Rusty Seminoles stumble at home against Wolfpack
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Ryan Finley threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns as North Carolina State got its first road victory over a ranked team since 2008 by defeating No. 12 Florida State 27-21 on Saturday.
Jaylen Samuels had two touchdowns as the Wolfpack broke a 10-game losing streak to ranked teams. Their last win over a Top 25 team coincidentally was against Florida State in 2012. Their last victory on the road over a ranked team was at North Carolina.
“We beat a lot of teams that people think we should beat, and knocked on the door with a ton of teams and didn’t finish. Now we finished,” North Carolina State coach Dave Doeren said. “If you want to be in the conversation you have to win games like today.”
The Wolfpack led ranked teams twice late in games last year but fell short. They had a 10-point, third-quarter lead over the Seminoles last year before Florida State rallied to win. North Carolina State also took Clemson to OT but lost.
“Just being in this situation and to finally just pull it out meant a lot. We’ve been working all year at finishing,” said defensive end Bradley Chubb, who had seven tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble.
Finley, who completed 22 of 32 passes, had a 71yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter to give the Wolfpack (3-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) a 17-7 lead. Nyheim Hines rushed for 94 yards on 24 carries.
The Seminoles, who had a 21-day layoff because of Hurricane Irma, have dropped their first two games to open a season for the first time in 28 years. It also marks the first time since 2011 that Florida State has dropped back-to-back games.
“They were always one play ahead and we didn’t make the plays that we needed to make,” Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher said. “We got to get that cleaned up to have a nice football team. It’s been done around here before with this kind of start.”
James Blackman was 22-of-38 passing for 278 yards in his first start. Blackman, the first true freshman to start for Florida State since 1985, moved into the starting spot after Deondre Francois suffered a seasonending knee injury in the Sept. 2 loss to Alabama.
Auden Tate had nine receptions for 138 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown early in the second quarter that drew the Seminoles within 10-7.
Florida State struggled to score touchdowns in the red zone, with just one in seven trips. Ricky Aguayo had four field goals but missed a 30-yarder. Blackman also had a fumble deep in Wolfpack territory.