Florida State @ North Carolina State preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 31, 2009 ) North Carolina State 42, Florida State 45

The road to Charlotte begins in Raleigh on Thursday night.

The winner of the pivotal nationally televised game between N.C. State and Florida State will have a leg up in the ACC’s Atlantic Division and the inside track toward playing in the conference title game in Charlotte in December.

Both teams should be well-rested as neither played last weekend. FSU is perfect in conference play at 4-0, while the Wolfpack are tied with Maryland for second in the division at 2-1.

The 15th-ranked Seminoles, aiming for their first ACC title since 2005, are hoping the extra rest benefits Christian Ponder. The senior quarterback ruptured the bursa sac in his throwing (right) arm during his team’s 24-19 win over Boston College on Oct. 16. Ponder missed some practice time last week with a swollen elbow, but is expected to be ready.

A big-time NFL prospect, Ponder has completed better than 60 percent of his passes to guide a balanced FSU offense. More importantly, he’s consistently made good decisions, which explains why the Seminoles lead the ACC in third-down conversions and rank second in red zone offense. FSU has converted on 31 of 34 trips (91.2 percent) inside its opponents’ 20-yard line, coming away with touchdowns 23 times.

Talented running backs Chris Thompson, Jermaine Thomas, and Ty Jones have made Ponder’s job easier. Thompson ranks 10th in the ACC in rushing, but averages an ACC-best 7.7 yards per carry.

The Wolfpack enter the game as the ACC leaders in both pass offense (312.6 ypg.) and total offense (448.9) and rank second behind Virginia Tech in scoring offense (36.0 ppg.). Quarterback Russell Wilson has thrived throwing to his stable of tall, athletic receivers. Their exceptional play, usually at the expense of smaller corners, is one reason why the redshirt junior paces the conference in touchdown passes (18), passing yards (303.4) and total offense (332.0) per game.

Wilson enjoyed a largely turnover-free start to the season, but has been plagued by costly mistakes recently, with eight of his nine interceptions coming in the last three games. His three picks and a fumble were key to N.C. State’s 33-21 loss to East Carolina on Oct. 16.

Wilson will be challenged by a salty FSU defense that leads the nation in sacks and ranks fifth in tackles for loss. The Seminoles are 13th in scoring defense, giving up a little more than 16 points per game.

The two programs have battled almost evenly of late, with Florida State holding a 5-4 edge over the last nine meetings. In eight of those games, the outcome was decided by 10 points or less.