ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE Defenses rule in FSU's 17-10 win

Florida State and N.C. State combined for less than 250 yards.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Lorenzo Booker broke through the middle and picked up 14 yards. Sure, he came up 4 yards short of a first down on the run late in the second quarter, but Florida State finally had more yards than plays.
It was that kind of night against what Booker called the best defense he has faced this season.
"Better than Miami's, better than Virginia's," Booker said. "I say that because they were everywhere. It was like you break a tackle or get outside, and there are three more guys coming."
He and James Coleman each ran for third-quarter touchdowns, helping the 11th-ranked Seminoles rally past North Carolina State 17-10 Thursday night in a game that featured 22 punts, four turnovers and less than 250 yards of combined offense.
Last season, these two teams went to double overtime before Florida State prevailed 50-44. It seems a lot longer than a year ago in a lot of ways.
Small numbers
The Seminoles (8-2, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) went deep into the second quarter before Booker's run gave them 38 yards on 30 plays. Wyatt Sexton finished 5-for-18 for only 73 yards, and leading rusher Leon Washington was held to 56 yards on 18 carries after missing the previous two games with a shoulder injury.
The only thing that kept Sexton on the field was an injury to backup Chris Rix, who had a sore ankle and likely would have had a tough time evading the pressure.
"If Chris had his wheels, I probably definitely would have [changed quarterbacks]," Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said. "Because we were getting sacked so much, I feel like we've got to have a quarterback that move around."
Still, it was enough. The lone touchdown for the Wolfpack (4-6, 3-5) came on Darrell Blackman's 87-yard punt return in the second quarter that gave them a 10-0 lead. But even though they rotated quarterbacks, they couldn't generate much offense after halftime.
They had only one first down -- fittingly, on a pass-interference penalty -- and 26 yards in the final two periods. Jay Davis and Marcus Stone were a combined 9-for-25 for 100 yards.