It's the Florida State Football Film Review. Every week we break down the result of the previous Florida State game. Who really played well for the Seminoles? Which players played poorly? Where did the coaches do well, and when did they screw up?
All analyzed plays will eventually appear in the Florida State Film Review section of the website. We do not analyze plays in garbage time.
Amazingly, this content is free. Please keep it that way by sharing it on Facebook.
Observations:
- FSU mixed personnel on early downs more than what we’ve seen in previous games. We saw a fairly even mix of 4-2-5 and 3-4 on 1st and 2nd down. NC State uses a tight end in most of their sets which allowed FSU to be comfortable playing base 3-4 or nickel based on run/pass tendencies. FSU appeared to effectively substitute players in the middle of drives without any communication errors.
- NC State called this game as if they had an athletic QB. We saw a lot of zone read, split zone read, power read, etc but Finley was not able to really hurt FSU with his legs. FSU effectively slow-played the reads with their ends. Josh Sweat, DeMarcus Walker, and Jacob Pugh had the athleticism to often times play both the running back and the quarterback on read plays.
- The two points made above are encouraging for the FSU defense if we look ahead to the UF game. FSU should be able to to mix personnel vs an offense the would prefer to be in some tight end sets and doesn’t have the threat of a running quarterback.
- The 3-4 look also allowed us to observe of few other things scheme-wise. FSU likes to mix the front more often out of the 3-4. We see the “3-4 under” front which includes a 1 shade, a 3 tech, and a 5 tech. Then we also see FSU align the 3 down linemen in a “40 front” with a head-up nose and 2 4i’s(inside shade of the tackles). In this front, Derick Nnadi can 2 gap 1-on-1 vs the center and the 4i’s keep the offensive tackles off the linebackers.
- Speaking of the linebackers, Matthew Thomas continues to struggles at times with his run fits. He seems to be best suited and most comfortable as an edge rusher at this point. We also saw Roderick Hoskins make a few errors in coverage.
- The play of the defensive line continues to allow this defense to play well vs the run. Derick Nnadi and Demarcus Christmas again were vs stout in taking on blocks and making plays on the ball carrier.
- In the secondary, AJ Westbrook played his best game of the season, particularly in the 2nd half. He’s a bit limited physically but he appears to be getting more comfortable with the defense and is playing faster as a result. Ermon Lane had a solid game overall but needs to continue to improve as a tackler. He and Marquez White had some whiffs in the open field that led to much bigger gains than they should have been.
- Kyle Meyers played some good man coverage at Star but also had a big bust on 3rd down that led to a first. We also saw Levonta Taylor rotate in at Star. He showed flashes of his athletic ability but he needs to continue to play more consistent. We saw a few times where NC State was able to take advantage of his lack of size as well. It seems apparent that FSU would still prefer to play man coverage when either of these two freshmen are in the game at Star.
| D-D | At | Form | Play | Analysis |
| 1-10 | at St23 | 4-2-5 | Dayes, M. rush for 3 yards to the ST26 (Ermon Lane;Matthew Thomas). | Zone Read, Finley gives. Christmas stands up the playside guard and forces the RB to cutback. Nnadi gives up a little ground, allowing Samuels to pick up a few yards. |
| 2-7 | at St26 | 4-2-5 | Finley, R. pass complete to Samuels, J. for 2 yards to the ST28 (A.J. Westbrook). | Cover 1. NC State motions to the passing strength and FSU rolls down a safety to match it. Good play by Westbrook to break on the throw to the flat make use of the sideline to leverage the ball and make the tackle. |
