It has been a positive two weeks for Boston College as inexplicably they have now won two ACC games in a row. Facing them on Friday are divisional foes the Florida State Seminoles. In year’s past this would be a dreaded game as the Eagles have been beaten soundly the last two year’s by Jimbo Fisher’s Noles, most notably last year’s 45-7 drumming in Tallahassee. But this year is a different story for FSU, Deondre Francois the starting quarterback suffering a season ending injury against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the opener. Ever since his injury FSU hasn’t been the same team, and the dread of facing a team that BC has struggled against has dissipated
The loss of Francois has been devastating to an offense that was ranked 25th in the country in 2016, has now plummeted to 102nd this year. True, some of that could be due to losses of stars like Dalvin Cook who moved on to the NFL, but something else is amiss this year. For instance, FSU has been able to crank out NFL level offensive line talent year after year, however this season they are 104th in the country in sacks allowed.
FSU has already lost games to Louisville, N.C. State, Miami and Alabama and some of the fans have started to turn on Jimbo and his staff. There was a heated altercation on Saturday after their loss to the Cardinals in which a fan yelled at Jimbo, and Fisher responded to the fan during his press conference. It appears to be quite the mess in Tallahassee.
While FSU seems to be circling the drain, the opposite can be said of Boston College, who magically have found a pulse the past two weeks along with an offense that can go toe to toe with any opponent. Quarterback Anthony Brown had his strongest performance on Saturday on a defense that appeared to be one of the best in the ACC. Also BC’s defense had a bounce back week, holding UVA to under 300 yards on the road.
With all sides of the ball trending up for BC, there is another reason why Friday will be special for the Eagles as it’s the annual Welles Crowther Red Bandana game. This is a special game not only because the Eagles wear gear to honor 9/11 hero and alum Welles Crowther, but they also will be honoring another hero. This year that hero is Jason Redman a veteran who served in Iraq, was wounded, but never let that injury define him. He has gone on to become the founder of the Combat Wounded Coalition. These presentations are always special, and a highlight of each season and add an energy and aura to the stadium.
Will BC be able to ride the emotion and momentum in this game? I said last week UVA was the biggest game of Addazio’s career, and while it might have been at the time, this week holds even more gravitas. Daz has never beaten FSU, he’s come close, but he never has won. A win Friday all but assures BC bowl eligibility, and makes the matchups against NC State and Syracuse very intriguing.
I know Matt said it yesterday in a post, but if you can make it to Alumni Stadium on Friday, you need to go. Support these players, they have earned it. It could be a special night on Friday.