Florida State may be entering Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh on ACC Network with a 2-5 record after being whacked Saturday by Pittsburgh, 41-17, but NC State head coach Dave Doeren insists that the Pack is not going to take the game lightly.

It won’t be difficult to convince his squad to approach FSU seriously, either. All Doeren has to do is point to recent history.

“They beat us last year,” he noted. “They just beat UNC. So we have great respect for their program.”

A year ago, the Seminoles pulled away from NC State for a 31-13 win in Tallahassee. And that UNC team that Florida State upset earlier this season would then demolish NC State 48-21 the following week.

"Obviously this is a weird year,” Doeren pointed out. “So you're seeing a lot of ups and downs out of teams because of the ins and outs of players, like with lineup changes and your lack of ability to maintain chemistry at certain position groups.

“I don't know if you can look at any team's record and give it a whole lot of credit. You don't know what's going to change week-in and week-out in the lineup, which changes the team immensely at times.”

What has pleased Doeren while the Pack shifts its focus to the Seminoles is how his team has handled losing a heartbreaking loss to Miami last Friday.

NC State took a 41-31 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter when junior placekicker Christopher Dunn made a 53-yard field goal. That kick came one snap after NC State was flagged for a false start on a play that Doeren still feels should have been called offsides against Miami and would have given the Wolfpack a first down.

The Hurricanes proceeded to score on three straight possessions and rallied for a late 44-41 win over the Wolfpack.

“I'm encouraged by how we responded from our last loss,” the coach said. “I know that we'll get the same type of resolve from these young guys.”

Leading the Pack offense will continue to be redshirt junior quarterback Bailey Hockman, who will get his second chance to line up against his former team. Hockman transferred out of Florida State before the start of the 2018 season. A year ago, he played against the Seminoles after starter Matt McKay struggled early and completed just 3 of 7 passes for 20 yards.

Hockman would finish the evening in Tallahassee completing 21 of 40 throws for 208 yards and a score in what was effectively his Wolfpack debut. Since then, Hockman has been in and out of the starting lineup in Raleigh.

After redshirt sophomore Devin Leary broke his leg during a home win over Duke, Hockman received his latest opportunity to take the reins. However, the energetic spark freshman Ben Finley provided during the loss to UNC led to some speculation about how long the leash was for Hockman in the next outing against Miami.

Such questions are not swirling after Hockman completed 19 of 28 passes for 248 yards and two scores with one pick Friday night.

"Bailey did a nice job preparing and looking at the different things that could happen,” Doeren explained. “I just thought he was quick with his reactions. He didn't sit there and wait. He made quick decisions, he gave his receivers a chance, he used his feet a couple of times to extend drives on some scrambles, which he can do.

"I think just having the success and seeing his guys make those plays for him is just going to lead to more success for him."

Doeren noted that, ultimately, Miami was able to flip the script in the fourth quarter on NC State.

“I think they just outplayed us,” the coach admitted. “The same plays that we were getting yardage on in the first half and then the third quarter, we're reaching guys, we're knocking guys off the ball, and now they're penetrating and disrupting. You got to give them credit.

"We didn't make the same type of blocks, the same type of line-of-scrimmage movement that we saw in the first half, that we saw in the third quarter, when we were efficient running the football. You can go back and second-guess what you were doing, but [offensive coordinator] Tim [Beck] was calling plays that worked well for him earlier in the game, where we scored on six of the seven possessions.

"You got to give them credit for beating the blocks that they weren't beating earlier in the game. We thought we could wear them down there and we didn't."

• On the injury front, NC State may be receiving some good news. Sophomore linebacker Drake Thomas and junior safety Tanner Ingle are “trending in the right direction,” and Doeren is hopeful that the two will be able to play against Florida State.

Ingle has missed three full games this year while dealing with a hamstring injury — each of those outings have been Wolfpack losses. Thomas, who was second on the team in tackles entering the bye, sat out the Miami contest with an undisclosed injury.

• One player who will not be back anytime soon is Leary. Doeren reiterated Monday that while Leary is on track for the initially announced 4-8 weeks timeframe for recovery after surgery on his broken leg on Oct. 18, the only possibility for a Leary return would be in a bowl game.

“He's doing really well; everything's on time, but it's not going to speed up,” Doeren added.

• NC State has been seeking a full-time kickoff returner throughout the season. Ingle was the original favorite until his hamstring issues. Junior running back Ricky Person Jr. and sophomore running back Jordan Houston each got auditions, but after his 100-yard return for a score against Miami, sophomore running back Zonovan “Bam” Knight has solidified those duties.

“We're excited that Bam has kind of emerged in that role,” Doeren said. “We've been searching a little bit.”

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