FSU Beats NC State Behind Murray’s Career Night
Nyqwan Murray had his best receiving performance of his career in 22nd ranked Florida State’s (6-3, 3-3) narrow 24-20 win over North Carolina State (4-5, 1-4) on Saturday. The sophomore from Orlando would haul in nine catches for 153 yards in the win. Deondre Francois contributed 330 yards and a touchdown for the Seminoles. Ryan Finley led the Wolfpack offense with 25 completions and 304 yards of his own.
While Dalvin Cook, garnered most of the attention heading into the game, North Carolina State’s Matthew Dayes proved to be the superior back on Saturday. Dayes ran for 104 yards on 23 carries, while Cook was limited to just 65 yards on 18 carries. Saturday marked the fourth time that a Florida State game was decided by less than a touchdown.
Game Recap
Florida State’s defense seized the early momentum out of the gate. With the Wolfpack driving into Seminole territory, Tarvarus McFadden recorded his seventh interception of the year. However, Florida State was unable to capitalize and punted on its first drive. The two teams traded punts on their next possessions.
North Carolina was the first team to get on the board. Aided by a personal foul penalty by the Seminoles, the Wolfpack drove 71 yards to take a 7-0 lead. Finely found Bra’Lon Cherry for a 28-yard reception to end the drive.
Florida State responded with a 12 play, 50 yard drive that ended with a 32-yard field goal by Ricky Aguayo. North Carolina State then drove 61 yards only to come up empty handed. Kyle Bambard missed a 31 yard field goal leaving the score at 7-3.
After a Florida State three and out, Barmbard redeemed himself with a 20-yard made field goal to push the Wolfpack lead back to seven. Florida State finally found the endzone on a two yard touchdown run by Jaques Patrick. The Seminoles drove 73 yards in six plays to set up the score.
North Carolina State added a late field goal to go into halftime with a 13-10 lead. The Wolfpack then padded its lead midway through the third quarter with a 23-yard touchdown run by Jalen Samuels. That run capped off a drive that covered 99 yards in nine plays.
The Seminoles answered with Dalvin Cook’s lone score of the night. After a 60 yard drive that featured a heavy dosage of Cook, he found pay dirt on a 10-yard run. The next three possessions ended with punts for both teams.
Game Winning Drive
Down four with less than five minutes to play, Deondre Francois would led the Seminoles on a five play 83 yard drive to give Florida State its first lead. He avoided pressure and found Travis Rudolph for a 19 yard score to put the Seminoles on top.
The Wolfpack was able to drive into Florida State territory late. However, North Carolina State was stopped on fourth and 12 from the Seminole 26 yard line.
Main Photo:
