FSU Seminoles

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The good news for NC State is that it could have been worse. The bad news is that there are no signs the Wolfpack will turn the tide in the second half.

Three Florida State drives stalled and ended with field goals, but the Seminoles' stout defensive front has dominated the line of scrimmage and Chris Thompson has already crossed the 100-yard mark on the ground as FSU has jumped out to a 16-0 halftime lead.

Stat of the half: 115. That's the rushing yards for Thompson in the first half. Thompson needed just 11 carries to top the 100-yard mark for the third time this season, as he set the tone for the Florida State offense. The FSU O-line has had trouble protecting EJ Manuel, but the running game has had no trouble finding holes, averaging 8.2 yards per carry. Thompson's 115 yards on the ground give him 546 for the year -- just 33 shy of Devonta Freeman's team-leading total from a year ago.

Player of the half: Thompson, but the FSU defensive line can also make a good argument for the honor. Thompson has been the game changer on offense, but FSU's defensive front has tormented Mike Glennon, who is averaging just 3.2 yards per attempt. The NC State running game hasn't fared any better, with starting tailback Tony Creecy tallying just 21 yards on 10 carries.

What's working for FSU: Aside from the run game and the defensive front, it's been all Dustin Hopkins, who has connected on three field goals for the second straight week. That's good news for Hopkins, who struggled three weeks ago against Clemson, but bad news for an FSU offense which has endured some notable red-zone struggles of late.

What's not working for FSU: The biggest problem for the Seminoles has been pass protection. Manuel was sacked three times in the first half, a season high. Even when he hasn't been brought down, he's been under pressure. Manuel has fared rather well -- 11-of-15 passing for 117 yards and a TD -- but he hasn't had the time to look downfield as Miami did in exploiting the NC State secondary a week earlier.

Worth noting: Right tackle Menelik Watson has an illness, according to FSU sports information, that sidelined him for the game. Daniel Glauser got the start. ...Thompson left the game for a series in the second quarter for treatment on his elbow. He returned to the field, but with the elbow heavily wrapped. ...Rashad Greene tied his season high with four catches in the first half. ...Anthony McCloud recorded his first sack of the season.

RecruitingNation has summoned its writers from around the country to compile a list of the top 10 battles for elite football recruits leading up to February's signing day.

The Seminoles, of course, are in several battles to complete their class. Florida State is a darkhorse for the top-ranked recruit in the country, Robert Nkemdiche (Loganville, Ga./Grayson) and firmly in the race for several others, including Laremy Tunsil (Lake City, Fla./Columbia), Mackensie Alexander (Immokalee, Fla./Immokalee), Priest Willis (Tempe, Ariz./Marcos De Niza), Matthew Thomas (Miami, Fla./Booker T. Washington) and Kendell Beckwith (Jackson, La./East Feliciana).

Read more about the #BlueChipBattles for the 2013 signing classes.

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- It's something of a perfect storm for NC State coach Tom O'Brien.

Looming on the horizon is Florida State's vaunted defensive line, which through five games has a conference-best 15 sacks, led by Bjoern Werner and the reigning ACC defensive lineman of the week, Cornellius Carradine.

O'Brien's offensive line, meanwhile, is in turmoil. The unit has allowed 16 sacks this season, the most in the ACC, and will line up Saturday without three of its starters.

Add a traditional pocket passer like Wolfpack QB Mike Glennon, with the lingering memories of last year's 34-0 shutout at the hands of FSU, and it's a scenario that should give any coach nightmares.

"The problem we have right now is that we're starting our fifth offensive line in six games," O'Brien said. "We only have one guy that we came into the season with [as a starter]. That's definitely going to be a concern against this great front of Florida State."

Of course, Florida State has some concerns of its own.

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Jimbo Fisher had pushed for the ACC to consider reverting to an eight-game conference schedule for months, but now that he's gotten his wish, he admits the change has thrown Florida State into a bit of a quandary.

"It's kind of weird how it's happening right now because it's going to put a lot of teams scrambling here quickly," Fisher said.

After deciding on a nine-game conference slate for 2013, the ACC reversed course Wednesday, switching back to an eight-game schedule in lieu of the addition of Notre Dame as a partial league member.

That's a step in the right direction, Fisher admits, but it also leaves the Seminoles -- along with the rest of the ACC -- scrambling to fill out their 2013 schedules.

FSU has already been in the process of trying to find an opponent to replace Nevada, which hasn't officially pulled out of its scheduled meeting, but is looking for alternatives. Fisher said that may give the Seminoles a jump on understanding the market, but that doesn't necessarily mean the process will be simpler.

"We've been jumping, but I don't know what we're seeing out there," Fisher said.

Florida State was in a similar situation in the spring when West Virginia pulled out of its planned Week 2 game in Tallahassee, forcing FSU to sift through dozens of potential alternatives before settling on Savannah State, an overmatched FCS foe that drew groans from fans.

"Everybody joked about us getting Savannah [State] but you could not find a game," Fisher said. "And everybody thinks I'm crazy but wait until 12 [teams] go through it this year."

One potential alternative is to simply keep nine ACC games on the schedule for 2013. It's an option several athletics directors are considering, but Fisher said Florida State hopes to avoid that possibility.

"I don't know if you want to do that, but I want to wait and see everything," Fisher said. "It may be the only way you can get a game until you can get your scheduled fixed out in the future."

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Heather Dinich talks about Florida State's trip to NC State on Saturday in the Atlantic Division race.

