Boston College Begins ACC Play at Home vs #3 Florida State

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For the third week in a row, the Boston College Eagles (1-1) will be home. This week they will begin ACC play as they host the #3 Florida State Seminoles (2-0). The first two weeks for the Eagles have been sort of a mixed bag. After an overtime loss to start the season, BC came back last Saturday to record win #1 on the year with a 31-28 victory over Holy Cross. Still, it was a performance that head coach Jeff Haffley was entirely not happy with. For instance, for the second week in a row, his team committed double figures in penalties (10-109 yards) and they allowed 264 yards on the ground for the game. Two members of the Crusaders backfield ran for over 100 yards, QB Matthew Skula (19-139 yards) and RB Jordan Fuller (13-109 yards, 2TDs). When asked about the rush defense, the coach said he was “not concerned with it” and he liked the run scheme. The game featured plenty of long drives as the Crusaders had two drives of ten or more plays. The first, a 15-play drive resulted in a touchdown, then a 12-play drive that ended the same way in the fourth quarter. The Eagles also had two 10+ play drives that both ended in the end zone.

The surprise of the day, if you can call it one was that Thomas Castellanos started at quarterback for BC. In his first start for the Eagles, he ran the ball 16 times for 80 yards and he threw the ball for 201 yards on 17-of-23 passing. He made touchdown tosses to tight end George Takacs of two yards in the second quarter, then a 5-yard pass to WR Jeremiah Franklin in the 4th quarter. As week three approaches, Castellanos leads the team in both passing yards with 339 and in rushing with 136 yards. The Eagles have scored seven touchdowns in the first two weeks. Castellanos is responsible for five of them.

On the defensive side of things, Graduate senior linebacker Vinny DePalma led the unit in tackles with nine for the second week in a row. Five of them were unassisted, and four of them were assisted. He had one tackle for a loss and came up with the key fumble recovery late in the fourth quarter that sealed the win for Boston College. Another possible concern for this defense is the lack of pressure on the QB in the first two games. No sacks so far and Skula had clear lanes to throw the football through. Getting a hand in the quarterback’s face needs to start happening. Holy Cross was perfect in the red zone for the afternoon going 4-for-4. They were also successful twice on fourth-down tries. Those numbers will not work vs. the Seminoles.

Why do you ask? Because FSU will bring to Chestnut Hill an eight-game winning streak. They have been perfect in the red zone in two games (10-for-10) with eight touchdowns and two field goals. They ranked fourth in the country in scoring, averaging 55.5 points a game. Their QB Jordan Travis has been named ACC Quarterback of the Week once. These two teams have met 20 times with the Seminoles winning 15 of them. At Alumni Stadium, FSU is 8-3. Florida State has won the last four meetings. The last time the Eagles were winners was back in 2017, 35-3 at home. The offense has gained 465 yards on the ground. Trey Benson leads the way with 134 yards on 21 carries and three touchdowns. Travis has been very good to the tune of 38-of-60, 517 yards, five TDs, and one INT. with a 63% completion percentage. His QB rating is 165.38. On defense, the Seminoles have gotten to the quarterback six times for 39 yards in losses. They have two picks and one fumble to their credit. Teams have been 50% on third down (13-for-26). They have allowed five scores in seven trips to the red zone. Three of them have been touchdowns.

Any way you slice it, this will be a difficult day for the Boston College Eagles, unless they get off to a great start and keep the crowd in the game. They will need plenty of help if an upset is in the cards.