NC State and Florida State Clash Under the Carter-Finley Lights

Game Day Central | Thursday Football Notebook
Night Game Magic at Carter-Finley Stadium | NCSU Notes

Game 9: NC State (4-4, 1-3 ACC) vs. #19 Florida State (5-3, 2-3 ACC)
November 5, 2016 • 7 p.m. • ESPNU/ACC Network Extra
Raleigh, N.C. • Carter-Finley Stadium (58,200)

TV: ESPNU/ACC Network Extra | Radio: Wolfpack Sports Network, Tunein, Sirius 132, XM 193
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RALEIGH, N.C. - NC State will be looking for a little night time magic on Saturday night, when it hosts #19 Florida State (5-3, 2-3 ACC) at 7 p.m.

After four early starts in the ACC this season, the Wolfpack (4-4, 1-3 ACC) will be playing a conference game under the lights for the first time in 2016, and only the second time in four years under coach Dave Doeren.

"It gives our fans a chance to travel to the game, and it gives them a chance to tailgate for a long period of time and be wound up," Doeren said about playing a night game. "I've only had one ACC night game at Carter-Finley since I've been here, it was a Thursday night game my first year against Clemson. That was electric, so I'm hopeful we'll have a similar environment."

Over the years, night games at Carter-Finley Stadium against Florida State have not only produced great games, but also boisterous atmospheres that are acknowledged by even the Seminoles themselves.

"That's a great environment and they like playing us," Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said. "That's always been the case, even going back to the Weinke days."

After joining the ACC in 1992, the Seminoles had dropped only one conference game in six years before the Wolfpack tripped up an FSU team ranked No. 2 in September of 1998. Among other things in that 24-7 NC State victory, Florida State quarterback Chris Weinke--a future Heisman Trophy winner--threw six interceptions.

Since that day, the Wolfpack has prevailed in five of the nine games played between the two teams in Raleigh, including two of the last three and three of the last five.

And while this Florida State team won't be competing for a championship this season, there's every indication that the Seminoles have improved since their self-proclaimed low point of their season, a 37-35 home loss to North Carolina on October 1st.

In an epic showdown a week ago, FSU was on the verge of knocking off No. 3 Clemson before Deshaun Watson engineered a late rally that produced a 37-34 Tigers victory. Tailback Dalvin Cook did all he could to get Florida State over the top, rambling for 169 yards and four touchdowns. Cook, considered one of the Heisman frontrunners at the beginning of the season, averages 133.6 rushing yards per game, a figure that ranks sixth in the nation.

"He's as good as any running back I've played, and I've played against some really good ones," Doeren said. "He's fast, he's hard to tackle, he runs through contact, he accelerates, he's got great vision and schematically, they do some really good things. You can't just put everybody up there because as we know, Florida State always has a couple of receivers that scare you. You can't put all of your safeties down in the box and say 'have a good day corners.' You've got to help those guys at times. It's a unique challenge."

In Florida State's come-from-behind 34-17 triumph over NC State last year in Tallahassee, Cook showed his grit by overcoming a sore hamstring to rush for 138 yards and two touchdowns.

When Cook gets into open space, he can be next to impossible to get on the ground.

"It's very hard," said NC State nickel Dravious Wright. "You've got to wrap him up and keep driving. You just can't think you can put your shoulder down and shoestring tackle him. You've got to come with contact and come with force. And you need the other 10 guys coming with you to help."

With Matthew Dayes toting the football, NC State had been one of the best rushing teams in the ACC until the last two games against Louisville and Boston College. Facing a pair of top-10 defenses, the Wolfpack could muster only 45 total yards on the ground. In order to keep the chains moving against Florida State, the Pack will need to get Dayes and the running game going again.

"Our offense is built around balance and tempo, and you can't have tempo without first downs," said Doeren. "You can't have balance without your run game. The last two games were the only games this year where we haven't been able to run the football. They were great rushing defenses, but we have to be able to do a better job. Half of Matt's yards this year are after contact, so he'll make plays if we can just get him going."

In the first quarter on Saturday, NC State will honor former head coach Dick Sheridan to mark the 30th anniversary of his winning the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Trophy. Between 1986-92, Sheridan posted an overall record of 52-29-3. He also brought the diamond logo to NC State football, a logo that appeared on the Wolfpack's helmets earlier this season in the victory over Notre Dame.

"My staff autographed a diamond logo helmet and sent it to him after the Notre Dame win," Doeren said. "I respect the people who were in this game before me and I understand that I wouldn't have a lot of the knowledge I have if it wasn't for innovators and people like Dick Sheridan. Whenever I talk to former players and ask who they played for and they say coach Sheridan, you can tell that they just loved the guy and they respected him so much."

With a 7 p.m. kickoff, the Wolfpack Sports Network begins its pregame coverage at five o'clock with the Matthews Motors Countdown to Kickoff. In hour two of the pregame show from the radio booth, former Wolfpack All-American Johnny Evans takes question from fans on 'Ask the Analyst.' Questions about Pack football can be sent to Johnny via Twitter @packradio or by clicking HERE.

A complete recap of the NC State-Florida State game will be available Sunday on the Dave Doeren TV Show. Check HERE for times and stations.

NC State and Florida State Clash Under the Carter-Finley Lights

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Players Mentioned

Matthew Dayes

Dravious Wright