NC State Beats FSU by Highest Margin Ever, 47-28

NC State made history yesterday, beating Florida State by the largest margin in the history of the series, 47-28. The 19-point victory is the new standard, replacing the 17-point victory over the Seminoles back in 1998 (24-7).

The Wolfpack picked up their 6th win of the season, and is officially bowl eligible.

While the Seminoles technically had more total hards (445/417), they were chasing points from the very beginning of the game. NC State got off to a 17-0 start, and proceeded to never lead by less than 13 points the rest of the contest.

Some keys to the Wolfpack’s dominance:

• NC State owned the time of possession battle, holding the ball 15 minutes longer than Florida State (37:30-22:30).
• NC State had 8 more first downs (25-17).
• NC State dominated the field position battle, going 8 for 8 in red zone appearances, and holding FSU to 2 of 3.
• NC State sacked James Blackman 5 times. Ryan Finley wasn’t sacked a single time.
• Freshman Place Kicker Christopher Dunn was 4 for 4 on field goal attempts.
• Senior Running Back Reggie Gallaspy collected his 2nd 100-yard rushing performance, rushing for a career high 106 yards (5.1 yards).
• Freshman Running Back Ricky Person didn’t have any explosive plays (2.5 yards per carry), but he did have a career high 3 touchdowns (2 rushing & 1 receiving). It’s the most touchdowns by a freshman since Matt Dayes dropped 3 in his college debut (2013).
• Redshirt Graduate Senior Quarterback Ryan Finley was absurd, completing 21 of his 27 passes for 240 yards and 3 touchdowns (0 interceptions). His Passing Efficiency Rating was an insane 189.1, which is the highest single-game rating of his CAREER.
• Redshirt Junior Wide Receiver Jakobi Meyers had 9 receptions (11 targets) for 125 yards and a touchdown.
• NC State had a season-high 10 tackles for loss, topping the 9 they had against Virginia, and tied a season-high with 5 sacks.
• The Wolfpack’s turnover margin was +2.
• Florida State entered the game ranked 12th nationally in rush defense, giving up only 102.9 yards per game. The Wolfpack proceeded to rush for 177 yards.
• Freshman Place Kicker Chris Dunn had 4 field goals (4-4). The last time NC State had a kicker kick 4 through the uprights, was in 2013 when Nikolas Sade did it.
• Florida State had an audacious 15 penalties that cost them 116 yards, compared to the Wolfpack’s 4 for 50.
• The Seminoles only rushed for 24 yards.

Was everything perfect?

Of course not.

Florida State racked up 445 yards of total offense, with 421 of them coming through the air. That’s the second consecutive game NC State has given up 400+ yards passing.

There are always things to be worked on after every game, even 19-point victories, but at the end of the day, NC State dominated Florida State, and it was a beautiful thing to watch.

While the ACC championship is off the table, NC State has the chance to finish with double-digit wins for the second time in school history, and finish ranked in the Top-25 for the second straight season, which hasn’t been done in 26 years.

Yesterday was a huge step in that direction. It was a program building victory.