Falling to 0-12 during Atlantic Division road games in Tom O’Brien’s tenure, N.C . State (4-4, 1-3 ACC) was shutout by Florida State (5-3, 3-2 ACC) 34-0 on Saturday afternoon.
The game was the first time the Pack failed to score since Aug. 28, 2008 in a 34-0 loss at South Carolina. The last time State was shutout during an ACC game was on Nov. 24, 2007 in a 37-0 loss at home against Maryland, and the last time State was shutout on the road in an ACC game was Oct. 13, 1990 in a 31-0 loss at Virginia – over 21 years ago.
The Wolfpack will now be forced to win three of its final four games to reach a bowl game.
State immediately got off to an inauspicious start after collecting just one first down in its first three series of the game. In the opening stanza alone, the Seminoles out-gained the Pack in total yardage by a 110-37 margin.
Florida State running back Devonta Freeman opened the scoring with a seven yard touchdown run, which capped off a short two-play drive set up by a 28-yard Greg Reid punt return. In the dying moments of the first quarter, Dustin Hopkins nailed a 43-yard field goal to complete a 10 play, 45-yard scoring drive. Quarterback E.J . Manuel was 4-of-6 on the drive.
The Wolfpack began the second quarter with a productive offensive drive, but eventually stalled out at the Seminoles’ 34 yard line. Despite moving the ball 46 yards with four first downs, Nicklas Sade missed a 51-yard field goal following a snap that rolled along the ground back to holder Will Baumann .
It would prove to be the final moment where NCSU had hope of getting back into the game.
The Seminoles quickly added to the lead by marching 66 yards in just 3 minutes and 35 seconds. While Bert Reed led Florida State for most of the drive 40 receiving yards on the drive, it was running back Lonnie Pryor who punched the ball into the end zone with yet another seven yard touchdown run.
The last Seminole strike of the opening half came off of the only turnover in the first 30 minutes. Quarterback Mike Glennon lofted the ball downfield into double coverage and was intercepted by cornerback Xavier Rhodes at the FSU 26 yard line. Just one minutes and 26 seconds later, Manuel hit wide receiver Kenny Shaw on a 20-yard post pattern to put a bow on the touchdown drive.
Florida State led 24-0 at half time and converted on all three of its red zone opportunities.
The ‘Noles spent the majority of the third quarter melting the clock with steady drives downfield . Although they kept the ball for large chunks at a time, Florida State did not add on to the lead after a Terrell Manning interception on one drive and a missed 51-yard field goal from Hopkins on the other.
Nearing the end of the third quarter, the Pack got inside the Florida State 25 but fumbled the ball away after Glennon mishandled a shotgun snap. With no scoring in the third quarter, the score remained 24-0 in favor of the ‘Noles.
Florida State added another Hopkins field goal during the fourth quarter before Manuel hooked up with Greg Dent on a 26-yard TD pass play with 4:28 remaining. The play would conclude the afternoon’s scoring.
State will be back in action next weekend when they host North Carolina at home from Carter-Finley Stadium. The game time is set for 12:30 p.m . and can be seen on the ACC Network.
