Florida State Seminoles vs North Carolina State Wolfpack Match Player Stats On Nov 05, 2016

The Sports Xchange
Nov 5, 2016

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Deondre Francois, sensing a heavy pass rush, threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Travis Rudolph with 3:09 remaining as No. 22 Florida State escaped with a 24-20 victory against North Carolina State on Saturday night at Carter-Finley Stadium.

The 83-yard drive gave the Seminoles the only points of the fourth quarter.

Florida State (6-3, 3-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), which lost a three-point decision a week earlier to undefeated Clemson, rallied from a 10-point deficit.

After the Wolfpack fell behind, N.C. State (4-5, 1-4) reached the Florida State 24-yard line before turning the ball over on downs with just more than a minute to play. The Wolfpack's final drive included a 15-yard penalty on Florida State defensive end Brian Burns for targeting and a subsequent ejection.

Francois, a redshirt freshman quarterback, threw for 330 yards by completing 22 of 39 passes.

Quarterback Ryan Finley completed 25 of 41 passes for 304 yards, but he couldn't prevent N.C. State's fourth consecutive loss.

N.C. State sophomore receiver Nyheim Hines caught 11 passes for a career-high 124 yards and running back Matt Dayes had 104 rushing yards on 23 carries.

Fullback/tight end Jaylen Samuels ran 23 yards for a touchdown to complete a 95-yard third-quarter drive, providing the Wolfpack a 20-10 lead.

That seemed to perk up Florida State, which responded three minutes later on running back Dalvin Cook's 10-yard touchdown run on the final play of the third quarter.

Following a punt, Florida State took possession at its own 17-yard line with 4:37 to play.

It took five plays for the Seminoles to score the winning touchdown, doing so one play after Francois was nearly intercepted in the end zone. It completed a five-play drive.

N.C. State initially failed to build on a halftime lead after a Florida State fumble on the first possession of the second half. Given another chance, the long drive provided the first double-digit margin of the game.

N.C. State held a 13-10 halftime lead on Connor Haskins' 39-yard field goal with six seconds remaining.

That came at the end of a 64-yard, 10-play drive after it appeared the Wolfpack would be content to run time off the clock to end the half. The possession began with 1:20 remaining.

N.C. State opened the scoring on Finley's 28-yard touchdown pass to receiver Bra'Lon Cherry on third-and-15 as the Wolfpack covered 71 yards on eight plays.

A chance to build the lead went by the wayside when Kyle Bambard missed a 31-yard field goal. The next kicking opportunity went to Haskins, who converted on a 20-yarder with 4:01 left in the half.

The Seminoles bounced right back, tying the game with running back Jacques Patrick's 2-yard run as the Seminoles travelled 75 yards in seven plays.

NOTES: N.C. State defeated Florida State in three of the previous five matchups in Raleigh. That included a 17-16 victory in 2012. ... This was the third nationally ranked opponent in a four-game stretch for the Wolfpack. That makes it their toughest stretch since facing three ranked teams in a row in 1997. ... Sophomore CB Tarvarus McFadden had six interceptions entering the week, giving him the most pickoffs by a Florida State player since 2007. He added another in the first half Saturday. ... After Florida State's last game, coach Jimbo Fisher was reprimanded and the school fined because of his comments about officiating in the loss to Clemson. ... Former N.C. State coach Dick Sheridan was honored on the field during the first half. He garnered National Coach of the Year honors 30 years ago with the Wolfpack. ... Florida State plays at home Friday night against Boston College. ... N.C. State is back in action next Saturday at Syracuse.