College Football: #14 N.C. State vs Florida State; Week 6 preview, picks, how to watch, more

Two ACC powerhouses clash on Saturday night when the 14th-ranked N.C. State Wolfpack try to rebound from their loss to Clemson when they come home to take on the Florida State Seminoles.

Florida State Seminoles (4-1) #14 N.C. State Wolfpack (4-1)

@ Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, NC

How to Watch:

Date: Saturday, October 8th
Time: 8.00 p.m. ET
Channel: ACC Network

Betting Stats:

Spread: NCST -3
Over/Under: 50.5 points

Matchup:

Carter-Finley Stadium welcomes a pair of teams looking to rebound from disappointing performances in week five. No. 14 N.C. State returns to its home field after suffering its first loss of the season on the road against a Clemson Tigers team firing on all cylinders. Newly-unranked Florida State faced a similar fate a week ago, dropping a conference matchup against then-No. 22 Wake Forest for the Seminoles’ first loss of their 2022 campaign.

In a year full of high expectations for both programs, the pair of losses were a firm reality check. For both Florida State’s quarterback, Jordan Travis, and N.C. State’s signal-caller, Devin Leary, the ability to keep pace offensively against upper-echelon competition has been hard to come by.

In a pure head-to-head, Travis certainly holds the edge over Leary in quarterback play to start the season. Entering this weekend’s matchup with 1,226 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception on a 65.9% completion rate, the redshirt junior’s play has directly translated into big wins. Perhaps the clearest indicators of Travis’ success in the pocket were a pair of nailbiters on the road against LSU and Louisville, where the Seminoles escaped with one-score victories.

While Leary’s stats hold comparable to Travis’ at 1,135 yards, 10 touchdowns, and three interceptions on 62.8% completion, the Wolfpack has yet to see its gunslinger truly dictate the outcome of any game it’s played so far. N.C. State’s offense completely stalled out in the second half against East Carolina in week one, relying on a miracle to win. A pair of victories against Charleston Southern and UConn were never in question, whether Leary put up big numbers or not. The Wolfpack defense sealed the deal against Texas Tech and in its only loss of the year, N.C. State’s offense was completely arrhythmic against Clemson.

If the Pack has any hopes of remedying its offensive inability before diving into the thick of its conference schedule, moving the ball consistently against a top-50 defense is a great place to start. To do so, N.C. State’s running back tandem of Demie Sumo-Karngbaye and Jordan Houston will be called on to move the chains often, something they failed to do against Clemson’s dominant front seven.

Outside of the run game, Wolfpack pass catchers need to do a better job of helping Leary get into a rhythm. Drops have played a spoiler to plenty of potential success in N.C. State’s passing game this year and someone other than Thayer Thomas has to prove their reliability downfield. While the path to WR1 seems to have closed on Devin Carter, the Wolfpack wideout room is filled with plenty of young talent chomping at the bit to make a name for themselves.

Unlike N.C. State, the Seminoles have an abundance of reliability in the pass-catching department. Mycah Pittman has put the conference on notice in his first year with Florida State, racking up 226 yards and two touchdowns on 17 receptions, and plans to keep the Wolfpack’s secondary on its heels. Johnny Wilson, the 6-foot-7 playmaker, has already surpassed the 350-yard mark with 19 receptions for 357 yards and three touchdowns, and the sixth-year veteran, Ontaria Wilson, looks to keep N.C. State’s defensive backs guessing on where the ball is headed.

Both programs look to lean on their proven commodities. For N.C. State, relying on its top-15 defense will be essential to containing Florida State’s explosive skill-position group. Inversely, the Seminoles’ offensive stars will need to shine bright to overpower the Pack’s nationally-recognized defense. The team improving to 5-1 on the year is sure to be the one that can put aside its early-season failures and look ahead with a clear focus.

Players to Know:

Devin Leary – N.C. State, QB

2022 stats: 1,135 yards, 13 touchdowns, three interceptions, 62.8% completion percentage

It hasn’t been the year many expected from Leary, taking a step back from the gunslinging, game-winning performances he put up a year ago. Struggles in the red zone and keeping tempo to move the chains for a whole 60 minutes have hurt N.C. State’s offense immensely in big matchups, but Leary isn’t completely to blame. Moving past the early-season shortcomings to establish a new focus for the remainder of the season could be just what the redshirt junior needs to take this offense to its previous heights.

Aydan White – N.C. State, DB

2022 stats: 14 total tackles, two TFLs, one sack, two interceptions, one touchdown

White has been on fire to start the season, leading the way for N.C. State’s secondary in shutting down opposing wideouts. The Wolfpack will have its hands full with Florida State’s talented receiving room, but Whtie and his counterparts have proven that this defense has a stronger presence in pass coverage than units of years past.

Jordan Travis – Florida State, QB

2022 stats: 1,226 yards, eight touchdowns, one interception, 65.9% completion rate

In his fourth year with the program, Travis has done well to lead the Seminoles to an average of 34.2 points per game this season. Nearly eclipsing his stats in most major passing categories from a year ago in three fewer games as the starter, Travis is on pace to supply Florida State’s offense with his best year under center. His breakout, paired with a slew of talent at the skill positions, have the Seminoles primed to expose some weaknesses in a stout N.C. State defense.

Jammie Robinson – Florida State, DB

2022 stats: 34 total tackles, three passes defended

Leading the way in Preseason All-ACC votes amongst safeties, Robinson has earned his respect as a premier secondary threat in the conference. Despite lacking the turnover prowess this season that had him atop the ACC last year in interceptions, Robinson is just waiting for an opposing quarterback to make a game-changing mistake to capitalize on. With Leary on pace to turn the ball over far more than he did in 2021, Saturday’s matchup could get Robinson back in the INT column.