FSU football: 3 takeaways from ‘Noles loss against NC State
By Kelvin Hunt
Very Good First Half Despite Some Missed Opportunities
FSU football seemed to do whatever it wanted offensively after a slow start. The Noles ran 35 plays for 294 yards, which equates to 8.4 yards per play.
That’s elite production, which includes at least three critical drops from FSU wide receivers. A touchdown Malik McClain dropped, and a critical third down pass by Johnny Wilson.
FSU special teams made a great play later in the half to give the Noles an excellent field position for a late field goal attempt for Ryan Fitzgerald.
The offense was 4 of 8 on third downs and had 177 rushing yards in the first half. The FSU defense held NC State to three points and 133 total yards on 30 plays. It’s a game you expect to win because NC State isn’t an explosive offense.
I felt like if FSU scored one touchdown in the second half, it would have been enough to win the game, though I didn’t want Mike Norvell to go conservative because of that reason.
There was nothing that happened in the first half that made you think FSU wouldn’t score in the second half, either. Yet, that’s exactly what happened.