The last ten times State went down to Tallahassee, they only can back with wins three times. For just the first time since 2002, the Wolfpack have been victorious over the Seminoles and Clemson Tigers in the same season. A further look at their successes in the Sunshine State.
1) All Those Other Guys
I tell you Leary throws four touchdowns – and similar to last week – they each go to a different teammate…name them…
There is 0.001% chance you would have been able to combine Pennix, Riley, Toudle and Person. Furthermore, you wouldn’t have been able to tell me those four were also the top-four receiving yards on the day. Or heck, even had thrown in that the receptions leader was by Rooks. NC State just went down and beat FSU and did so with four receptions and 9 total yards from Emezie, Thomas, Carter and Knight COMBINED.
You can look at this situation as either glass half-full or half-empty. Half-full: Leary and staff have gained confidence in just about everyone on this roster. If you make catches, you’ll see action. Half-empty: You worry that Carter has disappeared two out of the last three weeks. You wonder in a game that FSU gave Leary openings deep, how they couldn’t have found Thomas with his speed. Regardless, unreal game by the “other guys” Saturday afternoon.
2) Ground Game Grounded Again
This is actually quite a big concern for multiple reasons.
First, in Power 5 matchups the duo of Knight and Person are averaging 88 yards combined. The went off against USF, Furman, LT and Clemson…but those other five games have been a struggle. If not for timely 20+ yard rushes, the numbers would be tough to look at. They have the skills, but predictability and o-line struggles have hampered chances of getting consistent yardage.
Second, we seemingly because of those struggles, force the ground game. State’s best runs against FSU, and a couple other games, have gone right. Yet, 95% of plays are run left behind the beast that is Ekwonu. Diversity of playcalling and downs would do wonders to at least give them a chance of success.
Third, FSU should have been a team to make hay against. The Seminoles have a strong pass rush, but next level success has been key for opponents. FSU gives up an average of 162 rushing yards per game, but State could only muster 103, thanks to a late run.
3) Speaking of Rush Defense
I get that FSU wasn’t fully healthy and a big part of their running success is having a dual threat QB like Travis in the game. But State was next level dominate.
FSU averages near 200 yards a game, with a yards per carry average that is 10th in the nation. Coming into the game, each of their lead backs (Corbin and Ward) had average rush yardage OVER 7. That’s ridiculous. What’s more ridiculous? State held them to 37 yards COMBINED yards and for the game the Seminoles were only able to average 1.4 yards per carry.
State held the edge, got great push in the center of the line and never, at any point, lost battles they needed to win. Even a “quiet” day from Thomas, Durden and Joseph and others stepped up to make plays.
4) Penalties Almost Ended Us
Maybe not the team, but my blood pressure tried it’s best to take me out. Granted, the false start on Gibson having a singular muscle spasm in his tricep (but yet Miami CAN MOVE THE BALL BACKWARDS) was unreal. But there were miscues after miscues. State ended up with 8 penalties on the day, the vast majority were false starts. If this was a Florida State crowd of the 90’s, I’d get it, and as much as the announcers wanted it to seem like it was (“This crowd is loud and into it!!!), it wasn’t.
Wake Forest will be an absolute madhouse next weekend. Need to figure out snap counts because points will be at a premium and drive stalling can’t happen.
4B) ACC Network Sucks
While we’re talking about miscues, the ACCN was yet again an absolute disaster. Camera angles so zoomed in you couldn’t see the plays develop. QB still has the ball and the camera is all the way down field, but still misses the throw altogether. The announcers calling out Carter for the touchdown (it was Riley) or repeatedly saying Todd Boykin…who the…
Thanks ACC for being able to put together sub-par high school content…
5) Gill has a Leg
If we continually don’t draw up plays that go 4 yards when we need 7. If maybe we don’t always run on first and second, forcing and telegraphing we’re throwing on third. Maybe, just maybe if we change things up on offense here and there we wouldn’t have to say this as much…but Gill won the first half for State.
Between a 60 yard bomb and repeatedly pinning FSU back, the man is an absolute weapon for State. I hope and pray this man gets to accolades and NFL mentions when the time comes. He’s awesome, just wish we could talk about him less, haha.
6) OMG It’s Wake Forest and State
Zero, ZERO people on the planet saw this matchup in week 11 playing a vital role in either team’s ability to make it to the ACC Championship. If Wake managed to beat UNC, outside chance the Gameday crew would have been live from Winston-Salem. Are there worries are secondary crew won’t be able to keep pace? Yeah. Can our offense get going in an absolute shootout? Maybe. But those are problems for another day.
State has hit their O/U win total for the year with still three games to play. They’re bowl eligible and still in the running for some serious hardware. Enjoy this ride and the upcoming game between two ranked, NC schools.
#GoPack
I saw Tim Peeler posted that State and WF have only played each other as ranked teams once, back in 1992. We were #13, they were #25. It was a home game, we won 42-14. We’ve got a tall task in front of us.