There will be quite a bit at stake — just not at the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference standings — when Florida State and North Carolina State meet Friday night in Raleigh, N.C.
Instead, the winner will achieve bowl eligibility with time running out in the season.
Florida State (5-5, 2-5), which will finish the regular season at Florida on Nov. 29, is winless in three road games this season.
“This year we have not been good enough (in road games),” Seminoles coach Mike Norvell said. “We are looking at every component. There are some modifications that we’re implementing throughout this week and continuing to push so (that) come Friday night on a short week, our best is going to show up.”
To complicate matters, Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh generally has been a difficult venue for Florida State.
“It’s a hostile place to play,” Norvell said.
North Carolina State (5-5, 2-4) has lost three of its last four games, giving up more than 35 points in four consecutive games.
“We got all kinds of injuries, and so guys got to duct tape it up and play for each other,” Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren said.
North Carolina State is trying to recover from Saturday’s 41-7 loss at then-No. 15 Miami.
“They’re coming off a game that’s very uncharacteristic of how they’ve played,” Norvell said.
Wolfpack quarterback CJ Bailey will look for a bounce-back outing after throwing two interceptions and accounting for a season-low 120 passing yards in the Miami game — which marked the only time this year he didn’t throw for a touchdown.
Florida State has won two of its last three games, including last week’s 34-14 triumph against Virginia Tech. But the Seminoles will be without cornerback Ja’Bril Rawls for the rest of the season because of an undisclosed injury. This means true freshman cornerback Shamar Arnoux will have heightened responsibilities.
“He’s got the right mindset,” Norvell said. “I do think he’s really capable. He’s going to grow up right there in front of our eyes this week.”
