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NC State Versus Florida State | Week 10 | Preview and How to Watch

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NC State Wolfpack vs. Florida State Seminoles
Time: 4:00 PM
Location: Tallahassee
TV: ACCN
Line: Wolfpack -2.5

 

After a big win in Raleigh for Homecoming, the Wolfpack head back to Florida, hoping for a better result this time around. Let’s dig into the Saturday afternoon matchup.

 

Florida State Preview

A month into the season, the Seminoles were the laughing stock of not only the ACC, but the nation. An opening weekend loss to Notre Dame before losing to sub-division Jacksonville State made headlines everywhere. Currently they stand at 3-5, with those three wins coming in the last four weeks (Syracuse, UNC, UMass).

Of note, the Seminoles have been dealing with a nasty flu bug, leaving practice numbers fairly light this week. Name a player and there were some worries about whether they’d be ready to go today.

Here is how you stop the Seminoles: Don’t let them run the ball. Despite their record, FSU has a fantastic running game. In their eight games, they’ve gone over 200 rushing yards six times. Their average yards per rush is tenth in the nation. Running backs Jashaun Corbin (714 yards, 7.5 avg) and Treshaun Ward (440 yards, 7.1 avg) are workhorses that get their yards just about every time. Even quarterback Jordan Travis gets involved in the running game with 340 yards on the year. Throwing the ball, Travis is “fine”, sporting a 63% completion percentage but tends to extend plays too long and gets himself in trouble. Travis was hit hardest this week with the flu bug, with some rumors he might actually miss the game.

Florida State defense is stable, ranked 68th nationally in total defense. If you want to zero in on the problem area, it’s defensive end transfer, Jermaine Johnson. He’s averaging one sack per game, with 11 total tackles for loss. This defensive front will put pressure on Leary, allowing for their secondary to attempt to make some plays. While State’s running game struggled last week, they’ll have a chance to get back on track with a FSU defense giving up an average of 162 rushing yards per game.

 

Keys to Winning for the Wolfpack

To be honest, FSU is the football child of Miami and Louisville. From Miami they; have been playing much better of late, have home field advantage, steady pass rush, iffy secondary. From Louisville; mobile quarterback, will scramble and run, has receivers that can hurt you if you let them.

  • Can the running defense hold up and contain again? Louisville’s Cunningham is much more athletic and poised than Travis, and State contained Cunningham just about as well as they could. This Seminole backfield, however, is a beast. While we don’t want to make this Durden versus FSU, he’ll need a heck of a game. Keep that center of the line push going with Joseph and these LBs controlling the edge. We NEED to keep the FSU running game in check.
  • Can Leary finally go vertical in the first half? If you put up points early, you help bullet point one dramatically. Leary and the offense look much different in the second half in just about every game this season. Quick routes to get the ball off before this pass rush attacks, but the deep ball WILL be open. Can Beck dial up this backfield to go…I don’t know…right? Would also love to see a heavy dose of RPO’s and getting everybody in the WR and RB with the some pass plays.
  • Can State start fast? Seminoles are coming off a disappointing game against Clemson (probably should have won) and then were nailed by the flu bug. If you ever needed to start fast, this is the game. A weird 4:00pm start time will help temper the crowd. State controls their path to the ACCC. It’s time to show up from the opening kickoff.

Predictions

This Florida State team is built to just stick around. Playing conservative on offense and not taking advantage of opportunities on defense, only helps FSU. Another week, another chance to get a win you absolutely need. O/U is 55.5 and not sure they’ll get there. Slow starts by all, but the Pack SQUEEK one out.

State 27-24

#GoPack

 

 

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NC State Football

Former NC State Running Back Jordan Houston Signs with Marshall

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Former NC State Running Back Jordan Houston has officially transferred to Marshall for his final year of eligibility. NC State played Marshall this past season, but Houston didn’t play against the Thundering Herd, because he had already opted to redshirt the remainder of the season.

After playing in three games this past season, Houston opted to redshirt the remainder of the season (despite the fact that he was the starter at the time), giving him the ability to transfer with one year of eligibility remaining.

Houston played in 51 games for NC State over 5 years on the field, rushing for 1,392 yards (4.3 yards per carry) and 6 touchdowns. He also caught 60 passes for 398 yards and 1 touchdown.

Houston was a 3-Star prospect in NC State’s 2019 recruiting class out of Flint High School in Oakton, Virginia.

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NC State Football

Philip Rivers will Finally be Enshrined in the NC State Hall of Fame in April

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Wolfpack legend Philip Rivers will finally be inducted into the NC State Hall of Fame on April 20th!

Rivers was elected into the Hall of Fame back in 2013 (2nd year of the NC State Hall of Fame), but he has deferred his enshrinement over the years due to time constraints.

 

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Rivers pretty much owns every NC State record for Quarterbacks, and still has the most Career Passing Yards and Passes Completed in ACC history, and he ranks 3rd in Touchdown Passes. Rivers was the ACC Rookie of the Year in 2000, and the ACC Player of the Year in 2003.

You can buy your tickets here.

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NC State Football

DJ Burns Had a Word for Wolfpack Fans After Winning the ACC Championship

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When NC State’s DJ Burns was giving his acceptance speech after receiving the 2024 ACC Tournament MVP Award, Burns had the following quote to say when asked what he wanted to say to the fans.

“I’m going to keep it real simple. Thank you to the ones who’ve been consistent throughout the ride, and welcome back everybody else.”

Burns’ words struck a chord.

Throughout much of this season, it was embarrassing to see all the empty seats in PNC Arena.

As the Wolfpack lost 7 of their final 9 regular season games, it was clear that this team wasn’t just losing games, but they were also losing much of the fanbase.

It’s clear from Burns’ words that the empty seats were noticed, and so were the words of fans online.

NC State finished the regular season 10th, and much of the fanbase was frustrated, and rightfully so.

But, frustrated doesn’t have to mean giving up.

‘Never giving up’ is kind of supposed to be NC State’s thing.

The words of Jimmy V reverberate throughout the history of NC State basketball.

This team didn’t always put W’s in the Win column this season, and it wasn’t always an easy watch, but never for a moment were these players not playing as hard as they could for their school, one another, and their coach.

They never gave up.

Fans have a right to be frustrated, but you can still show up for a team, even when they struggle, because that’s what loyal fans do. When players wear a jersey with NC State across the chest, and they don’t give up, their fans shouldn’t either.

NC State fans aren’t known to be fair weather fans. Let’s not get in the business of leading our players to think we are.

But, like Burns said, whether you’ve been along for the ride all season or not, it’s time to hop on.

 

 

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NC State Football

WATCH: PackInsider’s 2023 Sean Brown Highlight Reel

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This past season was a breakout season for Junior Safety, now turned Linebacker, Sean Brown.

This past season, Brown started in 11 of the 13 games that he played in, and ranked 3rd on the team in tackles (66) and pass breakups (5). He also had 5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions and 1 forced fumble. Brown’s PFF Grade of 63.7 ranked 13th on the team. His Tackling Grade of 86.6 ranked 2nd on the team behind Payton Wilson.

As you will notice in our Highlight Reel ABOVE, Brown lived in the box, and is a very ferocious tackler. He will fit right in at Linebacker next year for the Wolfpack.

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