The depth of the roster was on full display on both sides of the ball during NC State’s 28-14 win over Florida State on Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla.
NCSU improved to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in the ACC, setting up a showdown at Wake Forest next Saturday. The Wolfpack Central reviews the various components of the key victory.
Most important play
Many great options but we’ll go with redshirt sophomore H-back Trent Pennix, who had the game-deciding touchdown. The 6-2, 236-pounder shook not just one defender, but two to spring for a 45-yard touchdown to give the Wolfpack a 21-7 lead with 9:46 left in the third quarter.
NC State went with play-action to the left, while Pennix slipped out to the right wide open on third down and one at the FSU 46-yard line. When he caught it, he easily had the first down, but wanted more. The first FSU missed tackle came around the 27-yard line, and the second was at around the 25-yard line. It was an impressive play call and with simple execution for the rapidly emerging former tailback.
Three game balls
1. Quarterback Devin Leary
Leary managed the offense superbly in defeating Florida State. Some weapons were taken away by the Seminoles defense, but that didn’t seem to affect Leary in any way. He went for 21 for 32 got 314 yards, four touchdowns and his interception streak was snapped on an end of the first half Hail Mary. The redshirt sophomore has now thrown 22 touchdowns over his last seven games and ranks fourth in the ACC with 25 passing touchdowns.
2. Punter Trenton Gill
Gill bombed away for eight punts for an average of 45.2 yards. The redshirt junior had a long of 60, landed five inside the 20-yard line and one touchback against the Seminoles.
Gill leads the ACC with a 46.4 average on 51 punts. He has booted punts 50-plus yards 20 times this season, and landed 25 inside the 20-yard line. Opponents have returned 17 punts for 5.6 yards this season.
3. Strong safety Tanner Ingle
Florida State tried to spread the Wolfpack defense out and put an emphasis on tackling. The junior came through with a team-high 13 tackles in his home-state homecoming. Ingle’s leadership continues to be needed with NC State playing without six starters, including nickel Tyler Baker-Williams on Saturday.
Key statistic advantage
Not to sound like a broken record or deja vu, but NC State continues its mastery of third downs. Florida State went an abysmal 2 of 16 on third downs Saturday, and that was followed holding Louisville to 6 of 15 the previous week on the money down.
FSU also went 2 of 4 on fourth-down conversions with one of them in a weird situation. The Seminoles were facing fourth down and four at own 43-yard line while trailing 21-14 with 8:16 left in the game. Instead of punting, quarterback McKenzie Milton threw an incomplete pass and handed the Wolfpack a short field. Leary hit running back Ricky Person with the screen pass, and he made two tacklers miss, and was off to the races for a 43-yard touchdown, and that was the final nail in the proverbial coffin.
The previous series was another situation of some shaky play-calling. FSU gained nine yards on first down, and then couldn’t gain a yard on the next two plays, both incomplete passes. Florida State then punted and another opportunity to tie the game quickly vanished. NC State’s defense proved intimidating when it mattered most, even if short-handed.
What NC State did well
The Wolfpack did a superb job of moving the ball around and not getting locked in to a particular player or personnel. Credit Florida State for loading up to stop NC State wide receiver Emeka Emezie, but give the Wolfpack even more credit for adjusting and using the H-backs and other receivers.
H-backs Pennix and Christopher Toudle both came up big. Pennix had three catches for a game-high 97 yards and a 45-yard touchdown. Toudle added four receptions for 42 yards and a 8-yard score.
Rotational receivers also came through for the Wolfpack. Freshman Porter Rooks caught five passes for 39 yards — all on the same drive — super senior C.J. Riley caught three passes for 77 yards and a 62-yard touchdown.
The strength definitely came in the Pack, and credit Leary for trusting his progressions.
What needs improvement
The NC State offensive line had an uneven performance between trying to establish a running game, a few shaky series on pass protection and some untimely penalties. It was good enough to win the game though, and some credit goes to the Florida State defensive line, which entered the game with a good amount of hype.
Star defensive end Jermaine Johnson, a Georgia transfer, was held sackless and had five tackles, but South Carolina transfer came through with two sacks in the contest. FSU had six tackles for loss in the defeat.
NC State rushed the b all 37 times and passed the ball 32 times, so balance was achieved. The problem was the running game netted 86 yards for a 2.3 yards per carry average, giving NCSU two games in a row where the line struggled creating room for the backs.
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