Bailey Hockman’s redemption: Florida State-NC State game time, odds, TV and stream info
Bailey Hockman looked different against Miami last week.
Hockman, the N.C. State junior quarterback, still had the hair flowing from underneath his helmet and the sleeve tattoos showing from his left arm.
No, he didn’t look different physically; it was his performance that caused fans to do a double take.
It’s no secret that Hockman has been hot and cold during his career in Raleigh, but his performance against the Hurricanes (19-for-28 passing for 248 yards and 2 touchdowns) was one of his best outings to date. Even with a late interception, it wasn’t hard to leave that game thinking Hockman may have finally turned the corner.
His turnaround started, according to head coach Dave Doeren, with the second half of the UNC game. Hockman then had extra time during the bye week to sit down with offensive coordinator Tim Beck. That gave him more time to prepare, watch film and go over which plays Hockman is the most comfortable with. Even though Hockman joked the dialogue isn’t as open with Beck as it might seem.
“It’s kind of him telling me what he likes,” Hockman said with a laugh. “I’m just kind of like ‘I don’t know, coach’ and he’s like ‘well it’s a good play so we’re going to run it.’ ”
In all seriousness. Beck and Hockman find the best set of plays that they are comfortable with. When Hockman gets off to a good start early, the results have been great for the Wolfpack. Against Miami, N.C. State scored on its opening drive, the second time that’s happened this season with Hockman as the starter. The first was the opener against Wake Forest.
Against the Hurricanes, Hockman completed his first two passes on the opening drive and caught the first touchdown of the day from wide receiver Thayer Thomas. On the second offensive drive he, completed 3 of 5 passes through the air, ending the drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Devin Carter. On that drive, he completed consecutive passes to Cary Angeline and Emeke Emezie, each covering 24 yards. His longest pass of the day was 34 yards to Emezie, a far cry from early in the season when Hockman was keeping everything short.
That comes from a combination of Hockman finding the right plays with Beck and finally being comfortable on the field.
“It takes a minute,” Hockman said. “I hadn’t really played in a game up until last year. It takes a second, especially at quarterback, to get the real bullets flying. Those real bullets flying makes it a lot different. It’s definitely made my confidence go up a lot.”
Junior center Grant Gibson told Hockman that the team was behind him the rest of the way and that adds to the newfound confidence from their signal caller.
“We as a team told him that we had full faith in him and what he can do,” Gibson said. “And I think he took that and ran with it. He looked like he had full control of the offense. As an offense that’s good for us to see.”
How to watch Florida State at NC State.
NC State’s 7:30 p.m. kickoff against Florida State will be broadcast on ACC Network. It can be streamed with the ESPN app or WatchESPN.com with a valid cable or satellite subscription.
Florida State-NC State betting odds
The Wolfpack opens as a 7-point favorite over the Seminoles. As of Thursday afternoon, the line had moved to NC State (-10) and the over/under was 59.5.
NC State football game notes
The Wolfpack have won two of the last three meetings against the Noles.
State has talked about getting off to fast starts this season, and historically they’ve done that against FSU. The Wolfpack has outscored the Seminoles 68-17 in the first quarter of the last six games of the series.
In 2018, as a true freshman, running back Ricky Person scored three touchdowns during a 47-28 N.C. State win.
Defensive back Tanner Ingle and linebacker Drake Thomas each missed the Miami game last week with injuries. Doeren said it was trending in the right direction for both players to return this week.
N.C. State is 8-11 at home versus FSU and 4-6 in the last 10 matchups.
The Wolfpack has started a different combination at offensive line the last three games. The same five guys started the first four games of the season before injuries to the line forced some changes.
Bailey Hockman signed with FSU in 2017 and passed for 203 yards and a TD in the 2018 spring game before transferring to N.C. State.
This story was originally published November 14, 2020 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Bailey Hockman’s redemption: Florida State-NC State game time, odds, TV and stream info."
