One thing is for certain, come kickoff on Saturday afternoon the stage will be set; a full “red out” is planned for students and fans attending Carter-Finley Stadium.
“We need to relish the opportunity,” Doeren said. “We must enjoy the moment and let the big stage be the big stage.”
