FSU football vs. NC State: Noles lead at halftime, but miss some opportunities

FSU football missed a lot of opportunities in the first half of the NC State game. The Noles took the opening possession into NC State territory but stalled at the NC State 41-yard line.

Special teams had an opportunity to pin the Wolkpack inside the five-yard line with three defenders near the ball but failed to down the ball before it went into the end zone for a touchback.

The FSU defense forced a three and out, but the FSU defense looked disjointed and immediately went three and out, giving the NC State Wolfpack good field position at their 42-yard line. The Wolfpack kicked a 38-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead. FSU football missed a golden opportunity on their next possession.

They went 59 yards on eight plays with Malik McClain dropping a touchdown pass in the corner on third down. Mike Norvell elected to go for it on fourth and three since Ryan Fitzgerald isn’t dependable from anywhere, and Johnny Wilson dropped a short slant route that was slightly underthrown for a turnover on downs.

The FSU defense showed up again, forcing another punt after giving up a couple of first downs. FSU began their next drive from their 15-yard line and Jordan Travis scampered 71-yards to set up a 14-yard one-handed TD reception by Mycah Pittman for a 7-3 lead with 11:29 remaining.

The FSU defense forced another punt on NC State’s next possession, with the FSU offense beginning their drive at the FSU 27-yard line.

A quick eight-yard pass to Mycah Pittman and 39-yard run by Treshaun Ward put the Noles on the NC State 26-yard line with 10:08 remaining in the half. An offensive pass interference penalty pushed the Noles back to the NC State 36-yard line. Jordan Travis hit Ontaria Wilson for a big gain, but Wilson dropped the pass. That’s three drops from the FSU wide receivers.

Alex Mastromanno punted 28-yards to pin NC State at the eight-yard line with 7:55 remaining. NC State hit a huge chunk play as DJ Lundy got mixed up in coverage on a running back.

NC State got down to the FSU 39-yard line before Jammie Robinson intercepted a fourth-down pass to give the Noles the ball back on the 27-yard line with 4:13 remaining. Trey Benson converted a third-down and four with a 26-yard run to the NC State 40-yard line.

Jordan Travis hit Johnny Wilson for a 26-yard reception on third and 12, with Lawrance Toafili scoring on a 12-yard run to give the Noles a 14-3 lead. The FSU defense forced another punt and FSU special teams returned the punt 51-yards with 10 seconds remaining. Ryan Fitzgerald hit a 47-yard field goal to give the Noles a 17-3 lead at halftime. FSU ran 35 plays for 294 yards. NC State ran 30 plays for 133 yards.