Florida State at North Carolina State Odds


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The Florida State Seminoles travel to Raleigh to play the North Carolina State Wolf Pack on October 28at 7:30 PM ET. When the two teams met last Halloween at Doak Campbell Stadium, 68,000 watched a nail biter as the Seminoles eked out a 45-42 win

Our most recent college football odds show the Seminoles as -3 ½ over the Wolf Pack with a game total of 57.

FSU is coming off their sixth win of the season, this time against Boston College, 24-19. It was their fifth straight win, but they had to pull all the tricks out of their bag for this one.

Quarterback Carlos Ponder had a rough game, throwing three interceptions and watching a 14-6 halftime lead start to evaporate. BC scored 10 points in the third and by the end of the quarter, the score stood at 17-16. Bert Reed ran a reverse play for 42 yards with 10:50 on the clock to secure the win, and bail Ponder out of what was arguably his worst performance in three years as a starter.

Ponder threw for 170 yards and two touchdowns, one to Lonnie Pryor and the other to Beau Reliford.

With the win, Florida State ranks No. 1 in the ACC Atlantic Division. The team has been strong offensively and defensively scoring nearly 35 points a game (21st) and allowing only 16 (13th). Ponder had been steady before the game full of mental mishaps, throwing for 1,187 yards with 12 touchdowns on the season. Those numbers have contributed to a 70th ranking in passing yards.

The rush on the other hand, has been a big part of the Seminole attack, with 211.7 a game to rank 19th, led by the Thompson-Thomas duo who have combined for 876 yards and 10 touchdowns.

In the meantime, North Carolina State played a seesaw game last week against East Carolina, which ended in a loss 33-27. ECU drew first blood, scoring 21 points in the first while NC State responded with 21 of its own in the second and entered halftime with a three-point deficit to make up (24-21). The third was silent, but a pair of NC field goals in the fourth was met by one of ECU’s own to tie the score with a minute on the clock. Dominique Davis crossed the line from a yard out in overtime to seal the ECU win.

The loss dropped the Wolf Pack record to 5-2, good for No. 2 in the Atlantic Division.

The offense has been there, scoring 41 plus points in the three games before the loss, and averaging 36 on the season to rank 17th.

QB Russell Wilson is a big part of that offense with over 2,000 yards and 18 touchdowns. That’s an average of 312.6 a game for a 7th place ranking. Mustafa Greene and Dean Haynes have paced the ground attack with a combined 709 yards and seven touchdowns. Overall, the Wolf Pack is 83rd with 136.3 a game.

The defense has been good enough to provide opportunity, limiting opposing teams to 23.7 a game (55th), but that number is skewed by a 48-7 win in the season opener against Western Carolina.

Matt’s Free Prediction: Florida State -3 1/2 – This is a great matchup and NC State would love to win it to move into first. However, Ponder should be over his jitters and be prepared for a big game when it counts. The offenses are evenly matched, but Florida State has a stronger presence on the ground and a stronger defense, not to mention a 4-0 conference record. I give it to the Seminoles by a touchdown or more.

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