NC State gave Florida State its collective best shot but just came up a little short. There was so much to take away from this game despite the loss that I don’t even know where to start. I honestly can not remember the last time I left Carter-Finley after a loss where we played very well (not perfect) or NC State Shit didn’t show up for us to blow it in some inexplicable way. The better team won and I’m perfectly ok with it. No one wants to lose and I hate a moral victory but this game gave credibility to what Dave Doeren is doing with the program after so many questioned the performances in the first four games. It also put Jacoby Brissett deservedly on everyone’s radar and put NC State on all the recruits radar. In one of the biggest recruiting days we can ever remember, Carter-Finley was electric from start to finish.
There is still a lot of football to be played and NC State fans should recognize that this game should not be used as a baseline for this team but a measuring stick of what we can do. I think we are still a few years (and players) away from performing consistently at this level but the direction of the program under Dave Doeren can not be questioned.
With that said, here are some interesting points from the loss:
FSU’s kicking game was a difference maker – State doesn’t really have a difference maker in their return game yet and FSU took advantage of it. FSU has probably the best kicker in the nation in Roberto Aguayo and he showed it with his precise kickoffs. Rather than booting the ball deep into the end-zone, Aguayo lofted perfectly angled kicks into the corners around the 1-5 yard line. The height on his kicks gave the speedy FSU special teamers plenty of time to get down field and make a quick tackle. Very rarely did the Pack have starting field position past the 20 yard line after a kickoff and often it was around the 10-15. If you have a kicker that can pull that off and aren’t kicking to a dynamic returner, think you’ll see more teams doing that vs giving up field position at the 25.
NC State is the youngest team in the nation and it showed – Wolfpack fans might get discouraged by the porous defense or the missed second-half tackles but it is important to keep in mind that statistically State is the youngest team in the nation at 78.3% underclassmen. We have seen it all year with closer than many hoped games with Georgia Southern & ODU but we simply don’t have the talent and depth to push people around. Never was that more apparent than Saturday. For example, in the first half the offensive line did a good job of opening holes and passing lanes while giving Brissett time to progress through his reads but as the game went the FSU defensive line closed those holes and repeatedly pressured Brissett. Overall they played a good game but got warn down and were unable to sustain the first half performance.
Tony Adams making his first start at OG – Joe Thuney has been sick all week so that left true freshman Tony Adams to make his first career start against FSU’s loaded defensive line and I believe he did a great job. I will go back and watch the replay tomorrow to be sure but State was running to Adams’ side all day and doing it well so I think he’ll grade out pretty well when the coaches get a look at the film. That’s a great sign for the future of the o-line.
FSU’s defensive backs were aggressive. The second half you could see the Florida State secondary make an effort to be more physical with the NC State WRs and it worked. They grabbed, pushed, blocked and bumped the WRs well outside the five yard range and it got us out of rhythm.
Jacoby Brissett is the real deal – Even the most optimist State fan wasn’t sure what we would get out of Jacoby after the non-conference games but he put this team on his back and went toe to toe with Heismen trophy winner Jameis Winston. He was calm and collected even when facing ridiculous pressure from the Florida State defensive front and made plays with his arm, legs and head. Wolfpack Nation can sleep a little better at night knowing he’s under center for the next year and a half. If he keeps it up, he will likely move on up the draft boards and possibly give NC state FOUR NFL quarterbacks. We are a ways off from that but he is that kind of talent.
State scored 40+ points for the fourth game in a row. The offense is hot.
We have defensive issues. It is hard to tell if it is the youth or the scheme but there is no getting around the glaring holes in NC States defense. Short yardage zone, long third down conversions, poor edge containment, terrible open-field tackling and DBs who aren’t ball-aware are just some of the issues DC Dave Huxtable has to fix ASAP.
Bo Hines is going to have a fantastic career. He’s not the biggest or the fastest but he gets it done with great hands and great route running.
Shad Thorton is a big game back and consistently ground out a few extra yards after contact. He didn’t break away any big ones but he needs to be the feature back.
Love to see more of Jaylen Samuels – In his limited touches he’s been able to keep up his high school ways and make plays.
The refs were horrible across the board. The ACC should be embarrassed by the quality of its officiating. It was so bad even Dave Doeren mentioned it in his post game press conference.
Doeren: There was apparently some invisible holding going on there by their offensive line.
— Pack Pride (@PackPride) September 27, 2014
I felt like there was a lot of holding, a few pass interferences, and some very questionable personal fouls that could have gone the other way. Not to mention the ridiculous number of reviews. Hell, they even reviewed a play that never even happened?
I saw complaints from both fan bases about the refs and a lot of tweets from other ACC fans about the same thing during their games. Maybe we are just being fans and looking for something to complain about but very rarely do you see an entire league of fans complain about the officiating in their games.
State landed 4-star RB Reggie Gallaspy – you can read more here.
Some great comments from Florida fans that made me laugh. –
Every time I see Brissett do something crazy like that, I hate Jeff Driskel a little more.
The best part about Brissett going to town on FSU is that Muschamp told this guy he isnt better than Jeff Driskel
f$%&^ng lol
Momma says Alligators are ornery because they got all dem recruits and no quarterbacks.
who’s the asshole that decided to put notre dame-syracuse on the abc primetime broadcast?
Is this game going to be the one the gets Muschamp fired? A Florida recruit beating FSU for the wrong team? I’m actually serious.
I’d like to end this with a comment about the booing of injured players. My twitter mentions were absolutely filled with comments about how classless NC State fans were by booing a player who was injured. I get it but we’ve seen it happen this year and Florida State even did it in the national title game last year to slow down Auburn. It is a problem that needs to be addressed by the NCAA. It could be a simple rule change that if a defensive player goes down with an injury he has to sit out 5 plays or sit out until the ball changes hands again. I don’t think any fan base in the country would genuinely boo a legit injury and the reaction from FSU fans is an emotional one done without thinking about the ‘why’ of a situation.
I know we have some of the most passionate fans in the country and very rarely do I encounter a “classless” NC State fan so I don’t hold much weight in what #FSUTwitter has to say.
Go Pack.
