Florida St vs. NC State Preview

Florida St heads into Raleigh to take on a NC State team still really in search of their own identity.  Bobby Bowden brings in a team that has been tested in a 2 of it’s last 3 and is ready to head into the meat of their schedule.

So far the best offensive player on the Seminoles has been Antone Smith who to this point has racked up 394 yards 9 rushing touchdowns.  Honorable mention goes to Christian Ponder who is still trying to find his touch and accuracy in the passing game but has helped keep the noles in games and win games with his running ability to get much needed first downs.

On the defensive side of the ball who else to mention then junior safety Myron Rolle who by far has been the most consistent player on this side of the ball getting involved in many areas and being a factor.

Now onto the game:

Florida St (4-1, 1-1) comes in to this game thursday night tilt with still areas to improve and what better way to do that against a team near the bottom of your conference in North Carolina St (2-4, 0-2).

This is just the 2nd road game of the season for Florida St but should not be a problem for Christian Ponder to handle after handlng the Miami crowd as well as anybody could expect in his first real big time game as a young starter.

Keys to the game:

Florida St should use the running game as a tool to setup the passing game and give Ponder more and more confidence.  Ponder right now is only connecting 49% of the time and will need to see that figure hit around 65% to be an even more effective player.

Force turnovers to not only create points but to frustrate the Wolfpack who are a young team and one that gets frustrated very easily.

This one may seem easy but get a good solid pass rush from not just the front 4 but even the front 7 when need be to help out the corners, not that they need it they have as much experience as one could one in college football.

Statistics heading into the game:

Total Yards:  FSU 429 per game (29th) NC State 291.5 (113th)

Passing Yards: FSU 197.4 (84th) NC State 211.5 (78th)

Rushing Yards: FSU 231.6 (14th) NC State 80 (118th)

Points Per Game: FSU 39.6 (11th) NC State 19.0 (88th)

Upcoming recruits to visit FSU: 

Oliver Vernon, DE - Will visit on 11/08/08

Branden Smith, CB - Will visit on 11/28/08

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