Here is a scouting report on Florida State, who NC State faces at 4 p.m. Saturday in Tallahasee, Fla., on Saturday.
Five Florida State players to watch
Redshirt senior defensive end Jermaine Johnson
The Georgia transfer has emerged as one of the top defense ends in the ACC. He has 49 tackles, eight sacks and 11 tackles for loss, and has been the ACC defensive lineman of the week against both North Carolina and Georgia. The 49 tackles is the most of any defensive lineman in the country among Power Five performers.
Johnson’s sack, strip and touchdown against Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei gave FSU a 20-17 lead with 7:39 left in the fourth quarter last Saturday. He became the first player in the last 21 years to have 11 tackles, three sacks and four tackles for loss against Jacksonville State on Sept. 11.
The Eden Prairie, Minn., native was a four-star prospect by Rivals.com coming out of Independence (Kan.) C.C. in the class of 2019. He had 36 tackles, eight tackles for loss and 16 quarterback hurries while at Georgia.
Redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Fabien Lovett
The 6-4, 310-pounder from Vicksburg, Miss., is a load in the middle of Florida State’s defense. Lovett has 21 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and one sack this season. He had a career-high five tackles against NC State last year.
Lovett started 13 of 15 games at Mississippi State, and had 19 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack with the Bulldogs. Rivals.com ranked him as the No. 37 defensive tackle prospect in the country in the class of 2018.
Redshirt sophomore middle linebacker Amari Gainer
The 6-3, 237-pound Gainer has 43 tackles, four tackles for loss, one forced fumble, one fumble recover and a sack this season for the Seminoles. He set career highs with 12 tackles and two sacks against NC State last year en route to a team-high 65 tackles and five tackles for loss.
Gainer had 69 tackles his redshirt freshman season, with seven tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. Rivals.com rated him a four-star prospect, No. 79 overall in the country and No. 7 outside linebacker in the nation in the class of 2018.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Jordan Travis
The 6-1, 201-pounder has emerged as FSU’s quarterback the last few games. He has gone 66-of-105 passing for 812 yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions. Travis also has tallied 82 carries for 340 yards and four scores this season. He has thrown for a season-high 176 yards against Clemson last Saturday, and has topped 100 rushing yards twice this season. Travis combined for five touchdowns in the 35-25 win at North Carolina.
Rivals.com had Travis as a three-star prospect and he signed with Louisville before transferring to his home state school. Travis played for Palm Beach Gardens (Fla.) Benjamin School and combined for 40 touchdowns his senior year.
Sophomore running back Jashuan Corbin
The Texas A&M transfer leads the Seminoles with 95 carries for 714 yards and five touchdowns this season. The 6-0, 221-pounder has topped 100 rushing yards in four different games, including a season-high 159 yards and a score against Louisville on Sept. 25.
Corbin played his first two years at Texas A&M and his next two at FSU. He has career marks of 272 carries for 1,598 yards and 12 touchdowns, and 51 receptions for 281 yards and two scores. Rivals.com ranked the Rockledge (Fla.) High native the No. 179 overall player in the country and the No. 7 all-purpose back in the class of 2018.
What to watch for from Florida State
1. Playing Louisville should help: There are some similarities between Louisville and Florida State offensively, with both having dual-threat quarterbacks. Travis isn’t the blazer that UL quarterback Malik Cunningham is, who the Wolfpack helped shut down in last week’s win. The one-two punch of linebackers Drake Thomas and Vi Jones should do well against Travis’ running skills.
2. What side of the line will Jermaine Johnson line up most often?: FSU star defensive end Jermaine Johnson was on the left side when he made his big play against Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei, where he got the sack and strip, and then the scoop and score for a 6-yard touchdown. If he mostly plays on the left side, that means he faces NC State redshirt junior Bryson Speas or redshirt freshman Timothy McKay. The matchup everyone wants to see is Johnson against NC State star sophomore left tackle Ikem Ekwonu, which would make NFL scouts salivate.
3. FSU allowed 30 points against Clemson: In any other year, allowing 30 points against Clemson could be considered a minor win. Clemson hasn’t scored more than 21 points in any game this season against FCS opponents. The fact that Clemson ran the ball well — 43 carries for 188 yards and two touchdowns — bodes well for an NC State rushing attack that is looking to bounce back after a difficult rushing experience against Louisville (44 rushing yards).
Three keys to the game for NC State football
1. Make the FSU receivers earn it: Florida State doesn’t have that vintage No. 1 target like in most years, but spreads the ball around and have four different players who have touchdowns of at least 50 yards.
Freshman Lawrance Toafili had one of the best touchdowns of the year where he kept his balance and twirled, never going down and just regrouping for a 75-yard touchdown against Clemson last Saturday. That is exactly the kind of play NC State can’t give up.
One of the few defensive negatives in the 28-13 win over Louisville was allowing an 76-yard score by Jordan Watkins in the first quarter.
2. Continue to play clean: NC State quarterback Devin Leary has been praised all week for being sharp in managing the passing game. He has gone six games with an interception, and efficiently threw four touchdowns against Louisville.
Florida State has seven interceptions this season and have recovered five fumbles. Travis Jay leads the way with two picks and Jammie Robinson has forced a pair of fumbles. Playing a clean game will make it that much harder for Florida State to score because it helps the Wolfpack avoid short fields.
3. The offensive line will be challenged: Odds are good that the NC State offensive line will get challenged by the FSU pass rush, which has racked up 22 sacks and 50 tackles for loss. Those are both more than solid figures through eight games. We already mentioned that the line is looking to bounce back after rushing for 44 yards against Louisville, but pass protection will also be at a premium.
Three numbers of note
17 Consecutive red-zone conversions by Florida State, which is the fourth-longest active streak in the country.
60 Florida State is seventh in the country with six plays of at least 60 or more yards this season.
309 Combined games of experience prior to arriving at Florida State by 13 different transfers this past offseason.
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