| 3-5 | at St28 | 4-1-6 | Dayes, M. rush for 7 yards to the ST35, 1ST DOWN ST (Brian Burns;Matthew Thomas). | Split Zone play with a designed cutback.FSU is playing man and expecting pass. Sweat, Taylor and Walker all miss tackles allowing Dayes to pick up the first down. |
| 1-10 | at St35 | 4-2-5 | Finley, R. pass incomplete to Dayes, M. (Josh Sweat). | NC State has screens called to both sides of the field and Finley looks to his left to hit the RB screen. Excellent awarenes by Sweat. He's unblocked and recognized the screen to come off his pash rush and get a hand on the pass. |
| 2-10 | at St35 | 4-2-5 | Finley, R. pass incomplete to Hines, N.. | NC State goes trips bunch to the boundary and tries to pump a screen pass and throw it deep. FSU matches up both vertical routes very well and Finley throws it out of bounds. |
| 3-10 | at St35 | 4-1-6 | Finley, R. pass complete to Cherry, B. for 12 yards to the ST47, 1ST DOWN ST (A.J. Westbrook). | FSU runs Tampa 2 vs a 2x2 double stack from NC State. Westbrook has the deep middle here. He drops to a deep spot but has his eyes on the QB and does not match the in-breaking route that comes into his zone. Good throw by Finley to hit him on time in the hole in the zone. |
| 1-10 | at St47 | 4-2-5 | Dayes, M. rush for 2 yards to the ST49 (Ro'Derrick Hoskins). | Zone play from NC State as they are clearly trying to crease the playside B gap vs FSU's 3 man front. They have success upfront by reaching Nnadi and washing out Walker at the 4i with the guard. Hoskins however makes a nice play to quickly fill the B gap before the backside guard can reach him. |
| 2-8 | at St49 | 4-2-5 | Finley, R. pass complete to Louis, S. for 10 yards to the FS41, 1ST DOWN ST (Kyle Meyers). | FSU in man coverage again and NC States hits the slot receiver on an out route vs Meyers. This is a good throw and catch. Louis gets away with a bit of a push at the top of his route to gain seperation. |
| 1-10 | at Fs41 | 4-2-5 | Finley, R. pass complete to Dayes, M. for 12 yards to the FS29, 1ST DOWN ST (Kyle Meyers). | Quarters coverage from FSU as NC State checks down to Dayes to the field. White recognizes and comes off the outside receiver but misses the tackle in the open field. |
| 1-10 | at Fs29 | 3-4 | Finley, R. pass intercepted by Tarvarus McFadden at the FS7, Tarvarus McFadden return 0 yards to the FS7 (Louis, S.). | What a play by McFadden. He's locked up 1-on-1 with the single receiver to the boundary. Granted, it's a bit of a poor release by the receiver but McFadden uses his hands very well at the LOS , is not fooled by the double move and then turns to find the ball and go get it at the high point. |
| Drive: 10 plays, 48 yards, TOP 03:33 | ||||
| 1-10 | at St33 | NC STATE drive start at 09:23. | ||
| 1-10 | at St33 | 4-2-5 | Finley, R. rush for 2 yards to the ST35 (DeMarcus Walker). | Power Read. Bad read by Finley as he should have handed to the RB with Walker squeezing. Nice play by Hoskins to come off the back and get in on the tackle. |
| 2-8 | at St35 | 4-2-5 | Dayes, M. rush for 10 yards to the ST45, 1ST DOWN ST (Ermon Lane). | Zone Read and Finley gives. Thomas gets too far upfield on the edge. Lane is the playside C gap defender and shows poor eye discipline. Doesn't fill the gap and is late getting there, leaving room for Dayes to bounce outside. |
| 1-10 | at St45 | 4-2-5 | Samuels, J. rush for 4 yards to the ST49 (Ro'Derrick Hoskins). | Power Read to the boundary, this time Finley makes the correct read and gives to the RB on the sweep. Good call by FSU as they use McFadden as the edge defender in run support. McFadden plays it perfectly as he aggressively sets the edge, blows up the lead blocker and allows Hoskins to be a free runner inside out to make the tackle. |
