Nick Faulkner // Archive
Redshirt junior defensive end Larrell Murchison celebrates the 21-3 lead while heading back to the locker room at the end of the first half. NC State would go on to win 28-23 over Boston College on Saturday, Oct. 6 in Carter-Finley Stadium.
In its first conference game of the season, the NC State football team (3-2 overall, 0-1 ACC) took on the Florida State Seminoles (3-2 overall, 2-1 ACC), but lost decisively due to a mediocre offensive showing and an injury to sophomore running back Ricky Person Jr. The final score of the disappointing loss to Florida State does not do enough justice to the NC State defense, however, which had its most impressive showing this year.
Defensive Line
The defensive line showed out against the Seminoles, with linemen finishing with six sacks overall, including graduate defensive tackle Larrell Murchison accounting for 3.5 of those. The line completely dismantled the Florida State offensive line and shut down an impressive FSU run game headed by Cam Akers, who had just 42 yards through three quarters. Something else to note were the 14 tackles for loss by the front six, some of which led to FSU quarterback Alex Hornibrook finishing with -40 rushing yards on 10 attempts.
On top of the six sacks by the group, the line also recorded 15 total tackles, eight solo tackles, seven tackles for loss and two quarterback hits. The Seminoles’ offensive line looked lost, and even worse, the FSU rushers finished with a combined 53 yards on 32 carries, with 41 of those yards coming from one Akers touchdown, which would mean the net rushing yards for FSU would have been 12 yards on 31 carries, or just under 0.4 rushing yards per carry.
Final grade: A+
Linebackers
After a couple of splotchy performances by the linebacker corps this year, the group somewhat clicked against Florida State. Junior Louis Acceus and redshirt freshman Payton Wilson in particular had strong games, combining for 14 total tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack and one pass deflection. Beyond this, the linebacker group was average, with freshman Drake Thomas, redshirt sophomore Isaiah Moore, redshirt freshman C.J. Hart and redshirt junior Brock Miller combining for five solo tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack and one quarterback hit.
However, the group helped prevent standout Akers from having a strong game, save for his late rushing score in the fourth quarter. Both the D-line and linebackers deserve high marks for stopping one of the best backs in the country.
Final grade: A-
Secondary
The Pack secondary stayed afloat this game, but it was not enough to get the Pack anywhere close to winning the game. Redshirt senior safety Jarius Morehead had a solid outing, with four solo tackles, .5 tackles for loss and a pass deflection.
Florida State, on the other hand, finished with 316 receiving yards on 29 receptions and three touchdowns. This number was somewhat inflated by a 43-yard touchdown from Tamorrion Terry and a 40-yard touchdown from Ontaria Wilson, but the secondary still gave those huge plays up, which made the difference between the score being 31-13 or 17-13. These two plays certainly diminish a strong all-around showing for the defense and nullify what would have been a solid outing for the secondary. Taking away those two plays, the secondary allowed just 233 yards on 27 receptions and one touchdown, moving the average yards per catch for the Seminoles from 10.9 to 8.6.
Final grade: C-
Overall defensive grade: B