Florida State’s defense, maligned most of the year, came up with a key stop late and allowed the Seminoles to win a close game on the road.
The FSU defense forced an incomplete pass on fourth-and-12 from their own 26 with 1:09 to go. The N.C. State Wolfpack had a first and 10 at the FSU 24, but four passes resulted in three incompletions and a catch for minus two yards. It left FSU as a 24-20 winner.
Quarterback Deondre Francois had one of his best nights for the Seminoles, hitting 22 of 39 passes for 330 yards. Of those passes, nine went to Nyqwan Murray for 153 yards.
“It feels good, I’ll tell you that,” coach Jimbo Fisher said. “I feel good right now, I’m not going to lie.
“We’re a couple plays from having a really tough season and a couple plays from having a phenomenal season. We have a young talented team that’s learning how to persevere.”
For N.C. State, Ryan Finley threw for 304 yards. Receiver Nyheim Hines had 11 catches for 124 yards. Running back Matthew Dayes ran for 104 yards on 23 carries.
For FSU, running back Dalvin Cook had 18 carries for 65 yards. Other FSU backs ran for a combined minus two yards.
The Seminoles, now 6-3, play Boston College at home Friday night.