| 2-6 | at St49 | 4-2-5 | Dayes, M. rush for 1 yard to the 50 yardline (Jacob Pugh;Derrick Nnadi). | FSU in their 4-2-5 personnel but using Pugh at one of the LB spots. Believe this is the first time we've seen this all year. They blitz him off the edge and NC State is running Zone Read and reading him. Finley gives and FSUclogs up the running lanes with good plays up front by Nnadi, Christmas and Hoskins. |
| 3-5 | at St50 | 4-1-6 | Finley, R. pass incomplete to Cherry, B. (Kyle Meyers). | 2 man under from FSU. Meyers has inside leverage on the slot receiver vs an in breaking route. Wouldn't have surprised me to see a P.I. call here but you have to a like the physicality at the break point from Meyers and the coverage awareness in relation the the sticks on 3rd down. |
| (65) Bradbury, G. injured on the play | ||||
| 4-5 | at St50 | Cole, AJ punt 30 yards to the FS20, fair catch by Nyqwan Murray. | ||
| Drive: 5 plays, 17 yards, TOP 02:19 | ||||
| 1-10 | at St29 | NC STATE drive start at 05:39. | ||
| 1-10 | at St29 | 3-4 | Dayes, M. rush for 2 yards to the ST31 (Jacob Pugh;Ro'Derrick Hoskins). | NC State is attacking the B gap bubble again on a zone play and forcing Hoskins to effective fill and play the run. FSU has 3-4 personnel in the game with Pugh as the force defender. Hoskins correct fills his gap causing Dayes to bounce where Pugh is there to make the play. |
| 2-8 | at St31 | 4-2-5 | Finley, R. pass complete to Hines, N. for 11 yards to the ST42, 1ST DOWN ST (Ermon Lane). | Outside Zone/Slant RPO. NC State reading the weakside LB whos flows to the run so Finley pulls and throws the slant vs off coverage from Lane to the boundary. Easy throw and catch vs this look from FSU. |
| 1-10 | at St42 | 4-2-5 | Finley, R. pass complete to Hines, N. for 10 yards to the FS48, 1ST DOWN ST (Ermon Lane). | NC State runs jet motion and tosses it the receiver on the sweep to the boundary. OL is showing inside zone action the opposite way. Lane is slow to read the downblock of the slot receiver and is not there in time for run support. |
| 1-10 | at Fs48 | PENALTY FS personal foul (Ermon Lane) 15 yards to the FS33, 1ST DOWN ST. | ||
| 1-10 | at Fs33 | 4-2-5 | Finley, R. pass incomplete to Harmon, K.. | NC State runs a 3 man route concept to the boundary and it looks like they have two receivers in the same spot, making it easy on FSU to cover everyone up. The 4 man rush from FSU gets no pressure though and Finley has time to look back to his single receiver before throwing a pass that's out of reach of the receiver. |
| 2-10 | at Fs33 | 4-2-5 | Finley, R. rush for 5 yards to the FS28 (Derrick Nnadi). | NC State runs a Power Read concept to the field. Pull a guard and the QB reads the playside EOL. QB can pitch outside to the RB or keep it and follow the guard. They read Thomas and Thomas is in no-mans land, he doesn't play the QB or the RB. Finley keeps and picks up yards behind the guard before Nnadi works back across the downblock from the playside guard to make the play. |
| 3-5 | at Fs28 | PENALTY FS offside (DeMarcus Walker) 5 yards to the FS23, 1ST DOWN ST. | ||
| 1-10 | at Fs23 | 3-4 | Finley, R. rush for no gain to the FS23 (Brian Burns). | FSU aligns in their base 3-4 front and NC State runs speed option weak. Christmas does a great job at the 4i to disrupt the tackle and keep him off Thomas, who is able to scrape and take the pitch. Burns makes a relaly nice play to defeat the block of the tackle and finish on the QB. |
| 2-10 | at Fs23 | 4-2-5 | Finley, R. rush for loss of 5 yards to the FS28, fumble by Finley, R. recovered by ST Finley, R. at FS28. | Finley drops the snap and takes a knee while trying to pick the ball up. |
