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Quick hits from NCSUs loss at Florida State

Quick hits and notes from NC State's 34-0 loss at Florida State in front of an announced attendance of 80,849 fans at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla., Saturday afternoon.
Two steps back?
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After seemingly taking some steps forward with wins over Central Michigan and at Virginia, the Pack did not look good in Tallahassee, Fla. The 34-point loss exceeded the 30-point defeat at Cincinnati for the worst loss this season for the Pack.
NC State was shut out for the first time since the season opener in 2008 when South Carolina dropped the Pack by an identical 34-0 margin. The season finale in 2007 was also a shutout when Maryland knocked off the Pack 37-0 at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh. That game had been the first shutout since 1995 when Baylor defeated State 14-0.
The margin of defeat was the most lopsided win for FSU in the series since they crushed State 58-14 in 2000. FSU also won by 34 points in 1996. The last time they won by more than 34 points was 1995 when they whooped the Pack 77-17.
FSU is now 22-10 overall against NC State and 13-4 in games played in Tallahassee, including three straight at home.
What happened to the offense?
State was held to season-worst numbers in just about every statistical category Saturday.
The Pack had just 166 yards of total offense. NC State's previous season-low was 322 yards at Cincinnati. Redshirt junior quarterback Mike Glennon completed 19 of 34 passes but for just 130 yards and had two interceptions, one of which came off a deflection at the line of scrimmage. His worst passing yards total had been 156 yards against Liberty in the season-opener.
With 36 yards rushing, State did not set a new-low in that department. It would be hard to top the negative-26 yards at Cincinnati, but it was the second lowest rushing total for the year.
NC State continues to get off to slow starts. The Pack did not score in the first quarter for the fifth time this year. This was the first time however State was scoreless at halftime. The Pack has been outscored 65-24 in the first quarter in eight games this year.
Defense not much better
FSU had 444 yards of total offense, the most State has allowed in a game this year. The previous high had been when Wake Forest rolled up 438 yards in Winston-Salem, N.C., in week two.
Most of that came off the right arm of redshirt junior quarterback EJ Manuel. He completed 25 of 34 passes for 321 yards and a pair of scores with just one pick.
Redshirt junior linebacker Terrell Manning recorded his second interception of the year and fourth of his career. Manning has intercepted a pass in both games he has played in Tallahassee. NC State entered the game the FBS leader in picks. They now have 16 interceptions on the year.
FSU became the third team to throw for over 300 yards against State this year.
A couple of noteworthy accomplishments
Senior receiver T.J. Graham had 76 kickoff return yards Saturday, moving him to within 75 of the ACC career record in that category.
Fifth-year senior linebacker Audie Cole had 10 tackles to lead the Pack. It was the fifth time this year he has reached double figures in hits and also the fifth time he led State in hits. Cole was named a Butkus Award semifinalist this week.
Give kudos to FSU
The Noles are a far better, more talented team than their 5-3 record would indicate. They scored 30 or more points for the fifth-straight game, the first time they had accomplish that since the 2002 season in a stretch that included the 2002 Gator Bowl to wrap up the 2001 campaign.
What's scary about the Noles is their young talent. Sophomore receiver Kenny Shaw caught a career-high seven passes for 57 yards. True freshman running back Devonta Freeman ran for a touchdown in the third straight game. True freshman defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan had two tackles for loss and recovered a fumble.
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