Florida State is bow eligible for the 35th year following a 24-20 win in Raleigh North Carolina, a place that has been a problem for Florida State in the past.
Things got going in Florida States (6-3, 3-3) way early when Tarvarus McFadden came away with his NCAA leading seventh interception, but FSU is not one to break suit as they failed to score in the first quarter for the seventh straight game.
The Wolfpack (4-5, 1-4) got on the board first with a 30-yard touchdown pass, they would find two more field goals in the first half, while FSU would also get in the end zone and tack on a field goal before the break to make it a 13-10 game.
To say the offense struggled early is an understatement. Freshman quarterback Deondre Francois went 7-17 for 102 yards while Dalvin averaged less than three yards per carry.
Florida State has adopted the “Don’t play good football until the second half” strategy which they implemented last season and it has led to some very interesting games the past two years.
Much like the first, the second half did not start off going Florida State’s way. NC State would need just nine plays to drive 95-yards down the field for the touchdown, doubling their lead 20-10.
Dalvin Cook joined the party in the second half and Florida State got the ball rolling offensively. Cook was able to scamper into the end zone from 10 yards trimming the deficit to just three entering the fourth quarter.
As a whole the receiving unit struggled for the majority of the game. Nyqwan Murray was the lone star out of the receivers. Murray had 9 grabs for 153 yards on the night. Murray had just 142 yards on the season entering the game against the Wolfpack.
With three minutes left in the game, Florida State was still down 20-17. Deondre Francois drove the offense 83 yards down field until he found Travis Rudolph for a 19-yard touchdown that put the Seminoles ahead 24-20.
Francois struggled early but was able to recover in the second half. The young quarterback finished the game with 330 yards passing and one touchdown on 39 attempts.
Former wide out Ermon Lane finished the game with 10 total tackles, alongside star senior tackle DeMarcus Walker who also had 10 tackles and two sacks.
Florida State never really got going, but they got out of the game with a win. Following a heartbreaker to Clemson, some feared that FSU would sleep on the Wolfpack, a team that was a field goal away from beating the Clemson Tigers a few weeks ago.
The Seminoles will have a short turn around before they have to play Boston College (4-5, 1-5) on Friday November 11th at 7:30.