| 3-15 | at Fs28 | 4-1-6 | Finley, R. pass complete to Cherry, B. for 28 yards to the FS0, 1ST DOWN ST, TOUCHDOWN, clock 01:52. | FSU in Cover 1 robber. NC State runs the single receiver on a drag and illgegally picks McFadden with the #3 receiver. The receiver actually extends his arms, grabs McFadden and then shoves him. It's blatant and the ref seems to be staring right at it but keeps his flag in his pocket. |
| Bambard, K. kick attempt good. | ||||
| NC State 7, Florida State 0 | ||||
| Drive: 8 plays, 71 yards, TOP 03:47 | ||||
| 1-10 | at St25 | NC STATE drive start at 12:36. | ||
| 1-10 | at St25 | 3-4 | Dayes, M. rush for no gain to the ST25 (Matthew Thomas;Derrick Nnadi). | Split Zone out of pistol. FSU slants the DL, freeing up Christmas in the backfield and forcing Dayes to bounce. This is also a run blitz and Thomas is taken directly to days off his blitz. Well timed call. |
| 2-10 | at St25 | 4-2-5 | Finley, R. rush for 6 yards to the ST31 (Ermon Lane). | Split Zone read and Finley keeps. The H back cuts Sweat(the read key) instead of looping to the force defender and Finley is able to get outside. Lane is again slow to get a run read and fit the alley. |
| 3-4 | at St31 | 4-2-5 | Finley, R. pass complete to Hines, N. for 31 yards to the FS38, 1ST DOWN ST (Kyle Meyers). | This is Cover 1 and Meyers gets beat. Jimbo said Meyer ran the wrong coverage here. |
| 1-10 | at Fs38 | 4-2-5 | Dayes, M. rush for no gain to the FS38 (Matthew Thomas;Derrick Nnadi). | Split Zone. Awsome play by Nnadi to take on the double team and then shed to make the play at the line of scrimmage. |
| 2-10 | at Fs38 | 4-2-5 | Finley, R. pass complete to Hines, N. for 16 yards to the FS22, 1ST DOWN ST (Matthew Thomas). | Outside Zone/Slant RPO again from NC State as Finley pulls and throws the slant to the slot to the boundary vs off coervage. This play is virtually unstoppable if FSU is going to align this way vs doubles. |
| 1-10 | at Fs22 | 4-2-5 | Dayes, M. rush for 3 yards to the FS19 (Kyle Meyers). | Split Zone read again. FSU slows plays the read which allows the End to sometimes play both the RB and the QB. NC State is adjusting to this and cutting the end with the H back to free up the QB if he keeps. Finley gives on this play. Sweat crahses inside and Jackson tries to scrape over top but is held. Nice play by Meyers to agressively force and make the tackle. |
| 2-7 | at Fs19 | 3-4 | Finley, R. pass incomplete to Meyers, J.. | FSU in Cover 2 to the field as Finley throws to the flat to the number 2 receiver. White is slow to get to the flat and he's lucky this is a bad throw from Finley. |
| 3-7 | at Fs19 | 4-1-6 | Finley, R. rush for 5 yards to the FS14 (DeMarcus Walker). | FSU blitzes 6 and plays Cover Zero behind. 2 back Power Read from NC State. NC State has a hat on a hat here but great effort from Walker and Burns keep this play from gaining a first down. |
| 4-2 | at Fs14 | Bambard, K. field goal attempt from 31 MISSED - wide left, spot at FS20, clock 08:41. | ||
| Drive: 9 plays, 61 yards, TOP 03:55 | ||||
| 1-10 | at Fs46 | NC STATE drive start at 07:43. | ||
| 1-10 | at Fs46 | 3-4 | Nichols, D. rush for 9 yards to the FS37 (Walvenski Aime). | NC State motions from Empty to a pistol set and runs outside zone away from the TE. Jackson takes a false step and the backside guard is able to get on him. Thomas is the force defender and is the first to the ball but misses the tackle. Good hustle by Sweat coming from the backside here. |
| 2-1 | at Fs37 | 4-2-5 | Nichols, D. rush for 3 yards to the FS34, 1ST DOWN ST (Matthew Thomas;Josh Sweat). | Inside Zone. Fred Jones is the 3 tech and plays the reach block really well to force the cutback. Thomas actually fills his gap with aggression but can't finish on contact in the backfield and Nichols picks up the first. |
| 1-10 | at Fs34 | 4-2-5 | Finley, R. pass complete to Cherry, B. for 16 yards to the FS18, 1ST DOWN ST (Ermon Lane). | FSU blitz the Star and the Free safety to the field side and NC State has a wheel route caled by the slot receiver. White is way too aggressive in coming up to the flat route by the RB and allows the slot receiver to run free. |
