Florida State @ NC State preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 23, 2017 ) NC State 27, Florida State 21

Two teams coming off rough losses look to rebound as Florida State visits North Carolina State on Saturday afternoon. The Seminoles were thoroughly embarrassed at home last week by No. 2 Clemson, while the Wolfpack were upset as a road favorite at Syracuse.

For the Seminoles, there’s nowhere to go but up after suffering their worst home loss in school history (59-10) that left coach Willie Taggart questioning some players his team. “I felt like we had some guys that quit on our football team and that can't be tolerated. You quit, you don't play,” Taggart told reporters after the game. NC State returns home after two tough road games where it lost 41-7 at Clemson two weeks ago and 51-41 at Syracuse last weekend in a game where quarterback Ryan Finley threw for a career-high 473 yards and three touchdowns but came up short. “I think we've got to put it behind us. I think the defense gave us a shot down the stretch. We had a drive to win. We just didn't make it happen,” Finley told reporters after the game.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC. LINE: North Carolina State -7.5.

ABOUT FLORIDA STATE (4-4, 2-4 ACC): As if things weren’t bad enough, Florida State won’t have its leading receiver available for the first half as Nyqwan Murray and reserve linebacker Zaquandre White were both suspended for the first half of this game for throwing punches at Clemson players last weekend. Losing Murray, even for just a half, is a big blow for a team that ranks fourth in the ACC in passing yards per game (266) but last in rushing yards (83.5). In Murray’s absence, quarterback Deondre Francois will likely lean heavily on junior receiver Keith Gavin (22 catches for 358 yards and a touchdown) and freshman receiver Tamorrion Terry (18 catches for 363 yards and five TDs) as the Seminoles try to keep pace with the high-flying Wolfpack.

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA STATE (5-2, 2-2): NC State had a chance to tie or take the lead late as it was driving in the fourth down until Finley threw his only interception of the day with 2:10 remaining. The Wolfpack will be happy to return to the friendly confines of Carter-Finley Stadium where they’re 4-0 on the season, including two conference wins over Virginia and Boston College. They will, however, be without senior wide receiver and team captain Stephen Louis as the graduate student will undergo season-ending ankle surgery from an injury suffered in the Clemson game two weeks ago.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Florida State leads the all-time series 26-12, but NC State pulled off a 27-21 road win last season.

2. NC State WR Kelvin Harmon had 11 catches for 247 yards last week, the second-highest, single-game receiving yardage total in all of FBS in 2018.

3. The Wolfpack defense has given up 1,032 total yards over the last two games.

PREDICTION: North Carolina State 35, Florida State 24