FSU's Ferocious Defense Set To Battle Wolfpack
RALEIGH, N.C. (CBSMiami) – After a hangover victory against the University of South Florida Bulls last week, the Florida State Seminoles get back into Atlantic Coast Conference play Saturday when they head to Raleigh to take on NC State.
The Wolfpack is coming off a heartbreaking loss to the University of Miami where it gave up more than 500 yards of offense to the Hurricanes. NC State was supposed to be one of the teams that could challenge FSU in the Atlantic Division along with Clemson.
Florida State has already put Clemson away and is looking to duplicate that feat against the Wolfpack and keep its number three ranking in the country.
NC State isn't healthy heading into the game. Starting right guard Zach Allen, along with starting right tackle Andrew Wallace, and projected starter at left tackle Rob Crisp are all out against the Seminoles and that's not what you want going against FSU's pass rush.
The Seminoles allow just 11.4 points per game, which is good for seventh in the country, according to cfbstats.com. FSU allows just 72 yards on the ground, fifth in the nation, and 128.4 yards per game through the air, fourth in the nation, this season.
Overall, FSU's defense is ranked third in the nation, just behind the well-respected defense of the University of Alabama. FSU allows just 200.8 yards of total offense per game to its opponents.
FSU's defensive line, which lost an All-American early in the season, is still wreaking havoc on opposing offenses. The Noles have 15 sacks on the season, or 3 per game. The Noles also average 6.8 tackles for loss per game this season.
NC State's offense comes in averaging 30 points, along with 161.2 rushing yards and 284.4 passing yards per game. NC State's offense kept the team in a shootout with the Hurricanes last weekend only to see the defense give up a long passing touchdown with just seconds to go in the game.
Overall, NC State's defense is giving up about 390 yards of total offense and 21.4 points per game.
FSU will counter with one of the highest scoring offenses in college football, averaging 51 points per game. The Noles looked their best in the second half against Clemson two weeks ago when the offense exploded and ran the Tigers off the field in Tallahassee.
FSU averages 544.6 yards of total offense per game with 261 of those yards coming on the ground. The Noles struggled getting going against South Florida and will need to come out much stronger in Raleigh to keep the crowd silent.
FSU and NC State will kick off at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.
