Florida State vs. North Carolina: Preview

Florida State Seminoles football will be playing another primetime game this season, with kickoff time for the team’s home game against North Carolina scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. on October 17.

The game is scheduled to be broadcast on ABC.

Florida State holds the edge in the series, holding a 15-3 lead, though North Carolina currently holds a two-game win streak.

The two schools last met in 2016, when a last second Tar Heel field goal sealed a 37-35 upset win over then No. 12 Florida State, snapping a 22-game win streak. In 2010, UNC won by the same score.

“I’m pretty sure I blacked out after making the kick. I’ve never been that tired or ran that much in a game,” then-kicker Nick Weiler said. “Once he gave the hands up I was out, next thing I remember was being on the bottom of the dog pile.”

Florida State is coming off its third ACC loss — the first time its 0-3 in the conference since 2009.

“This football team is continuing to grow,” Florida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell said. “We are continuing to work our way through our process and I definitely believe in what the future holds. We just have to do a better job in all aspects – players, coaches, everybody – in applying the lessons that we are learning and the things that we are implementing throughout the course of the week. When you play good opponents you have to apply that for 60 minutes. There were some bright moments, but obviously we didn’t get the job done.

North Carolina has had a resurgence under head coach Mack Brown and sophomore quarterback Sam Howell, who at one point was a Florida State commit. The Tar Heels are coming off a big 56-45 win over Virginia Tech.

From SB Nation site Tar Heel Blog:

Carolina fans have come to know that all bets are off when it comes to playing Virginia Tech. Today was no exception to that as the Tar Heels jumped out to an early lead that nearly evaporated in a sloppy third quarter. UNC managed to hang on for the shootout win thanks to an incredible 656 yards of total offense.

Everything was working for the Heels offensively. The ground game, in particular, was effective all afternoon. Michael Carter and Javonte Williams were responsible for two rushing touchdowns a piece on their way to 214 and 169 yards on the day. Carolina averaged almost a touchdown per every run in the game.

Sam Howell put together a three-touchdown day with 257 yards through the air. Most importantly, he had no interceptions. Neither team turned the ball over and each quarterback was sacked only once. Dyami Brown was the primary recipient of Howell’s passes with two touchdowns and 86 yards. Dazz Newsome had a touchdown that featured him flipping into the end zone like a gymnast as well.

The game is scheduled to be televised by ESPN.

Game notes via FSU Sports Information

» For only the second time in program history, Florida State will face a top-5 opponent in consecutive weeks when it hosts No. 5 North Carolina this Saturday after playing at then-No. 5 Notre Dame last week.

» The only other time FSU has played top-5 opponents in consecutive weeks was 1980 when the Seminoles played at No. 3 Nebraska on Oct. 4 and hosted No. 4 Pitt on Oct. 11. In 1991, Florida State hosted No. 2 Miami on Nov. 16 and after an open date played at No. 5 Florida on Nov. 30.

» The Seminoles lead the all-time series with North Carolina, which dates back to a 28-3 victory in the 1983 Peach Bowl, 15-3-1 (.816), including 7-2-1 (.750) in Tallahassee.

» FSU is hosting UNC for the third straight meeting in the series after also hosting the Tar Heels in 2010 and 2016. Florida State is only the seventh team in ACC history to play three straight home games against a conference opponent and first since Clemson hosted Wake Forest each year from 1983-85.

» Florida State is one of 14 teams nationally to rush for at least 250 yards and pass for at least 250 yards in a game this season. The Seminoles rushed for 263 yards and passed for 268 yards in the win over Jacksonville State, recording FSU’s first 250/250 game since Nov. 19, 2016 at Syracuse.

» The Seminoles are 7-of-11 (.636) on 4th-down attempts this season, tied for the 3rd-best conversion rate nationally among teams with at least 10 attempts this season. » Florida State has scored on six of its eight opening drives of a half this season and scored a total of 33 points on those drives.

» The Seminoles scored touchdowns on six of their last seven drives of the game, including five straight touchdown drives, vs. Jacksonville State. It marked the first time FSU scored touchdowns on five straight drives since taking six straight drives to the end zone Nov. 18, 2017 vs. Delaware State.

» FSU is tied for the NCAA lead with three blocked kicks this season and is one of four teams nationally with multiple blocked field goals. The Seminoles tied a single-game school record with three blocked kicks in the season opener against Georgia Tech. Marvin Wilson became only the second Seminole eve