NC State’s stifling defense helped overcome the loss of quarterback Devin Leary and rally to a gutsy 19-17 win over Florida State on Saturday.
Florida State was trying to drive for a potential game-winning field goal, but starting nickel Devan Boykin snagged an interception in the end zone with 38 seconds left to help preserve the victory. Senior kicker Christopher Dunn banged through four field goals — including a 53-yarder — which is the third time he’s done that against the Seminoles.
NC State improved to 5-1 and play at Syracuse at 3:30 p.m. next Saturday, and Florida State fell to 4-2 overall.
“Coming out of the timeout, we kind of knew they would not leave it up to the kicker,” Boykin said. “They were going to try and take a shot to the end zone and try to put us away.
“It just happened that they had scored earlier on that route. I kind of knew they’d go back to it.”
NC State coach Dave Doeren called it a “gut-check” moment and joked that the game was so tough the lights didn’t want to come on during the pregame.
“Some really great individual performances, but I feel bad for Devin,” Doeren said. “The X-rays were negative and don’t know. They’ll do an MRI on him tomorrow [Sunday]. It’s a positive that the X-rays were negative.
“It is a great feeling, very rewarding.”
NC State held Florida State to just 93 yards in the second half and five first downs. The Seminoles completely lost rhythm after a productive first half that gave them a 17-3 halftime lead.
“Our coaches made good adjustments at the half,” Doeren said. “This team doesn’t quit. They don’t flinch. They believe in each other and the plan that is in place.”
The Wolfpack’s offense was miserable for chunks of the game, with Leary going 10-fo-21 passing for 130 yards and one touchdown and one interception. However, he got drilled and exited the game with 4:59 left in the third quarter. He eventually returned to the bench with his arm in a sling.
The Wolfpack turned to Charleston Southern walk-on quarterback transfer Jack Chambers to rally the Wolfpack down the stretch. Chambers didn’t complete a pass, but he did run seven times for 39 yards.
“It’s a surreal moment to beat this FSU team and do my job and come out with a victory,” Chambers said. “Once you get hit that first time, you get all the nerves out of you.”
The defensive adjustments were obvious, but NC State had to completely alter its offense after Leary got hurt.
“We had to make a bunch offensively once Jack went in,” Doeren said. “That was a little more on the fly.”
NC State didn’t just lose Leary Saturday. Redshirt junior wide receiver Devin Carter and sophomore backup running back Demie Sumo-Karngbaye both suffered game-ending injuries.
The Wolfpack went from rushing for 58 yards in the first half, to tallying 124 yards in the second half. NC State running backs had combined for 12 carries against Clemson last week, but ended up with 36 against Florida State.
“I thought we ran the ball hard,” Doeren said. “I thought our running backs, really ran the ball hard tonight.”
NC State did a good job of keep Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis in the pocket after halftime. He finished with 181 passing yards and a touchdown, and his 71-yard run helped him finish with 108 rushing yards on seven carries. However, the Seminoles were held scoreless after halftime with NC State doing a better job of staying in gaps.
All three NC State linebackers had 10 tackles with junior outside linebacker Drake Thomas getting a team-high 14. Redshirt sophomore cornerback Shyheim Battle also came through with a big interception, but will miss the first half of next week’s game at Syracuse after getting ejected for targeting.
“We were just doing it to ourselves,” said Thomas about some big plays that happened in the first half. “It paid off in the second half. There was no doubt in our mind that we were going to win this game and shut them out in the second half. We spoke it into existence.”
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