| 1-10 | at Fs18 | 3-4 | Dayes, M. rush for 1 yard to the FS17 (Derrick Nnadi). | Outside Zone. Christmas and Nnadi makes great plays up front. Christmas plays the reach and forces the cutback while Nnadi wins his 1-on-1 vs the center to shed and make the tackle. |
| 2-9 | at Fs17 | 4-2-5 | Dayes, M. rush for 10 yards to the FS7, 1ST DOWN ST (Kyle Meyers;Dontavious Jackson). | Power Read Toss play again from NC State. Walker is the read key, he squeezes and Finley pitches to the RB. NC State has good leverage on the edge here with the #3 receiver sealing Jackson. Meyers is too hesitant here over the #2 receiver, he needs to recognize run quicker and take on the block sooner. |
| 1-G | at Fs07 | 3-4 | Dayes, M. rush for 5 yards to the FS2 (DeMarcus Walker). | Inside Zone. Thomas fits this wrong and leaves the A gap unaccounted for. Nice play by Walker to beat the tackle. |
| 2-G | at Fs02 | 3-4 | Finley, R. rush for no gain to the FS2 (Jacob Pugh). | Zone Read. Finley reads this wrong and should have handed to the RB. Great play by Pugh to play the QB and finish. |
| 3-G | at Fs02 | 3-4 | Finley, R. pass incomplete to Samuels, J., QB hurry by Matthew Thomas. | NC State goes play action and FSU has a nice pressure called with Thomas coming off the edge, right in Finley's face. Excellent acceleration and burst from Thomas off the edge and this play for NC State has no chance. |
| 4-G | at Fs02 | Haskins, C. field goal attempt from 20 GOOD, clock 04:01. | ||
| NC State 10, Florida State 3 | ||||
| Drive: 9 plays, 44 yards, TOP 03:49 | ||||
| 1-10 | at St15 | NC STATE drive start at 01:15. | ||
| 1-10 | at St15 | 4-1-6 | Dayes, M. rush for 3 yards to the ST18 (Derrick Nnadi). | FSU is expecting pass and only has a 5 man box. Thomas has 2 gaps here and he's too aggressive to fill before getting a read on the RB. This is a big gain if Nnadi doesn't make this play. He's able to play the reach and then work back across the center to make the tackle. |
| 2-7 | at St18 | Timeout Florida State, clock 01:09. | ||
| 2-7 | at St18 | 4-1-6 | Finley, R. pass incomplete to Hines, N. (Matthew Thomas). | FSU playing a 2-Read or "Palms" coverage to the 2 receiver set to the boundary. McFadden comes off the #1 receiver when #2 breaks to the flat and is able to dislodge the ball and the receiver is trying to bring it in. |
| 3-7 | at St18 | 4-1-6 | Finley, R. pass complete to Harmon, K. for 13 yards to the ST31, 1ST DOWN ST (Tarvarus McFadden). | NC Statr aligns in a 2x2 stack and runs a comeback to the boundary vs McFadden. He displays poor technique here. With help over top, he needs to play the low hip of the receiver and not give so much cushion. |
| 1-10 | at St31 | 4-1-6 | Finley, R. pass complete to Dayes, M. for 15 yards to the ST46, 1ST DOWN ST (Kyle Meyers;A.J. Westbrook). | Tampa 2 Coverage from FSU. Weakness of the coverage is the check down to the back over the middle and NC State hits for a decent gain. Good play call. |
| 1-10 | at St46 | 4-1-6 | Finley, R. pass complete to Hines, N. for 9 yards to the FS45 (A.J. Westbrook). | Westbrook doesn't get aligned over the slot and NC State hits the receiver on a quick out route. |
| 2-1 | at Fs45 | 4-1-6 | Finley, R. pass complete to Samuels, J. for 23 yards to the FS22, 1ST DOWN ST (Levonta Taylor). | Cover 1 with Burns as a spy. Taylor is 1-on-1 with the slot on a route down the seam. He's in good position in coverage but he's short and it's a well placed throw and a nice catch from Samuels. |
| 1-10 | at Fs22 | 4-1-6 | Finley, R. rush for 8 yards to the FS14 (Levonta Taylor). | Burns is an unblocked rusher to the QB but Finley puts a spin move on him and Burns gives up his contain. |
