Jameis Winston returned from a one-game suspension to throw for 365 yards and four touchdowns as Florida State rallied from 17 down Saturday to beat North Carolina State 56-41.
N.C. State led 24-7 in the first quarter, but Winston and the Seminoles kept plugging away despite doing their best to keep the Wolfpack in the game. The Seminoles committed four turnovers, including two interceptions by Winston. At the same time, when FSU wasn't making mistakes, it was moving the ball quite easily against N.C. State's mediocre defense. FSU finished with 550 total yards.
The flipside: FSU's defense looked bad, allowing 515 yards to the Wolfpack. N.C. State threw for 340 yards against the Seminoles' secondary, which is supposed to be one of the best in the nation.
Each team was called for 16 penalties, for a total of 306 yards.
Winston, who missed last week's overtime win over Clemson, was 26-of-38 through the air; it was the second-most attempts in his career, behind only the 40 passes he threw in this season's opener against Oklahoma State. It was the fifth four-TD game of his career; he threw two TD passes in the first half, then added two more in the third quarter.
Winston finished with minus-3 rushing yards, but he made one of the biggest plays of the game with his feet, rambling for 20 yards on a third-and-11 play with a bit more than three minutes left in the game and FSU leading by eight.
FSU star wide receiver Rashad Greene -- who lost a fumble on a punt return -- had 11 receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Jesus "Bobo" Wilson showed that he might become a legitimate No. 2 receiver, with six receptions for 109 yards and two scores. FSU needs someone to step up to take some pressure off Greene. Last season, Kelvin Benjamin and Kenny Shaw combined for 21 TD catches as the No. 2 and 3 receivers, respectively, but both are gone.
Another positive for FSU is that senior tailback Karlos Williams finished with 126 yards and three TDs; it was the third 100-yard game of his career. Williams, who had 21 carries, the second-most of his career, had rushed for just 177 yards in the first three games. Williams sometimes dances too much, but he ran hard and decisively in the second half.
While FSU's offensive line was a bit shaky early, it became more dominant as the game progressed. Then again, it wasn't going against a top-flight defense. N.C. State struggled to stop the run against Georgia Southern and Old Dominion earlier this season.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
