Florida State @ North Carolina State preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 26, 2013 ) North Carolina State 17, Florida State 49

Top-ranked Florida State survived a week without its Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback – barely. The Seminoles will welcome Jameis Winston back under center when they visit undefeated ACC challenger North Carolina State on Saturday. Winston, whose series of off-the-field issues finally resulted in a suspension last week, returns to a Florida State team that managed to hang onto its top spot in the rankings but has yet to look dominating.

The Wolfpack are taking a huge jump up in competition after beating Georgia Southern, Old Dominion, South Florida and Presbyterian in the first four weeks. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett is a new addition this season after sitting out 2013 following a transfer from Florida and is settling in with 1,005 yards, 10 touchdowns and one interception for an offense averaging 40.3 points. The Seminoles crushed North Carolina State 49-17 en route to the 2013 National Title as Winston threw three TD passes in a 35-point first quarter.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN2. LINE: Florida State -19

ABOUT FLORIDA STATE (3-0, 1-0 ACC): The Seminoles are ranked No. 1 but rankings supposedly mean very little to the new playoff selection committee, which will decide which four teams get a chance to play for the National Championship. Florida State just barely survived Clemson, 23-17 in overtime, without Winston and needed defensive stops in the red zone late in the fourth quarter and on fourth-and-inches in overtime to pull off the win. “We challenged our guys to find out who we are,” coach Jimbo Fisher told reporters after the game. “We’re not where we want to be, but we do know who we are.”

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA STATE (4-0, 0-0): The Wolfpack are still finding out who they are and are looking for their first ACC win since the finale of the 2012 regular season against Boston College. Brissett is guiding the NC State offense to an ACC-best average of 502 yards of offense and is one of several changes from last season’s team that turned the ball over three times against the Seminoles and fell behind 42-0 at the half. “We’re a different team than we were last year,” coach Dave Doeren told reporters. "I just feel better being here for a year, seeing the growth of our team and knowing we have a quarterback we can trust in situations so that we can compete in a game like this.”

EXTRA POINTS

1. Seminoles DT Nile Lawrence-Stample (torn pectoral) will miss the rest of the season.

2. North Carolina State RB Shadrach Thornton, who ran for 173 yards in the loss to Florida State last season, is averaging 6.7 yards per carry in 2014.

3. Seminoles WR Rashard Greene is averaging 139.3 receiving yards.

PREDICTION: Florida State 45, North Carolina State 24