Florida State Seminoles @ NC State Wolfpack Football Preview

The Thursday night game between Florida State and NC State may very well decide the winner of the Atlantic Division of the ACC. And rightly so. Both teams are having unprecedented years and look to cap it off with an ACC Championship. But this game will come down to the quarterbacks (for very different reasons).

Both teams come into the game off bye weeks—Florida State with a 6–1 record and NC State with a 5–2 record. Both teams struggled their last games—FSU barely beating Boston College and NC State falling to rival East Carolina. But don't let NC State's loss fool you—the Wolfpack are a legitimate ACC contender this year.

Junior quarterback Russell Wilson opted out of the MLB draft this spring to return to NC State and lead the Wolfpack in his third year as quarterback. So far the move is paying off for the Pack as they rank 7th in the nation in passing yards per game (312.6). Wilson has already recorded 2,124 yards and 18 touchdown passes this season. While NC State's rushers are averaging just under 5 yards per carry, Wilson is carrying the team in their surprising hot streak.

On the other side of the match-up stands FSU's quarterback, Christian Ponder. While Ponder dazzled the nation last season, he's been anything but impressive this year. In fact, his mistakes nearly cost FSU the game against Boston College in their previous game. His 4 turnovers allowed BC to stay close and even hold an early 4th quarter lead. After the game, Coach Fisher took responsibility for the turnovers, blaming his own play calling. Also it was revealed that Ponder had suffered a burst bursa sac in his throwing elbow. 

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