NC State and Florida State will kick off on about a 13-minute delay
NC State and Florida State were expected to kickoff in a primetime game Saturday evening at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh. For a while, however, there were fears that the contest could turn into late-night television.
An issue with the lighting system at NC State’s Carter-Finley Stadium led to a delay to the start of the game. Originally anticipated to be an 8:00 p.m. kickoff on the ACC Network, the start was pushed back by about 13 minutes due the lack of lights.
The lights turned back on around 7:22 p.m., 38 minutes before the originally scheduled time of opening kick.
NC State installed a new lighting system over the summer that includes LED lights capable of producing a fan-friendly light show during touchdowns and timeouts. An elaborate lights show is shown between the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth.
This is the first known time that NC State has encountered a problem with the new lights.
NC State is 4-1 overall and 0-1 in the ACC after dropping the Pack’s conference opener last Saturday, a 30-20 setback at No. 5 Clemson in which the Wolfpack was featured on primetime and part of the ESPN College GameDay site location. As a result of the defeat, NC State fell four spots in both polls, dropping from No. 10 to No. 14.
Florida State is also 4-1 overall but is 2-1 in the ACC, owning wins over Louisville and Boston College. The former was a road win. After winning the first four games on the schedule, FSU was ranked in the top 25, but a 31-21 home loss to No. 15 Wake Forest at home last Saturday dropped the Noles from the rankings.
NC State is looking to win a third straight game in the series with Florida State and fifth in last six tries. Two shorthanded teams played in Tallahassee last year, when NC State won 28-14. The year before, both teams were missing their respective star quarterbacks when the Wolfpack won 38-22 in Raleigh.
The Wolfpack secondary looks to be shorthanded for Saturday evening. Both super seniors Tyler Baker-Williams, a nickel, and Cyrus Fagan, a safety, were not dressed out in uniforms while NC State was going through pregame warmups. Baker-Williams will be missing his third straight game, while Fagan was hurt in the first half of the loss at Clemson.
NC State will also not have super senior corner Derrek Pitts Jr. for the first half due to an ejection via a targeting penalty in the second half last week at Clemson. Additionally, third-year sophomore receiver Anthony Smith is also not dressed out for a second straight week due to an unspecified injury.
For updates throughout the evening during the game, be sure to check out The Wolfpacker’s game blog that includes all the latest developments from the contest.
