Comeback gives Noles 26-17 win

Staff photo by Ethan Hyman

• First Look

Chuck Amato specialized in beating Florida State when he was head coach at N.C. State. Amato beat the Seminoles four times in his seven seasons.

Tom O'Brien tried to steal a page from Amato's playbook but the Wolfpack fell short, losing to FSU 26-17.

Bert Reed's 17-yard touchdown catch put FSU ahead 20-17 after State had pulled ahead 17-13.

A 67-yard hook-up between Owen Spencer and quarterback Russell Wilson put the Pack ahead 17-13 on the first play of the fourth quarter but the Noles responded.

Amato, now an assistant coach for FSU, was fired after the 2006 season, when the Pack went 3-9. He was replaced by O'Brien and this is his first game back to Carter-Finley Stadium.

The Wolfpack showed their old coach a thing or two, jumping out to a 10-0 lead, including a surprising breakout for the ground game, and a 17-13 advantage in the fourth quarter.

It was FSU's leading rusher, Antone Smith, who gave the Noles their first lead of the game, 13-10 with a 27-yard touchdown run at 2:48 in the third quarter.

After Spencer's long touchdown put State up 17-13, Reed's score made it 20-17. Graham Gano added two field goals, including a 53-yarder with 1:53 left in the game to salt the game away.

State led 10-0 after Anthony Hill, who missed four games with a chest injury, caught his first touchdown of the season, a 20-yarder, on only his third catch of the season at 14:18 in the second quarter.

But it State's running game was the big surprise. The Pack entered the game ranked last in the ACC in rushing yards, averaging 80 yards per game, and 117th in the country.

FSU, conversely, leads the ACC in rushing defense, allowing 64 yards per game.  

State rushed five times for 43 yards on the opening drive, highlighted by 29 yards from Andre Brown, and had 99 yards in the first half. The Pack finished the game with 157 yards.

The first drive stalled at FSU's 7-yard line, leading to Josh Czajkowski's 24-yard field goal at 3:49 in the first.

The second drive, after a poor punt, ended with Hill's touchdown. On that drive, Jamelle Eugene rushed for 29 yards.

State's defense is at near full strength with the return of linebacker Nate Irving and defensive tackle Alan-Michael Cash, who had a sack on FSU's first drive.

After falling behind 10-0, the Noles got on the scoreboard with a 37-yard field goal by Graham Gano at 9:54 in the second quarter.

Well, State's defense was at full strength for one quarter. Irving re-injured his right ankle in the middle of the second quarter.

Safety J.C. Neal also left the game with an apparent right knee injury in the second quarter.

Neither starter returned in the second half.

State missed Neal when Corey Surrency out-jumped Koyal George for a 31-yard catch to set up Gano's second 37-yard field goal before the end of the half.

State's defense is still having its way with FSU's offense. The Wolfpack had three sacks in the first half, two by end Willie Young, who is absolutely abusing FSU left tackle Andrew Datko, an undersized true freshman.

The Noles have also been flagged for five holding penalties, which led to Bobby Bowden chasing down the referee at halftime, which ESPN's cameras caught.

"Do they ever do it or is it just us?" Bowden shouted at referee Tom Zimorski before stopping for an interview with ESPN's Erin Andrews.

Andrews asked Bowden how to cut back on the holding penalties in the second half.

"You go in there and start praying, pray that they'll quit holding," Bowden said of his young offensive line which features two true freshman at the tackles, a redshirt freshman at right guard and two sophomores.

FSU had only one penalty in the second half.