Wolfpack wallops ’Noles
RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina State corrected many of the problems that had plagued the Wolfpack during two straight losses, namely by getting off to a fast start and running the ball well.
As for Florida State, there was no such strong response — only a second straight lopsided loss that inched the Seminoles closer to the end of decades-long streaks of success.
Freshman Ricky Person Jr. scored three touchdowns while Jakobi Meyers had a big receiving day to help the Wolfpack beat the Seminoles 47-28 on Saturday, making the Wolfpack bowl eligible for the fifth straight year.
Meyers had nine catches for 125 yards and a score for the Wolfpack (6-2, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who scored the first 17 points and never looked back in a one-sided show.
“I just thought it was really good execution in a lot of ways,” Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren said.
Doeren was right. The Wolfpack moved the chains against the nation’s 12th-ranked run defense (102.9 yards), avoided major mistakes and got reliable kicking production when drives stalled.
Not that there were many, considering N.C. State had a season-high scoring output.
The ground game certainly stood out. Person scored on 1- and 4-yard runs in the first half after missing last week’s loss at No. 22 Syracuse due to injury. And Reggie Gallaspy II ran for a career-best 106 yards, part of a 177-yard output that surpassed the combined total from the losses to No. 2 Clemson followed by the Orange (172).
“It makes just everything a lot more fun, to be honest, as an offensive lineman,” Wolfpack center Garrett Bradbury said. “When you can just at will drive down the field running the ball, and they know it’s coming most of the time, it’s just a good feeling.”
FSU’s James Blackman threw for a career-high 421 yards and four scores in starting for Deondre Francois, with two going to Tamorrion Terry. But it didn’t stop the Seminoles (4-5, 2-5) from taking a fourth loss by at least 19 points this year.
“We’ve got to learn to translate our effort and the way we work the sidelines to the football field,” first-year FSU coach Willie Taggart said. “That’s something we didn’t do.”
Person’s day: Person, who provides a big-play complement to Gallaspy’s power in the run game, ran for 42 yards and capped his day with a short TD catch from Ryan Finley to make it 44-21 with 11:10 left.
Up next
FSU: The Seminoles visit No. 3 Notre Dame next Saturday.
N.C. State: There’s a short week ahead for the Wolfpack with instate opponent Wake Forest visiting Thursday.