| 2-2 | at Fs14 | 4-1-6 | Finley, R. sacked for loss of 7 yards to the FS21 (DeMarcus Walker). | NC State aligns in a tight bunch to the field and FSU actually handles the routes really well in coverage. Walker uses a club and rip move to blow past the tackle and get the sack. |
| 3-9 | at Fs21 | Samuels, J. rush for no gain to the FS21 (Fredrick Jones). | NC State fakes the jet sweep and tries to sneak the RB down the sideline on a wheel route. FSU sends a double A gap pressure with Thomas and Lane that forces Finley to get rid of the ball quickly on the check down. | |
| 4-9 | at Fs21 | Timeout Florida State, clock 00:10. | ||
| 4-9 | at Fs21 | Timeout Florida State, clock 00:10. | ||
| 4-9 | at Fs21 | Haskins, C. field goal attempt from 39 GOOD, clock 00:06. | ||
| NC State 13, Florida State 10 | ||||
| Drive: 10 plays, 64 yards, TOP 01:14 | ||||
| 1-10 | at St46 | NC STATE drive start at 13:00. | ||
| 1-10 | at St46 | 3-4 | Samuels, J. rush for 2 yards to the ST48 (Jacob Pugh). | NC State runs jet sweep to the field with the flanker. Great play by Pugh. Takes on the lead blocker with his inside pad, keeps contain and makes the tackle. |
| 2-8 | at St48 | 4-2-5 | Finley, R. pass incomplete to Samuels, J.. | 2 receivers are aligned to the boundary here. Same look NC State ran in 1H in which they had success hitting the slant off an RPO. FSU has adjusted vs this look and walked up Lane over the slot to about 5 yards off the ball instead of 10. NC State tries to hit the slot on a corner route and Lane does a great job to collision the receiver and maintain tight coverage to force the incompletion. |
| 3-8 | at St48 | 4-1-6 | Finley, R. pass incomplete to Cook, C.. | New look from the FSU defense with 3 down linemen, Burns and Thomas at stand up LB and Lane walked up on the LOS to the field. NC St runs a flood concept with FSU in Cover 2. Finley looks to hit the intermediate route by White makes a nice play to jump the route and break it up. Thomas in good position in coverage here as well. |
| 4-8 | at St48 | Cole, AJ punt 30 yards to the FS22, fair catch by Nyqwan Murray. | Nice stand by FSU defense after the turnover. | |
| Drive: 3 plays, 2 yards, TOP 00:52 | ||||
| 1-10 | at St04 | NC STATE drive start at 07:44. | ||
| 1-10 | at St04 | ST ball on ST5. | ||
| 1-10 | at St05 | 3-4 | Finley, R. rush for loss of 2 yards to the ST3, fumble by Finley, R. recovered by ST Dayes, M. at ST4. | Bad snap and Finley can't handle it. |
| 2-11 | at St04 | 3-4 | Dayes, M. rush for 3 yards to the ST7 (Matthew Thomas;Ermon Lane). | Outside zone.Sweat and Christmas do a good job playing the reach blocks but Thomas is too wide in his fit and Dayes is able to pick up a few yards. |
| 3-8 | at St07 | 4-1-6 | Finley, R. pass complete to Trowell, M. for 29 yards to the ST36, 1ST DOWN ST (Matthew Thomas). | FSU in 2 man under and NCSt throws a screen to the #2 receiver to trips. Both Westbrook and Lane are slow to recognize the screen and then are hesitant to come up. This allows the OL to get up on them and create room for the ball carrier. |
| (6) FSU Thomas, M. injured on the play | ||||
| 1-10 | at St36 | 4-2-5 | Finley, R. pass complete to Hines, N. for 11 yards to the ST47, 1ST DOWN ST (Levonta Taylor). | Taylor in off man coverage vs the slot on an out route. Taylor gets good burst out of his break but takes a poor angle that allows the receiver space to get upfield after the catch. He's also able to drag Taylor a few yards before he's eventually brought down. |
| 1-10 | at St47 | 4-2-5 | PENALTY FS holding (Tarvarus McFadden) 10 yards to the FS43, 1ST DOWN ST. | Hitch vs press coverage. McFadden way too handsy here. Relax and trust your technique. |
| 1-10 | at Fs43 | 4-2-5 | Dayes, M. rush for 3 yards to the FS40 (DeMarcus Walker). | NC State goes fast and runs a stretch play to the boundary. Burns and Christmas both play the reach blocks well and force the ball sinde where Walker is chasing the ball down from the backside of the play. |
