Who: N.C. State Wolfpack (6-3, 2-3 ACC) at No. 16 Florida State Seminoles (7-2, 5-2 ACC)
When: Saturday, November 14th at 12:30 P.M. eastern time
Where: Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida (ACC Network)
Florida State’s dreams of a fourth straight ACC title died in Clemson on Saturday, but the Seminoles can still win six conference games for a fifth time in six years under head coach Jimbo Fisher by beating N.C. State at home on Saturday.
While FSU was defeated 23-13 at Clemson, the Wolfpack are coming off a 24-8 victory at Boston College. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett leads an offense that ranks third in the ACC in points-per-game. Brissett has passed for nearly 1,800 yards this season and 14 touchdowns compared to only two interceptions.
With ACC rushing touchdown leader Matt Dayes out, the Wolfpack will rely more heavily on sophomore wide receiver Jaylen Samuels. Samuels leads N.C. State with 467 yards receiving and five touchdown receptions.
Samuels will be facing a talented FSU secondary headlined by Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist Jalen Ramsey. Safeties Lamarcus Brutus and Derwin James lead the Seminoles in interceptions and forced fumbles, respectively.
Up front, junior defensive end DeMarcus Walker leads FSU with 6.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss. Senior linebacker Reggie Northrup leads the Seminoles with 69 total tackles on the year.
On the offensive side of the ball, sophomore running back Dalvin Cook leads the ACC with 1,231 yards rushing and is tied with Dayes for the conference lead with 12 rushing touchdowns. Cook is 11 yards shy of tying Warrick Dunn’s single-season FSU rushing record set in 1995.
It is not yet known whether redshirt junior Sean Maguire will get a third straight start at quarterback or if the Seminoles will go back to senior Everett Golson, who started the team’s first seven games, but whoever gets the nod will have three receivers with more than 400 yards on the year to throw to. Junior Travis Rudolph leads the group with 41 catches for 587 yards and six touchdown grabs. Juniors Kermit Whitfield and Jesus Wilson each average better than 12 yards-per-catch and each have a pair of receiving touchdowns in 2015.
In the N.C. State secondary, senior Hakim Jones leads the team with a pair of interceptions while the defensive end duo of Mike Rose and Bradley Chubb are each having outstanding seasons. Rose, a senior, leads the ACC with 9.5 sacks while the sophomore Chubb has 4.5 sacks and ranks second on the team with 45 total tackles. Sophomore linebacker Airius Moore tops the Wolfpack with 52 total stops for the year.
Florida State defeated N.C. State 56-41 last season in Raleigh and has won the last two in the series. FSU raced to a 35-0 first quarter lead before thumping the Wolfpack 49-17 in N.C. State’s last trip to Tallahassee in 2013.
Prior to Clemson beating the Seminoles on Saturday however, N.C. State was the only ACC team to beat FSU twice under head coach Jimbo Fisher with both contests coming at Carter-Finley Stadium. The Wolfpack beat FSU 28-24 on a Thursday night in 2010 and overcame a 16-0 deficit to top the Seminoles 17-16 in 2012 — their last victory in the series. Florida State leads the all-time series 23-10.
