Florida State Seminoles at North Carolina State Wolfpack
Thursday, 10/28/10, 7:30 PM EDT, TV: ESPN
Opening Point Spread: Florida State -3
Current Betting Line: Florida State -4
Opening Total: 56.5
Current Total: 57
Current Moneyline: Florida State -175 / NC State +155
Florida State is 6-1 overall this season and a perfect 4-0 in conference play and heads to Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, NC to take on the North Carolina State Wolfpack. Under first-year coach Jimbo Fisher, the Seminoles are off to their best start in league play since 2003. “It’s important for us to figure out how to handle it, handle the success,” said quarterback Christian Ponder. “It is a positive that we do control our own destiny but we’ve got to handle it the right way.” The team is 7-4 all-time in Thursday night ESN games and rallied from a 24-6 third quarter deficit to defeat the Wolfpack, 30-27 last season. FSU brings in a three-game series winning streak into this contest and six of the last nine meetings have been decided by a touchdown or less. The club is 4-2 ATS this season and 14-15 ATS over the last three seasons. The college football lines page is something to watch closely for this nationally-televised contest.
The Seminoles bring in the league’s top-rated scoring defense at 16.1 points per game and will be attempting to stop an NC State team that ranks second in the ACC in scoring (36.0 ppg). Florida State escaped with a 24-19 win over Boston College at home in its last game and both teams have enjoyed 12-day breaks heading into tonight’s game. The offense is scoring at an 11-year high during the current season, averaging 34.9 points a game through seven games, better than 11 points more than it scored in 2009. The Seminoles have amassed more than 427 yards in five of their first seven games to open the 2010 season. Since managing just 345 at Oklahoma, the unit has tallied 424.4 yards during their five-game winning streak.
NC State is currently tied for second in the ACC with a 2-1 conference record and is 1-1 so far this season against the Coastal Division. The Wolfpack had a bye following their 33-27 overtime loss to East Carolina on October 16. “We got so far behind and fought back and just couldn’t get over the hump there at the end,” coach Tom O’Brien said. “We have to regroup and get ready for our next game.” NC State and Florida State have met 30 times, with the Seminoles holding a 21-9 advantage. The team enters the eighth game of the 2010 season with some of the best offensive marks in the conference, leading the league in pass offense (312.6 ypg) and total offense (448.9 ypg). In six games this season, the squad is 4-2 ATS and the total is an even 3-3 Over/Under.
The Wolfpack are led by quarterback Russell Wilson, who leads the conference in passing yards with 303.4 per game and total offense at 332.0 per contest. Wilson has thrown 66 career touchdowns, the second-best mark in school history. His touchdown-to-interception ratio of 3.1 to 1 is better than current NFL quarterback Philip Rivers. NC State’s offensive unit has spread the ball all over the field, with passes caught by 10 or more different players in five of seven games in 2010. The defense gave up a season-high 496 yards of offense last time out against the Pirates, but it’s significant to point out that they still lead the ACC and rank sixth nationally in third-down conversion defense.
Bettors will be interested in finding the Seminoles being 2-8-2 ATS in their last 12 games as a road favorite of 3.5-10 points, while the Wolfpack are 2-5 ATS in October.
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