Florida State 34, North Carolina State 17
When: 12:30 PM ET, Saturday, November 14, 2015
Where: Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida
Temperature:
64°
Head Official:
Gary Patterson
Attendance:
71210
By The Sports Xchange
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The ACC title is out of reach and so are the College Football Playoffs, but No. 16 Florida State showed it still had plenty to play for Saturday against N.C. State.
The Seminoles, who are out of the running for the conference title for the first time since 2011, got their 16th straight ACC home victory and watched star running back Dalvin Cook break a coveted school record in the 34-17 rout of the Wolfpack, who raced to a 17-7 lead but were shut down the rest of the way by the Florida State defense.
Needing 12 yards to become Florida State's single-season rushing leader, Cook broke the record set by Warrick Dunn in 1995 on the Seminoles' sixth offense play of the game -- an 11-yard run that put Cook past Dunn's 1,242-yard mark.
The sophomore running back from Miami finished the game with 138 yards on 22 carries and scored his team-leading 13th and 14th touchdowns of the season. Dunn, who played 12 seasons in the NFL, was on hand Saturday to see the record fall.
Dunn told Cook earlier in the week: "The record was there to be broken -- so go break it."
"Ain't no better way to do than at Doak Campbell (and in front of) the fans," said Cook, who added that Dunn visited him in the locker room after the game to offer congratulations. "It was one goal I set for myself when I got here ... and I broke it."
Cook was asked about his chances to still be considered for the Heisman Trophy, an award he was -- according to sportsbooks -- 100-to-1 to win entering Saturday.
Reporter: "Do you think you're a Heisman contender?"
Cook: "Yeah."
Reporter: "Do you think you should go to New York?"
Cook: "Yeah."
Reporter: "Do you think you should win it?"
Cook: "Yeah."
Saturday's team win, however, might not have been possible without a mid-game quarterback change by Florida State (8-2, 6-2 ACC).
Seminoles starter Everett Golson was responsible for three turnovers in the first quarter and a half -- one fumble and two interceptions. Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher benched Golson midway through the second quarter and put in backup Sean Maguire, who led the Seminoles' offense to 20 straight points and completely turned the game around.
Maguire, who received much of the blame following last week's loss to No. 1 Clemson when he was 16 of 29 for 164 yards and an interception, finished Saturday 18 of 28 for 231 yards and two second-half touchdown passes to Kermit Whitfield, who led Florida State with six catches for 117 yards.
Golson was 5 of 9 for 52 yards and three turnovers before being pulled, and Fisher said he didn't think twice about making the change.
"The dynamic (was off),'' said Fisher, whose team committed five turnovers. "Everett was in a bad rut and I thought Sean could give us a spark. And that's not an easy thing to do -- walk in and make plays. But we got in a rhythm and took off (after that). The maturity Sean showed was just outstanding. He never really lost the job -- both guys knew (a change) could always happen -- but he earned the job today."
The Wolfpack (6-4, 2-4) suffered their third straight defeat to the Seminoles.
N.C. State dual-threat quarterback Jacoby Brissett started the game well, going 7 of 10 for 55 yards and a touchdown and 22 yards rushing in the first quarter. But Brissett finished 27 of 47 for 209 yards passing as the Wolfpack were shut out for the final three quarters.
N.C. State fullback Jaylen Samuels and Brissett scored first-quarter touchdowns, but its final nine drives after jumping out to a 17-7 lead ended in seven punts, a fumble and a goal-line stuff by the Florida State defense on the final play.
The Seminoles were led by defensive back Derwin James with a team-high 10 tackles. Defensive lineman Demarcus Walker recorded two sacks, while James added one.
The Wolfpack defense had their moments Saturday, getting fumble recoveries from linebackers Arius Moore and Mike Rose -- who also had the team's only sack -- and three interceptions. N.C. State linebacker Jack Tocho and cornerback Niles Clark each picked off Golson in the first half, while Maguire threw a second-half interception to defensive end Bradley Chubb.
"I'm proud of the effort our guys gave,'' said N.C. State coach Dave Doeren, whose team secured a bowl game with last week's victory against Boston College for the second straight year. "They played hard and they all believed (they could win). But it wasn't enough to win.
"Their quarterback got pulled because of the play of our defense, but their backup came in and played well."
N.C. State, which has dominated teams in the first quarter all season -- outscoring opponents 93-37 -- continued that trend to start the game Saturday.
On the first play, Rose sacked Golson, stripped the ball and recovered it, but N.C. State was held to only a field goal as kicker Kyle Bambard nailed a 31-yarder for the game's first points.
Cook gave the Seminoles a 7-3 lead on a 13-yard touchdown run during the Seminoles' second drive, but the advantage didn't last long.
Fisher called on Maguire after Golson's second pick and Cook cut the deficit to 17-14 with a 30-yard rushing score with 5:17 left in the second quarter. Following a Florida State defensive stop, Seminoles kicker Roberto Aguayo booted a 40-yard field goal with 30 seconds remaining before halftime to tie the game at 17.
NOTES: Florida State coaching legend Bobby Bowden was in town Saturday for his only appearance with the program this season. Bowden was honored between the first and second quarters for the 35th anniversary of winning the Dodd Trophy, which celebrates the head coach of a team who is successful on and off the field. ... Florida State's 39th consecutive winning season, which was secured with its win against Syracuse two weeks ago, is the nation's longest active streak. ...
Florida State is 5-1 all-time against N.C. State in homecoming games and leads the all-time series 25-11. ... Florida State FB Freddie Stevenson was hurt in the first half (concussion) and did not return. ... N.C. State's successful fourth-quarter fake punt was pulled off by a pass from P A.J. Cole to TE Cole Cook.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
North Carolina State |
|
Florida State |
Jacoby Brissett
|
Player |
Dalvin Cook
|
17 |
Attempts |
22 |
25 |
Yards |
138 |
1.5 |
Avg Yards |
6.3 |
1 |
Touchdowns |
2 |
0 |
Long |
0 |
Team Stats Summary