Florida State @ North Carolina State preview
Carter Finley Stadium
Last Meeting ( Oct 29, 2011 ) North Carolina State 0, Florida State 34
Florida State leaves the Sunshine State for the first time this season as the fourth-ranked Seminoles face North Carolina State on Saturday in an Atlantic Coast Conference contest. After opening with four straight home games, Florida State posted a 30-17 victory at South Florida to improve to 5-0. The Seminoles have not started 6-0 since 1999 when they finished 12-0 and won the national championship. Florida State lost its sixth game after opening 5-0 in 2000, 2003 and 2005. Florida State's stout defense could get tested Saturday as North Carolina State gained a school-record 674 yards in last week's 44-37 loss at Miami. Mike Glennon threw for a career-best 440 yards and four touchdowns for the Wolfpack, but he also was picked off twice. North Carolina State lost five fumbles against the Hurricanes, its highest total since fumbling six times against Florida State in 1995. Last season, the Seminoles picked off Glennon twice and limited him to to 130 yards passing in a 34-0 victory. It’s the only time Glennon has been held to less than 150 yards in a start.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN2. LINE: Florida State -15
ABOUT FLORIDA STATE (5-0, 2-0 ACC): EJ Manuel completed 73 percent of his passes (19-of-26) against South Florida to push his career total to 67.4 percent, which makes him the all-time leader on the ACC career completion percentage list just ahead of Virginia’s Matt Schaub (67.0). The Seminoles are averaging 51.0 points per game while allowing only 11.4, which ranks seventh nationally in the FBS. Florida State is third in total defense, yielding 200.8 yards per outing. On offense, the Seminoles feature a balanced attack, averaging 261.2 yards passing and 283.2 yards on the ground. Florida State (6.84) ranks second only to Oklahoma State (6.94) in yards per carry and is ahead of its single-season school record of 5.83 yards per attempt set in 1995. Chris Thompson leads the Seminoles in rushing with 431 yards and needs to average 81.3 yards over the final seven games to become Florida State's first 1,000-yard rusher since Warren Dunn in 1996. Sophomore James Wilder Jr. has a team-high six rushing touchdowns and shares the ACC lead among running backs.
ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA STATE (3-2, 0-1 ACC): Redshirt sophomore Bryan Underwood has caught a touchdown pass in five straight games to match the school record set by Koren Robinson in 2000. Glennon has completed 109-of-176 passes for 1,422 yards and 10 touchdowns but he also has thrown six interceptions. Quintin Payton in N.C. State's top receiver with 19 catches for 421 yards and one touchdown and has been named to the Biletnikoff Award list. Half of Underwood's 12 receptions this season have gone for scores. On the ground, Tony Creecy has rushed for a team-high 250 yards. Freshman Shadrach Thornton is averaging 116.0 yards per game, but has played in only two contests. Florida State's visit marks only the second time the Wolfpack will play a top 10 team at home under coach Tom O'Brien. Last season, North Carolina State defeated No. 7 Clemson 37-13 at Carter-Finley Stadium. In addition, Saturday's game will mark the first appearance for a top five team in Raleigh since 1988, when the unranked Wolfpack upset Florida State 24-7.
EXTRA POINTS
1. FSU leads the all-time series 22-10 and is 9-6 all-time versus the Wolfpack in Raleigh.
2. Beginning with a victory in 1996, Florida State has alternated wins and losses in its biennial trips to North Carolina State.
3. North Carolina State has rushed for more than 200 yards in consecutive games for the first time since 1998.
PREDICTION: Florida State 38, North Carolina State 21