Wolfpack rewind: Florida State 31, State 13
THE GOOD
The Wolfpack made significant progress in at least one area Saturday by sacking Florida State's Alex Hornibrook eight times for a total of 45 yards in losses. What made the defensive performance all the more encouraging is that six different players -- including three redshirt freshmen and sophomores -- had a hand in those sacks. State's pass rush figured to be improved this week after consecutive unproductive games against West Virginia and Ball State thanks to the return of senior captain James Smith-Williams. But Smith-Williams wasn't credited with a single tackle in the game . Instead, it was graduate tackle Larrell Murchison that did most of the damage with 3.5 sacks.. Supporting his effort were youngsters Xavier Lyas, Alim McNeill and C.J. Hart. They weren't the only emerging players to make an impact on defense against the Seminoles. Redshirt freshman Payton Wilson continued to blossom by leading the team with seven tackles and a pass breakup while fellow rookie linebacker Drake Thomas also acquitted himself well as his role continues to expand.
THE BAD
State's offense continues to leave more points on the field than it puts on the scoreboard. It's a trend that may or may not have changed the outcome of Saturday's game, but at the very least it would have given the Wolfpack a realistic shot at winning if it could have converted at least some of its scoring opportunities into touchdowns. That's especially true in the first half, when it turned two red zone possessions into Christopher Dunn field goals and wasted another good chance by failing to convert a fourth-and-one situation from the FSU 31. Then, as an exclamation point long after the outcome was decided, wide receiver Max Fisher fumbled away a touchdown as he battled to get into the end zone. While some of Wolfpack's inability to finish drives can be traced on the shortcomings of now-former starting quarterback Matthew McKay, it continued to be a recurring problem even after McKay was relieved -- presumably permanantly -- by Bailey Hockman. And it has to be one of the top priorities for attention during the upcoming open week.
THE OFFBEAT
Hockman assumed a new role on Saturday when he came off the bench late in the first period and took over the quarterback duties for the Wolfpack. He completed 21 of 40 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown. It wasn't the first time he's thrown for better than 200 yards in a game at Doak Campbell Stadium, though. He also did it in Florida State's 2017 spring game as a Seminoles freshman before deciding to transfer. He threw for 203 yards and a touchdown in that game.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kevin Patrick didn’t stand a chance. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/jQ1JQ7IKmI
— Cory Smith (@RCorySmith) September 29, 2019
Graduate defensive tackle Larrell Murchison was in the Florida State backfield almost as much as some of the Seminoles, recording 3.5 sacks, three other tackles and a pair of quarterback hurries to lead a defense that recorded eight sacks. This isn't the first time Murchison has shown his ability to dominate, He also had a three-sack game against Virginia last season while intercepting a pass in the Wolfpack's 2018 win against FSU.
STAT OF THE WEEK
When wide receiver Max Fisher fumbled the ball into the end zone while struggling to score late in the game, it marked the first time this season that the Wolfpack failed to score points on a red zone possession. True, the play that resulted in turnover originated from the 24-yard-line. But the Wolfpack had already reached the 20 on the possession before a sack of quarterback Devin Leary moved it back. State had converted its first 22 red zone opportunities this season, including its first three on Saturday.
UNSUNG HERO
Redshirt freshman wide receiver Devin Carter is being counted on to fill the void left when senior C.J. Riley was lost for the season in State's opening game against East Carolina. Saturday, thanks in large measure to the change in quarterbacks, the 6-foot-4, 212-pound Clayton native finally got a chance to show his potential by catching four passes for 68 yards -- including a 33-yard downfield strike from Hockman that set up a field goal late in the first half.
INJURY REPORT
The Wolfpack suffered a major loss when sophomore running back Ricky Person went down with an injury to his left leg on the opening series of the second half. Person who led the team in rushing last week against Ball State, failed to get up after gaining four yards on a second and five play from his own 6. He was attended to by medical personnel, who put an inflatable cast on his foot before he was taken off the field on a cart. He had 26 yards on seven carries before leaving.
There's no word on the extent of Person's injury or how long he might be out. But it didn't look good. "We'll see where that is," Doeren said after the game, "and get the report back tomorrow."
In addition to Person, State also lost backup corner Taiyon Palmer to an apparent leg injury after he hit the quarterback on a blitz during the third quarter. Palmer limped off the field after nearly recording a sack and didn't return. His absence was especially damaging considering that the Wolfpack is already down a man at corner with senior Nick McCloud having been sidelined since the season opener five weeks ago.
THEY SAID IT
"Matt [McKay] was not doing what I thought he was going to do. It was obvious he was off. [shrugs] At this point, we didn't have time to wait anymore. I love him to death and he's a great young man, but it's one thing when you're not completing the ball down the field, it's another when you're not completing it underneath. He just didn't give us what we needed tonight and Bailey came in and competed and Devin did the same." Coach Dave Doeren
"(We) ran some different plays than we were running and those plays worked. When the other ones didn't work, we decided to run something different. And our guys executed. Went out and executed.And you got to give North Carolina State credit, too. We're not going to go down and score every drive, but it was good to see our guys hang in there and bounce back and found a way to get our team down there to score some touchdowns." FSU coach Willie Taggart
"It’s just small things that we try to work on during the week in practice. We always watch film from last game and realize that we can get better. I feel like that’s what we did, so we’ve just got to keep getting better each week." Graduate defensive tackle Larrell Murchison
UP NEXT
The Wolfpack has a badly needed open date next week before returning to action the following Thursday night with a home date against ACC Atlantic rival Syracuse
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