FSU football: 5 takeaways from huge ‘Noles win over North Carolina
By Kelvin Hunt
FSU football had an opportunity to show they are moving in the right direction and upset No. 5 UNC. Here are my five takeaways from the win.
I wrote on Twitter months ago the Tarheel offense wasn’t elite like most thought, an inspired effort from the FSU football defense proved just that.
The Noles held the Tarheels scoreless until their final possession in the first half, only to survive a second-half where the FSU offense didn’t contribute any points.
The game seemed like it was going to take a familiar script from last season with the Noles would open huge first-half leads, only to collapse in the second half.
FSU led 31-7 and halftime and missed a field goal on their opening possession, which seemed to be the catalyst for what all FSU football fear.
Doubt.
That’s what happened as UNC rattled off 14 points in the third quarter to make it a 10-point ball game going into the final quarter.
It seemed like everything that could go wrong did go wrong, but the FSU defense that has been rightfully scrutinized all season came up big-time with some key stops.
None were more important than UNC’s final possession, as the Tarheels began the drive with 2:24 remaining and down three points.
The Tarheels moved the ball down the field with a 32-yard completion and got to the FSU 43 yard-line with 1:19 remaining.
A huge play by Marvin Wilson and three incomplete passes later, the Noles would get in victory formation and pull off the biggest win of the Mike Norvell era.
It was a nerve-racking game on many fronts, but here are my five takeaways.