Following a two-game skid on the road, No. 21 NC State football desperately needed a victory at Carter-Finley Stadium on homecoming day Saturday. That’s exactly what it got, with a 47-28 victory over Florida State.
Wolfpack (6-2, 3-2 ACC) graduate quarterback Ryan Finley completed 21 of 27 pass attempts for 240 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Redshirt junior receiver Jakobi Meyers finished with nine catches for 125 yards and a touchdown against the Seminoles (4-5, 2-5 ACC).
“I was really proud of our guys tonight,” Doeren said. “We came out and wanted to start fast. I thought we did that, held them to zero points in the first quarter. … Offensively, Jakobi Meyers had an excellent game, 125 yards. Ryan took care of the football and made good throws.”
The Wolfpack’s running backs had a strong game, rushing for 177 yards on 49 carries. Senior Reggie Gallaspy led the way with 106 yards on 21 carries, and freshman Ricky Person scored the first three touchdowns of his career (two rushing, one receiving).
“We got going early with the run game,” Gallaspy said. “Sometimes we have a little slow start with the run game. But this time we got out there and got everything moving and started a rhythm. The rhythms just kept going the rest of the game.”
While NC State still struggled in pass coverage, as Florida State quarterback James Blackman completed 29 of 46 attempts for 421 yards, four touchdowns and a pick, the Wolfpack’s defense was markedly better than it was in the last two weeks. The Pack sacked Blackman five times and picked up 10 tackles for loss.
Redshirt senior defensive tackle Eurndraus Bryant and redshirt sophomore Shug Frazier both missed the game with injuries, opening up the way for younger defensive linemen such as freshman Alim McNeill and redshirt freshman Xavier Lyas (two sacks) to show what they could do. Senior Darian Roseboro, normally a defensive end, played defensive tackle in the game as well.
“We had to move Darian inside,” Doeren said. “We lost both nose guards in the same game last week. I was really proud of Darian playing inside. It’s hard. Obviously we got to see Alim play more and Larrell, those guys rotated. That forced us to elevate Xavier Lyas and you saw [redshirt freshman defensive end Ibrahim Kante] in the game more. A lot of young guys out there on defense because of our injuries. … It’s good to see some production out of younger players.”
After struggling in that regard in its two-game losing streak, NC State won the turnover battle 2-0 in this one. Both came in key moments, as the Wolfpack forced a fumble near midfield on Florida State’s first drive, and redshirt junior defensive tackle Larrell Murchison came up with a pick at the Seminoles’ 32-yard line. NC State cashed the interception in with a touchdown to take a 27-7 lead in the second quarter.
“We practice every day getting the ball back,” Murchison said. “Getting the ball is our big mentality just to the offense can score. They’re going to do their job as long as we’ve got them. Just getting the ball back is a big job for us.”
NC State played a much more disciplined game than the Seminoles; the Wolfpack was penalized four times for 50 yards while the Seminoles racked up 16 for 121.
The Pack took the ball first in this one and marched it down the field with authority, going 75 yards on 11 plays in 4:25, culminating with Person’s first-career touchdown to make it 7-0.
“Me and Reggie, we’re always competing against each other,” Person said. “We push each other each and every day. Just happy it was the opposite way around [with touchdowns] this time.”
The Wolfpack took a 17-0 lead with another scoring drive early in the second quarter, with junior receiver Kelvin Harmon making a leaping grab in the end zone on an 8-yard strike from Finley.
“I think we just came back and we were excited to get out and play,” Finley said. “I didn’t see any sulking from anybody on the team. That’s on our coaches and on our leadership for progressing that culture.”
NC State’s secondary struggled again, giving up several big plays throughout the game, including a 35-yard catch for FSU receiver Tamorrion Terry for the ‘Noles’ first touchdown of the game. The Pack’s pass-coverage issues kept the game from being a bigger blowout, including on another big-play drive that allowed Florida State to cut its deficit to two scores before halftime.
“Yes and no,” Doeren said on if the secondary improved. “In the nickel position, yes. I thought we gave up too many big plays on the corner. [Tamorrion Terry] is a heck of a player for them and he made some really good plays on us. Does it need to get better? Absolutely. We’ll continue to work to get better.”
NC State’s red-zone offense left a bit to be desired against Florida State, as the Pack kicked field goals on drives that ended inside the Seminoles’ 20 3 of 8 times, including after a fourth-down stop gave the Wolfpack the ball at Florida State’s 31. Freshman kicker Chris. Dunn finished 4 for 4 on field goals.
“Obviously we would like to finish some more drives in the end zone instead of finishing with field goals,” senior center Garrett Bradbury said. “But having Chris Dunn make all those field goals was huge. That was a big lift for us.”
Following that field goal, NC State got another stop, then took a 37-14 lead on a two-yard touchdown catch from Meyers.
“I just wanted to help get the team back on track,” Meyers said. “I felt like I wasn’t contributing the way I know that I could. I just wanted to get more involved and make more plays so I could help us get moving forward.”
The Pack shut out Florida State in the fourth quarter until a garbage-time touchdown with 40 seconds late made it 47-28.
NC State will be back in action on a short week with a Thursday night matchup against Wake Forest at Carter-Finley next week.
Redshirt junior wide receiver Jakobi Meyers sprints down the sideline against Florida State on Saturday, Nov. 3 at Carter-Finley Stadium. Meyers had 9 receptions for 125 yards and 1 touchdown as the Wolfpack beat Florida State 47-28.
