The NC State football team seeks its first win against a ranked opponent under third-year head coach Dave Doeren Saturday against the No. 16 Florida State Seminoles in Tallahassee, Florida.
The Wolfpack (6-3, 2-3 ACC), fresh off a dominant victory over Boston College, can expect a hard-fought battle with a motivated and focused Seminole (7-2, 5-2 ACC) squad, looking to get back on track following a disappointing loss to No. 1 Clemson.
“We know we got our hands full this week,” Doeren said. “We got to play our best football and look forward to the opportunity to go down there and try to do it.”
It’s no secret the Seminoles’ offense goes as sophomore running back and Heisman candidate Dalvin Cookgoes. The explosive athlete—named a Midseason All-American by ESPN, Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports — ranks second nationally in yards per rushing attempt with 8.3 and has 12 rushing touchdowns, despite missing one game and rushing only two times in another.
“He’s a great player,” Doeren said. “I mean, he’s fast. He’s hard to tackle. He’s been hard to tackle since he’s been in high school. He’s a very, very good running back. He’s not going to let you get him down easy.”
The Wolfpack won’t be able to stop a player as talented as Cook, but to pull off an upset, it will have to at least slow him down and prevent him from breaking off big runs. NC State will load the box with extra players in an attempt to limit Cook’s effectiveness and force the Seminoles to win by making plays through the air.
The problem with moving additional players closer to the line of scrimmage to focus on stopping the run is that it forces a Pack secondary, that has struggled this season, to play a lot of man coverage without the safety net of extra help if someone gets beat.
It will be up to Florida State redshirt junior quarterback Sean Maguire to take advantage of the one-on-one matchups on the outside. Maguire is certainly a capable passer although he’s been up and down in his two starts since taking over last month after an injury to graduate student Everett Golson.
“Their quarterbacks are both taking care of the football,” Doeren said. “They’ve only thrown two interceptions the entire season, which is really impressive.”
Though it appears Maguire will get the nod as the starter, Golson could see some playing time. If he does, his throwing ability won’t blow you away but he is a significantly better runner than Maguire and thus poses a dangerous rushing threat in addition to Cook.
Defensively, the Seminoles are led by junior defensive back Jalen Ramsey who was named to numerous All-American teams a season ago and is a consensus projected top 10 NFL Draft pick.
“[FSU has] probably one of the best DBs in the country in Ramsey,” Doeren said. “Eighteen pass breakups, which is amazing.”
While teams rarely throw in his direction, he still has 47 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and multiple big plays prevented because of his glue-like coverage.
With Ramsey locking down half of the field, senior quarterback Jacoby Brissett will be limited in who he can find open to throw the ball to. It could force the Pack to run multiple screen passes as well as utilize the running backs and tight ends more than usual in the passing game.
NC State would love to be able to run the ball effectively to control time of possession, keeping the powerful Florida State offense off the field.
The running backs performed admirably in the Pack’s first game without junior Matt Dayes, rushing for 139 yards against the nation’s top rushing defense in Boston College. If the Pack can run as effectively as it did against a stout BC defense, it will really help the team’s chances of upsetting the Seminoles.
Expect sophomore utility player Jaylen Samuels to once again get the majority of the carries with redshirt sophomore Dakwa Nichols and freshmen Reggie Gallaspy II and Nyheim Hines helping out.
Saturday marks the Pack’s last scheduled road game of the season as it then returns to Carter-Finley Stadium to wrap up the season against Syracuse and UNC-Chapel Hill.
