Game Summary: Florida State 26 Boston College 23

Boston College received the opening kickoff and got to work quick, launching a 19 yard pass as the first play from scrimmage to bring the Eagles to midfield. They stalled out after that play, though, and punted to Florida State after just 4 total plays. FSU made quick work of the BC defense at first, dinking and dunking them all the way into the redzone, before picking up an offensive pass interference call that pushed them back. But a DPI on the very next play brought them right back into scoring range. After a few nothing plays, FSU got sacked on 3rd down and was forced to punt away.

Boston College started the ensuing drive from the 1-yard line, but a defensive offsides gave them some breathing room. Despite this 1st-and-5 opportunity, the BC offense went 3-and-out and had to punt away. FSU’s Jordan Travis went for a nice long run on 3rd down to save the Seminoles’ drive early on. A facemask penalty boosted FSU another 15 yards, allowing for a 16 yard strike downfield for a TD, making it 7-0 Florida State.

Boston College came very close to another 3-and-out on the next drive, but a pass interference call saved them from such a fate. Jurkovec was getting knocked around a bunch throughout the drive, and then an especially bad hit as he was sliding to the ground resulted in a targeting penalty, pushing the Eagles even further downfield. There were no more penalties to help out BC for the remainder of the drive, though, as they stalled out and were forced to kick a FG to cut FSU’s lead to 7-3.

Florida State made swiss cheese out of Boston College’s defense on the ensuing drive, running just 7 plays and tearing through for 1st downs left and right, eventually scoring another TD to make it 14-3 FSU.

Boston College finally got some offense going on their next drive passing to Jaelen Gill and rushing with Pat Garwo, Alec Sinkfield, and Phil Jurkovec. Eventually BC found itself at 4th and 2 deep in the redzone, but a Pat Garwo run failed to convert, so FSU took back over. The Seminoles immediately went off for a 41 yard pass to take themselves into BC territory, followed by a pair of penalties that forced them to punt away not too long after.

Boston College got the ball back deep in their own territory with just 2:32 remaining in the first half. The Eagles couldn’t get anything going and were forced down in their own endzone, resulting in a safety for Florida State to extend their lead to 16-3. FSU got the free kick with still over 2 minutes remaining in the half and was able to drive down for a FG to make their lead an even bigger 19-3. After BC and FSU couldn’t do anything with the remaining 50 seconds, the game went to halftime.

Florida State received the second half kickoff and quickly made it into Eagles’ territory and then the redzone, setting them up for an easy 15 yard TD strike to increase their lead to 26-3. Boston College’s Sinkfield had a big 40 yard kickoff return that, with the help of ensuing runs by Jurkovec and Garwo, set the Eagles up close to the goal line. After getting stuffed on a few plays, BC went for it on 4th and goal to score its first TD of the game with a 3 yard Pat Garwo III run. FSU still led 26-10.

Florida State continued to run through the BC defense like it had been all game, but got hit with 2 illegal formation penalties in a row on 4th down that pushed them back into punting territory. BC took over for their next drive at the 4-yard line. After a couple FSU penalties, Zay Flowers broke out for a huge 44 yard gain in which he broke the ankles of about 4 FSU defenders on the way to the redzone. Travis Levy caught a big pass to convert 3rd and 15, Jurkovec ran it up to the 3 yard line, and then Jurkovec took it himself again on 4th down for a TD. After the 2-point conversion was unsuccessful, FSU’s lead was cut to 26-16.

Florida State went 3-and-out on their next drive with a couple big pass deflections from Boston College defenders. After an unnecessary roughness penalty committed by the Seminoles, BC’s offense got a great starting position at the 50 yard line. A deep 36 yard pass to Zay Flowers for a TD gave BC a burst of life, reducing FSU’s lead to a meager 3 points, 26-23.

Florida State got the ball back once again and did not have to suffer their previous fate of going 3-and-out. They began driving downfield but found themselves stuffed on 3rd and 1, then getting a delay of game penalty on 4th down that forced them to punt back to BC. Boston College drove down the field consistently with lots of runs by Jurkovec and Garwo, including a huge 4th and 2 jog by Jurk, to take them to midfield. But a big defensive stop stopped the comeback in its tracks, giving the ball back to FSU after an INT on 4th down.

Florida State went 3 and out on their final drive, but ran enough clock out that an incomplete pass on 4th down was enough to end the game, leaving FSU with a 26-23 win.