ESPN 300 wide receiver commitment Tony Stevens (Orlando, Fla./Evans) said he has decommitted from Florida State late Wednesday night.

The 6-foot-4, 184-pound prospect had been committed to the Seminoles since February 25 before making an announcement on his personal Twitter account.

"I'm decommitting from Florida State," he said.

The Seminoles, it seems, aren't even in his top five any longer.

Stevens later said that Ohio State, Georgia, Louisville, USF and USC are his top schools. He did indicate in August that he was likely going to take other official visits.

"I'm going to take all of my visits because it's my senior year," Stevens said earlier. "I know I'm going to visit Ohio State, FSU, Louisville, South Carolina and USF ... but I'm still solid to Florida State."

That's obviously not the case now.

ESPN ranks Stevens as the No. 22 receiver in the class of 2013 and is the No. 35 player in Florida.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Jimbo Fisher got his wish, and the ACC will move forward with an eight-game conference football schedule, the league announced Wednesday.

Fisher had railed against the proposed nine-game slate, which would severely limit non-conference scheduling for teams like Florida State, Clemson and Georgia Tech, who already play an annual rivalry game against an out-of-conference foe.

With Notre Dame coming on board as a partial member of the ACC -- set to play five games a year against ACC opponents -- another wrinkle was added to the mix, making it financially problematic for member schools who want to maintain seven home games each season for revenue purposes.

But while the change of course back to the current eight-game slate offers Florida State more flexibility, it also means the Seminoles will need to find at least one more opponent to fill out their 2013 schedule.

Currently FSU has non-conference games against Wofford, Nevada and Florida scheduled for next season, but losing the ninth ACC game opens up a vacancy. Meanwhile, Nevada is hoping to withdraw from its scheduled trip to Tallahassee next season and is working with Florida State to find a viable alternative opponent.

The Seminoles endured similar last-minute scheduling issues this season when West Virginia pulled out of a planned Week 2 meeting in February, forcing FSU to scramble for a replacement. The school eventually settled on Savannah State, an FCS program that won just one game last year. The game had low attendance and FSU won in a route, despite weather putting an end to the contest midway through the third quarter.

With the tepid response to the Savannah State game among fans and questions swirling about how Florida State's lackluster schedule will affect its chances at a national championship, it seems likely AD Randy Spetman will want to avoid scheduling a second FCS foe for 2013, but he said the process of filling out next year's slate is only in its infancy.

"The change in the ACC's schedule plans obviously happened very quickly over the last few days," Spetman said. "We are immediately assessing what that will mean for Florida State, but speculating about potential opponents is premature right now. It is particularly difficult to plan too far in the future without knowing where and when Notre Dame is going to fit into schedules."

The plan for Notre Dame at this point would be for each ACC team to play one home game and one road game against the Irish every six years. When and where the first of those meetings would take place for Florida State remains a mystery.

Things will be a bit simpler in basketball, where the new schedule -- which includes Notre Dame as a full member -- will be an 18-game slate that includes one game annually against every other ACC team. Each team also will play an annual home-and-home series against two partner teams, which for FSU will be Clemson and Miami.

The ACC’s decision to stick with an eight-game conference schedule for the foreseeable future was the result of one main factor: Notre Dame.

Considering the new agreement in which Notre Dame will play five ACC opponents annually beginning in 2014, the majority of league athletic directors believed it would best serve the conference if there were more flexibility in scheduling. A nine-game league schedule, which the ACC planned to adopt in 2013 with the addition of Pitt and Syracuse, would have left little to no wiggle room, especially for Clemson, Georgia Tech and Florida State, which have built-in SEC rivalries.

This move wasn’t catering only to Florida State and Clemson, though. It was approved by a close 8-6 vote of league athletic directors, including Pittsburgh and Syracuse, according to a source who voted at the fall meeting in Boston.

While this change will likely benefit Florida State, Clemson and Georgia Tech the most, it certainly isn’t going to hurt the rest of the ACC. It will, however, force everyone to scramble to fill a Saturday in 2013. The good news is it’s still only October, and filling the open date with a home-and-home agreement should still be an option for a lot of programs. The bad news is we’re probably going to have to watch more FCS games than we’d like to next season. It’s not nearly as disastrous of a scenario though as in February, with FSU scrambling to replace West Virginia. There is no need to panic, there just might be a few more snoozers next season.

Overall, though, this shouldn’t affect the ACC’s strength of schedule moving forward in the new playoff system. The ACC has had one of the country’s best lineups, and with Notre Dame added to the mix, it will have a guaranteed opponent no other conference in the country will have. The eight-game schedule is likely what the Big Ten and SEC will stick with, too, so it’s not like the league has taken a step down. Instead, it’s remaining the same while adding Pitt and Cuse to the mix. ACC teams will play their six divisional opponents and two cross-divisional teams. This will also allow ACC schools to have the same number of home games, so it will be a fair lineup across the board.

Wednesday’s news shouldn’t come as a surprise. The majority of league coaches have voiced their support for an eight-game league schedule next seasonr, and ACC commissioner John Swofford said it was up to the athletic directors if they wanted to stick with it.

This news will make the ACC coaches happy, and it should certainly make Florida State fans happy knowing the Noles won’t have to get through nine ACC teams, Notre Dame and Florida in any given year in order to have a shot at the national title. They’ve got NC State in Raleigh on Saturday, and even that is hard enough.