Quick Hits From NC State’s 21-11 Win Over FSU

NC State just defeated Florida St. 21-11 in Carter-Finley Stadium, improving to 6-5 on the year. Here are my Quick Hits.

• The Wolfpack is officially bowl eligible.
  • The Pack will now go to a bowl game for the 6th straight year.
  • NC State will now go to 11 bowls in 13 years under Dave Doeren.
• NC State won a game in which FSU produced nearly 100 more yards of Total Offense.
  • The Seminoles had 383 yards of Total Offense, while the Wolfpack had 286.
    • A couple of things have to go your way to win a game in that scenario.
      • NC State won the time of possession battle by almost 6 minutes (32:57/27:03)
      • FSU turned the ball over 4 times. NC State didn’t turn the ball over once.
      • The Seminoles missed 2 field goals.
      • FSU quite literally muffed the ball on two punts in the final minutes of the game.
        • I’m not sure if a ball bouncing off the helmet of a Seminole player counts as a muff, but we’ll go with it.
• The MVP of this game was Senior Cornerback Devon Marshall.
  • Marshall played the best game by a Cornerback I’ve seen in quite some time.
    • He finished the game with 6 Pass Breakups and 2 Interceptions. He also had 4 tackles.
      • NC State doesn’t keep records for the most Pass Breakups in a single game in the Media Guide, but I can’t remember a player having 6 Pass Breakups in a single game.
      • Two of those Pass Breakups almost went for interceptions.
    • Marshall carried the burden of guarding Duce Robinson, the ACC’s leading receiver. Robinson finished with 4 receptions for 74 yards, but he was targeted 12 times.
  • Marshall now has 14 pass breakups on the season, which is tied for the 8th most in a single season in school history.
• Sophomore Quarterback CJ Bailey didn’t have a mind blowing performance, but when you look at his stat line, he was solid.
  • Bailey completed 18 of 25 (72%) for 152 yards and 2 touchdowns (0 interceptions).
• Dave Doeren blew my mind when he went for it on 4th and 6 on the 12-yard line with 1:52 left in the game.
  • The Pack was up by 3, and Doeren called a timeout.
  • He figured FSU would need a touchdown to win, and decided to play for the win.
    • The result was a 12-yard touchdown pass from CJ Bailey to Senior Tight End Justin Joly.
      • Joly finished with a team-high 5 receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown.
• Redshirt Sophomore Running Back Hollywood Smothers didn’t break any highlight reel runs, but he worked for every one of his 84 rushing yards.
• Redshirt Senior Caden Fordham played one of the best games of his career against his dad’s alma mater.
  • Fordham finished with 15 tackles, tying his career high.
    • He now has 118 tackles on the year.