The Florida State Seminoles fell to 4-2 following a 19-17 loss to the N.C. State Wolfpack Saturday night. The Noles had a 17-3 lead at halftime. However, the Pack outscored them 16-0 in the second half to take the victory. This is the second loss in a row for Florida State as they fell to Wake Forest in Tallahassee last weekend.
Great First Half by Defense and the Jordan Travis Led Offense
The first half seemed to go the Seminoles way defensively. They held the Pack to just three points. On third downs, they held N.C. State to converting on just 2 of 13 attempts all game. They also eliminated Devin Leary’s arm as he finished with 130 yards and a touchdown. He also threw a pick in the second quarter. Leary eventually left the game with a right arm/shoulder injury. He was replaced by Jack Chambers, who would finish the game for N.C. State. The Wolfpack run attack was also held at bay for most of the game as they were held to just four yards a carry and N.C. State running back Jordan Houston finished with just three yards a carry.
Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis finished the game with 181 yards and a touchdown pass to receiver Mycah Pittman, who caught a challenging one handed pass to put the Noles up 7-3. Travis also broke off a 71-yard scramble in the second quarter to set up a rushing touchdown by Lawrance Toafili to put FSU up 14-3. Kicker Ryan Fitzgerald ended up booting a 47-yard field goal to send the Noles to the locker room up 17-3 at half.
Second Half Penalties and Turnovers
The penalty bug hit both teams, especially in the second half of play. The Wolfpack ended up with eight penalties on the night and Florida State finished with a staggering ten of them. The refs ended up giving N.C. State 100 yards from these and it allowed their offense to drive down the field with more ease and to put points up to catch up. It also prevented the Noles from moving the ball themselves as they were shut out in the second half.
FSU Head Coach Mike Norvell on the penalties for the team: “It all matters. We have a third down and one that gets turned into a third and sixteen. That’s a game-changing play… we cannot do things that extend drives and we cannot do things that put us behind in drives.”
Despite a great first half, Jordan Travis made questionable reads that led to two interceptions. With around six minutes to go and the Wolfpack up 19-17, Travis threw between Pittman and fellow wide receiver Johnny Wilson, and N.C. State cornerback Shyheim Battle intercepted the throw.
FSU would get another chance late in the game with 44 seconds left. Deep in Wolfpack territory, Travis lofted a ball to Pittman in the endzone. It was once again overthrown and N.C. State defensive back Devan Boykin picked it off, sealing the victory.
Norvell on the game as a whole: “They [Florida State] showed great toughness and heart. They battled and fought.”
Up Next
The Seminoles are now .500 in ACC play and go into next week facing the Clemson Tigers at home (Doak Campbell Stadium). Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. E.T.