Florida State managed to sneak by Clemson last week at home without Jameis Winston suiting up (well, he suited up initially but that’s another story). This week the undefeated and top-ranked Seminoles head to Raleigh, North Carolina. If any program should be aware of the dangers of playing on North Carolina State’s campus, it is the Seminoles. The Wolfpack enter this weekend’s game with an unblemished record, but do they have enough in the tank to take down Florida State and write another chapter in the storied history of NC State upsets of Florida State?
Florida State will be without two starting defensive linemen this weekend. Defensive end Mario Edwards is out with a concussion and defensive tackle Nile Lawrence-Stample is out for the remainder of the season due to a torn pectoral muscle. If North Carolina State chooses to attack the defensive line of Florida State, they will do so with the nation’s 25th ranked rushing offense and an offensive line that has allowed just four sacks so far this season. Shadrach Thornton and Matt Dayes have split the running duties for the Wolfpack fairly evenly, and should expect to split the job once again this weekend.
The key for NC State will finding ways to frustrate the typically unflappable Winston, who returns to the field after serving a one-game suspension last week. This is much easier said than done, and one week off does not figure to be enough to slow down Winston. But hey, stranger things have happened in this series before, right?