11/17/2020 football Edit

Top Five plays from NC State vs Florida State

Justin H. Williams • TheWolfpackCentral

Staff Writer

NC State Wolfpack football defeated Florida State 38-22 Saturday night.

The Pack produced 413 yards of total offense and received career nights from redshirt junior quarterback Bailey Hockman and redshirt junior receiver Thayer Thomas. Hockman had 265 yards and three touchdowns, both career highs. Thomas racked up a career-high 11 receptions for 135 yards and two touchdowns.

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Here are the Top Five plays from the Wolfpack win:

5. Tyler Baker-Williams' first career interception

Florida State freshman quarterback Tate Rodemaker earned two drives as a reserve to end the first half. His last throw will end up being a learning experience for the rookie signal caller.

With 15 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Rodemaker dropped back to pass from his own 40-yard line on second-and-17. He stared down a receiver and fired a pass just beyond the marker, but Wolfpack junior safety Tyler Baker-Williams quickly sniffed it out and picked off the throw to give NC State its first turnover of the game.

The Pack didn't have enough time on the clock to convert the takeaway into points, but the interception marked Baker-Williams' first of his college career.

4. Thayer Thomas' second touchdown catch of the night, a 24-yard pass from Bailey Hockman in the third quarter

Redshirt junior receiver Thayer Thomas had a career-night with 11 receptions for 136 yards and two touchdowns and ended on a high note with the screen pass for a 24-yard touchdown.

Thomas evaded two Florida State defenders to break loose and squeezed between two Seminoles defensive backs to skip into the endzone to give the Pack a 35-9 lead late in the third quarter. The lead was NC State's largest of the night.

3. Zonovan Knight's 18-yard touchdown run on the Pack's first drive of the second half

The NC State run game struggled to get going in the first half but came alive in the second half. Sophomore Zonovan "Bam" Knight put the Wolfpack on the board during its first drive of the second half on this 18-yard run.

Knight burst through the line of scrimmage and impressively made two Seminoles defenders fall with a juke move just before gaining the first down. A final block from fifth-year senior C.J. Riley allowed Knight to trot into the end zone for his only score of the night.

2. Bailey Hockman's 21-yard touchdown pass to Emeka Emezie on the first drive of the game

Florida State won the opening coin toss and opted to defer possession to the second half. The result: a 12-play, 75-yard opening touchdown drive for the Wolfpack to give it a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter.

Redshirt junior quarterback Bailey Hockman dropped back to pass and delivered a quick ball to senior receiver Emeka Emezie off of a curl route at the NC State 10-yard line. Emezie spun out the opposing corner and a hesitation move inside the five-yard line against an incoming Florida State defensive back allowed Emezie to slide in for the first score of the night.

1. Bam Knight's 36-yard run in the fourth quarter

After picking up a first down with a five-yard run on third-and-one, Knight was given another carry on first-and-10 from the Wolfpack 39-yard line with 7:36 to go in the fourth quarter.

NC State called a power run right and fifth-year senior right tackle Justin Witt sealed off the Florida State defensive end to give Knight a sizable hole at the line of scrimmage. Knight accelerated up the middle to beat the crashing nickel and delivered a punishing stiff arm on the Seminoles' weakside safety before being taken down inside the FSU 15-yard line.

The run would have been a gain of 46 yards had it not been for a face mask penalty on the stiff arm, which backed the Pack up to the Florida State 40-yard line. Knight's run was recorded as a 36-yarder that still finished as NC State's longest offensive play of the night.