Here is a scouting report on Florida State, who plays at No. 14-ranked NC State at 8 p.m. Saturday on ACC Network.
Five Florida State players to watch
Redshirt junior wide receiver Mycah Pittman
The former Rivals.com four-star prospect out of Calabasas (Calif.) High in the class of 2019 signed with Oregon and played three years there. The son of former NFL running back Michael Pittman, he also was a social media standout. The 5-foot-11, 203-pounder has caught 17 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns, and he has returned six punts for 68 yards. Pittman had five catches for 85 yards and two scores last Saturday against Wake Forest.
Redshirt junior safety Jammie Robinson
The talented former South Carolina transfer leads Florida State with 34 tackles and three passes defended this season. He had 84 tackles, seven tackles for loss, four interceptions and two forced fumbles last year for the Seminoles. The 5-11, 203-pounder had played in 39 career games with 253 tackles, six interceptions, 14 passes defended and 10.5 tackles of loss.
Redshirt junior quarterback Jordan Travis
The former Louisville transfer is enjoying his best season. He has gone 83-of-126 passing for 1,226 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception, and he also has rushed 21 times for 50 yards and a score. The 6-1, 212-pounder has thrown for 3,971 yards, 30 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in his college career, and rushed for 1,407 yards and 18 scores. He threw for a season-high 321 yards and a touchdown in the 44-14 win over Boston College on Sept. 24.
Redshirt sophomore defensive end Jared Verse
The explosive Verse broke out last year in his third year at Albany, getting 53 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks. He has been battling minor injuries, but the 6-4, 248-pounder from Dayton, Ohio, has proved his pass-rushing translates in the ACC. He has four sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss and 13 games in four contests.
Redshirt sophomore running back Treshaun Ward
The 5-10, 192-pounder was a Rivals.com three-star prospect out of Tampa (Fla.) Tampa Bay Tech in the class of 2019. He has rushed 67 times for 437 yards and three scores, and caught five passes for 12 yards this season. He gashed Louisville for 10 carries for 126 yards in a 35-31 win at Louisville on Sept. 16. The quick Ward has rushed 160 times for 1,050 yards and eight touchdowns in his four-year FSU career.
What to watch for from Florida State
1. Rotation of running backs. Florida State is committed to running the ball this season, and has been rotating three running backs.
The Seminoles have rushed 192 times for 1,019 yards and 12 touchdowns, while throwing the ball 148 times for 1,389 yards and 10 scores. Redshirt sophomores Treshaun Ward, Trey Benson and Lawrance Toafili have handled the bulk of the duties.
Ward has a team-high 437 yards on just 67 carries — a 6.5 yards per carry average — and he has three touchdowns.
Benson is the biggest of the three at 6-1 and 215 pounds, and he’s second on the squad with 41 carries for 278 yards and three scores. Benson transferred in from Oregon. The 6-0, 187-pound Toafili has chipped in 155 rushing yards and three scores.
2. FSU defensive line should get tested: Florida State has three of its four defensive linemen at over 280 pounds, but the Wake Forest rushing attack did challenge the Seminoles, who run a 4-2-5 defense.
Wake Forest rushed the ball 51 times for 171 yards and two scores, with Justice Ellison getting 18 carries for 114 yards and a touchdown. The Demon Deacons have the slow mesh running style, and other teams have hurt Florida State with dual-threat quarterbacks, which is not NC State quarterback Devin Leary.
Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham helped the Cardinals rush 44 times for 252 yards and three scores, with Cunningham getting 127 yards and two touchdowns. LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels rushed 16 times for 114 yards, but the rest of the team had 14 carries for 25 yards.
3. FSU could be a year away. Florida State has one senior wide receiver, two seniors that play on the offensive line and one senior tight end that plays. The defense doesn’t have any seniors in the starting lineup.
FSU coach Mike Norvell has struggled through changes and welcoming new transfers, but showed some signs of life last year, winning five of the last eight games to finish 5-7. With the Seminoles off to a 4-1 start, an 8-4 season could be realistic, which would be the most wins since 2016.
The one position that Florida State has to rectify both this year and in the future is kicker. Sophomore Ryan Fitzgerald went 10 of 13 on field goals last year with a long of 53 yards. He also went 37 of 41 on extra points.
However, Fitzgerald has gone 4 of 9 on field goals this season and has reached the point where FSU has eschewed kicking extra points at times to try two-point conversions. He missed both field-goal attempts vs. Wake Forest.
Three keys to the game for NC State football
1. NC State’s defense should do well. Florida State’s offense is improved, but is it good enough to solve the riddle of NC State’s defense? The Wolfpack rank ninth in the country in pass efficiency defense, 15th in total defense and rushing defense and 22nd in third-down conversion defense.
NC State has done a good job of keep opponents big playmakers in front of them and closing well to make the tackle. The bend but don’t break approach has led to opposing teams to reach the red zone just nine times this season, which ranks eighth nationally in fewest red-zone attempts.
All four FBS opponents has scored significantly lower against NC State than in their other games. Even Clemson, who scored 30 last Saturday, is averaging 43.8 points per game against non-NC State opponents.
2. Will NC State find some deep-ball magic? The Wolfpack have struggled in connecting on the deep ball this season, much consternation of the fan base.
NC State tried deep balls just four times against Clemson — three to junior wide receiver Devin Carter and once to redshirt freshman wide receiver Julian Gray. Carter caught one for 32 yards, which set up a 20-yard field goal.
NC State can have success against Florida State with the short controlled passing game, but it would be good for the psyche to hit a home run or two and not just singles and doubles in the passing game.
3. NC State has big advantage at kicker. NC State senior kicker Christopher Dunn has made all seven field-goal attempts and all 19 extra points this season. He boomed a 49-yarder against Clemson, and has made five field goals of at least 40 yards.
Dunn enters the game going 76 of 93 on career field goals in his five years at NC State. He also hasn’t missed an extra point, making 189.
Florida State has seemingly been feast or famine at kicker, but this year’s edition does not have a Sebastian Janikowski, Dustin Hopkins or Roberto Aguayo.
Three numbers of note
9 Florida State has scored on its first drive nine of its 10 first drives — eight of them touchdowns — of a half this season, including a quick scoring drive to start the game last Saturday vs. Wake Forest.
30 FSU has allowed just three plays of 30-plus yards this season, which is the third lowest in the FBS. Conversely, the Seminoles have had an NCAA-best 38 plays of at least 20 yards on offense.
22 National ranking for Florida State’s class of 2023 by Rivals.com. The 16-member class includes New Bern (N.C.) High senior defensive tackle Keith Sampson Jr., who NC State is trying to flip by mid-December.
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