| 2-7 | at Fs40 | 4-2-5 | Dayes, M. rush for 2 yards to the FS38 (DeMarcus Walker). | Illegal chop block on Nnadi here that is uncalled. Burns is able to effectively set the edge and Walker killing the zone play again with his backside pursuit. |
| 3-5 | at Fs38 | 4-1-6 | Finley, R. pass complete to Hines, N. for 13 yards to the FS25, 1ST DOWN ST (A.J. Westbrook). | Really well run whip route from Hines vs Westbrook. Very difficult to defend in off coverage. Good call. |
| 1-10 | at Fs25 | 4-2-5 | Dayes, M. rush for 2 yards to the FS23 (DeMarcus Walker;Derrick Nnadi). | Zone read with jet action and Finley gives. Burns puts a swim move on the tackle who falls face first in the dirt and Dayes has to cut back where he runs into Walker who's squeezing down from the backside. |
| 2-8 | at Fs23 | 4-2-5 | Samuels, J. rush for 23 yards to the FS0, 1ST DOWN ST, TOUCHDOWN, clock 03:05. | Well designed play as NcSt fakes zone read and has the back get out in front to lead block for the reverse. McFadden does get sucked inside here but there is a clear block in the back on Hoskins by the receiver to free up Samuels to the endzone. |
| Haskins, C. kick attempt good. | ||||
| NC State 20, Florida State 10 | ||||
| Drive: 9 plays, 95 yards, TOP 04:44 | ||||
| 1-10 | at St27 | NC STATE drive start at 14:54. | ||
| 1-10 | at St27 | 3-4 | Finley, R. pass incomplete to Louis, S. (A.J. Westbrook). | NCSt goes play action and tries to hit the slot receiver on an out route. This is a play they had success with earlier in the game. This time Westbrook does a great job to recognize the route and drive on the receiver to break it up. |
| 2-10 | at St27 | 3-4 | Dayes, M. rush for 6 yards to the ST33 (Jacob Pugh;Ermon Lane). | Power Read play with ths toss option. NC State has a hat on a hat as Finley pitches. Lane needs to be up in run support quicker here. |
| 3-4 | at St33 | 4-1-6 | Finley, R. pass complete to Hines, N. for 5 yards to the ST38, 1ST DOWN ST (Levonta Taylor). | Cover 1 form FSU. Taylor is in tight coverage vs the slot but it's a really nice throw and catch from Finley to Hines. |
| 1-10 | at St38 | PENALTY ST holding 10 yards to the ST28. | ||
| 1-20 | at St28 | 3-4 | Dayes, M. rush for 25 yards to the FS47, 1ST DOWN ST (A.J. Westbrook). | Outside Zone to the boundary. Christmas AND Burns are each held by on the edge and the officials don't call either one. |
| 1-10 | at Fs47 | 3-4 | Dayes, M. rush for 2 yards to the FS45 (DeMarcus Walker). | Split Zone. The FSU DL is really winning upfront. Nnadi holds his ground vs the double teama nd Walker squeezes the tackle down from the 4i giving Dayes no room to run. |
| 2-8 | at Fs45 | PENALTY ST false start (Prescod, T.) 5 yards to the 50 yardline. | ||
| 2-13 | at St50 | 4-2-5 | Finley, R. pass complete to Louis, S. for 14 yards to the FS36, 1ST DOWN ST (Ermon Lane). | NC State stacks 2 receivers to the boundary and runs a high-low concept to the sideline. Hoskins does a poor job in coverage, he gets turned around and doesn't squeeze the route insiide out. Lane also gives too much cushion over the top. |
| 1-10 | at Fs36 | 3-4 | Finley, R. pass complete to Hines, N. for no gain to the FS36 (Ermon Lane). | Inside Zone/Bubble RPO. Finley pulls and throws the bubble to the boundary. The throw is inaccurate and gives the FSU defense time to get to the ball before Hines can do much. |
| 2-10 | at Fs36 | 3-4 | Finley, R. pass incomplete to Cherry, B.. | Outside Zone/Slant RPO. Finley pulls and throws the slant. It's open but the receiver drops it. |
| 3-10 | at Fs36 | 4-1-6 | Finley, R. pass incomplete to Louis, S. (A.J. Westbrook). | FSU rushes 3 and plays a 2 high zone look vs a 2x2 double stack. Westbrook makes a great play in coverage here as he matches the route and breaks up the pass. |
