Wolfpack lose a heartbreaker

Halfway into the first quarter of the NC State vs Florida State ACC Football game a play happened that marked the beginning of the demise of the Wolfpack defense. With the score knotted at 7-7, the Seminole play call was a simple toss sweep to running back Jermain Thomas around the right side and it quickly appeared the Pack was in position to snuff out the run and force a third down, or better yet force and recover a turnover at mid field. The fumble recovery and second down stop never happened.

After Pack linebacker Terrell Manning popped loose the ball from Thomas' possession, the speedy running back spun back and scooped it off the turf before the lunging efforts of the swarming defenders could even get a pinkie on the pigskin. Thomas alertly pivoted and bolted from one side line to the other and ran nearly 50 yards across the field before turning his shoulders back in the right direction and gaining a solid chunk of 20 yards.

Everything that the NC State defensive coordinator and his assistant coaches stressed during the bye week looked to have made an impact on how the players responded to the specific play. Make your initial reads, shed your blocks and swarm tackle the ball carrier. Drills especially run throughout the extra practice sessions were aimed to improve on costly missed tackles in prior games included that resulted in extra positive yardage the opponents were constantly receiving.

Led by Manning and his hard charging teammates the fundamentals were solid but the same result occurred. The Sophomore FSU running back revealed all the assets he brings to the table to stymie the Pack's efforts to come together. He started forcing the issue in games instead of playing the role of hot black top meets steam roller. His alertness, quick reactions and water bug bursting speed left his opponents in the dust. The 20 yard positive gain on what could have resulted in a game changing turnover was a pivotal point early in the game. Thomas seemed emboldened afterward and went on to rushing for 186 yards on 20 attempted rushes and two touchdowns. In the seven games leading up to yesterdays 45-42 win he had amassed a total of 192 yards on 49 rushes and 2 TD's. Talk about a break out performance.

Obviously a 45-42 Halloween offensive mayhem egg fight that included a dozen or more big plays occurred which resulted in 1,088 yards of total offense and 97 points. Even a Jon Bon Jovi Arena Football team would have a needed an extra intermission to keep that beat.

Highlights from the first half:

Quarterback Russell Wilson looked sharp as ever after the bye week. His passes were pin point and had a lot of zip to them. Unfortunately twice in the half the Pack dropped easy catches that could have prolonged a drive.
In the first quarter offensive guard RJ Mattes (pronounced mattice) left the game in agony after having his leg rolled over by two players. Coach O'Brien reported to post game media members that it's a knee injury and will cost the freshman the rest of this season and probably jeopardize any participation into Spring season.
Wide receiver Owen Spencer got off to a fast start of his personal record-setting day.His first two receptions on the day went for 80 yards and a TD and 61 yards. By game's end he finished with 5 catches for 165 yards and one TD.
Two first half touchdowns were either set up or scored on when the Pack decided to tinker with its defensive personnel more. First a 19 yard pass play set up the Noles on the doorstep when the coaches tried to bring in true freshman Jarvis Byrd in for the first college game of his life. The second play resulted in a 54 yard TD run by Thomas when back up safety Bobby Floyd was inserted into a linebackers role. Every new combination of players for the defense just netted worse results.
Clock management and Russell Wilson's poise cost the team points at the end of the half. On a third and two Wilson had the call to quickly line up and go for a QB keeper before FSU was set but he rushed it so much that his own players weren't set. Making matters worse was that after the issuing of the five yard penalty the clock was started and the coaching staff missed on calling a timeout right away.

Highlights from second half:

After letting FSU into the endzone to begin the second half the Pack offense revs back up with Toney Baker getting rushes of 5 and 20 on consecutive plays. Baker finished the day with 112 yards on 19 carries. On a third and eleven Wilson threw a 32 yard strike to wide receiver Darrell Davis and kept it going with a nifty 6 yard touchdown pass to Jarvis Williams.
With the score tied at 28, FSU tried a screen pass which was intercepted by Pack defensive lineman Nathan Mageo. A hustling Noles players caught up to Mageo and jarred the ball loose giving the possesion right back to FSU. This would have put the Pack in great position to take the lead since had Mageo held on the ball would have been spotted about 17 yards from the end zone.
FSU, after regaining the possesion marched down the field for a field goal by Dustin Hopkins, and then forced a three and out on the next Pack possesion. The ensuing Noles drive sliced up the toothless Pack defense and the resulting TD put the margin to 10 points- the first time all game the lead had grown to more then one score.
Down 38-28 the Pack put together an impressive 80 yard touchdown drive with a great balance of run and pass. Baker continued to dominate and a great pattern drawn up for tight end George Bryan was executed to perfection for a 29 yard touchdown score.
After the defense finally held up and forced a punt the offense came right back back out and rushed six straight times before Wilson threw a 6 yard TD to Williams, his third pass catch for a score of the day (many NC State players had career efforts), and the Pack finally had the lead, 42-38, with 3:50 to play in the game.
Screen passes and end around runs were all the Noles needed to orchestrate the winning drive. The touch down put FSU up 45-42 with 1:36 to play.
Wilson was able to drive the team down to just across mid field and needing almost 20 more yards to get into comfortable field goal range when the drive stalled. A failed screen pass followed by a six yard loss via sack left the team with two shots to pick up 17 yards for a first down. Incomplete, interception, ball game.

NC State remains winless in the ACC at 0-4 and have a 3-5 overall record. They will host Maryland on November 7, looking to bounce back from from what was a huge letdown to many of the players.