| 4-10 | at Fs36 | Cole, AJ punt 33 yards to the FS3, downed. | ||
| Drive: 9 plays, 37 yards, TOP 04:17 | ||||
| 1-10 | at St35 | NC STATE drive start at 08:04. | ||
| 1-10 | at St35 | ST ball on ST36. | ||
| 1-10 | at St36 | 3-4 | Finley, R. pass complete to Dayes, M. for 2 yards to the ST38 (Tarvarus McFadden). | Curl-Flat concept to the nub. McFadden gets a nice break on the ball and finishes the tackle. |
| 2-8 | at St38 | 3-4 | Dayes, M. rush for 9 yards to the ST47, 1ST DOWN ST (Josh Sweat). | NCSt cracks Sweat with the slot receiver and tosses to the back to the boundary. Lane is unblocked and 1-on-1 with the ball carrier, he has to make this tackle. |
| 1-10 | at St47 | 3-4 | Dayes, M. rush for 3 yards to the 50 yardline (Derrick Nnadi). | Zone Read. NC St tries to block Nnadi 1-on-1 and that usually a bad idea. |
| 2-7 | at St50 | 4-2-5 | Dayes, M. rush for 2 yards to the FS48 (Dontavious Jackson;DeMarcus Walker). | Split Zone Read. Christmas gives up too much ground vs the double team but Jackson dos his job to scrape and fill on the bal carrier. |
| 3-5 | at Fs48 | 4-1-6 | Finley, R. sacked for loss of 5 yards to the ST47 (DeMarcus Walker). | FSU rushes 5 and plays Cover 1. The pressure forces Finley to leave the pocket. Thomas gives up contain because he is held. There's no where to throw and Finley takes the sack. |
| 4-10 | at St47 | Cole, AJ punt 36 yards to the FS17, fair catch by Nyqwan Murray. | ||
| Drive: 5 plays, 11 yards, TOP 03:27 | ||||
| 1-10 | at St25 | NC STATE drive start at 03:09. | ||
| 1-10 | at St25 | 4-1-6 | Finley, R. rush for 12 yards to the ST37, 1ST DOWN ST (Brian Burns). | 3 man rush with Cover 2 behind it. Walker is held by the right tackle which allows Finley to leave the pocket. |
| 1-10 | at St37 | PENALTY FS personal foul (Brian Burns) 15 yards to the FS48, 1ST DOWN ST. | ||
| (99)Burns, B. Targeting called on the play. Disqualified from game | ||||
| 1-10 | at Fs48 | 4-1-6 | Finley, R. pass complete to Samuels, J. for 6 yards to the FS42 (A.J. Westbrook). | FSU is probably misaligned here as Westbrook has outside leverage on the #3 receiver with no help inside. |
| 2-4 | at Fs42 | 4-1-6 | Finley, R. pass complete to Hines, N. for 6 yards to the FS36, 1ST DOWN ST. | FSU blitzes Westbrook and he's unblocked but Finley delivers a strike with the pressure right in his face. Just a good throw and catch here. |
| 1-10 | at Fs36 | 4-1-6 | Finley, R. pass complete to Hines, N. for 12 yards to the FS24, 1ST DOWN ST (Jacob Pugh). | NC State works an out route to the slot receiver to the boundary who's mathced up vs Pugh. Not a favorable mathcup for FSU. |
| 1-10 | at Fs24 | 4-1-6 | Finley, R. pass incomplete to Harmon, K.. | FSU blitzes Westbrook again and plays Cover 1. Finley just rushes this throw and it's over the receiver's head. McFadden is in tight coverage. |
| 2-10 | at Fs24 | QB hurry by A.J. Westbrook. | ||
| 2-10 | at Fs24 | 4-1-6 | Finley, R. pass complete to Dayes, M. for loss of 2 yards to the FS26 (Jacob Pugh;Matthew Thomas). | NC State tries to hit a screen to the half back. Excellent recognition of the screen by Meyers and Thomas. |
| 3-12 | at Fs26 | Timeout NC State, clock 01:19. | ||
| 3-12 | at Fs26 | 4-1-6 | Finley, R. pass incomplete to Samuels, J. (A.J. Westbrook). | The #3 receiver from trips runs a corner route vs Westbrook in man coverage. Fantastic play by Westbrook with his back to the ball. He remains calm out of phase and plays through the receiver's hands as the ball arrives to break it up. |
| 4-12 | at Fs26 | Timeout Florida State, clock 01:14. | ||
| 4-12 | at Fs26 | 4-1-6 | Finley, R. pass incomplete to Hines, N.. | Cover 1. NC State tries to hit the #2 receiver on a wheel route. Meyers has tight coverage through the entire route and Lane shows great range to help over top. |
| Drive: 8 plays, 49 yards, TOP 02:00 |