The Florida State Seminoles (5-5, 4-4) picked up a road win over the Boston College Eagles (5-5, 3-4) on Saturday afternoon. It was the first game for Florida State since parting ways with head coach Willie Taggart, who starts 1-0 under interim head football coach Odell Haggins Jr.
Boston College set the tone early in this game, using the first drive to orchestrate a 14-play, 75-yard drive over 5:38 that ended in a 17-yard touchdown pass from Eagles quarterback Dennis Grosel to Kobay White that gave Boston College a 7-0 lead. Though the Seminoles did get a first quarter field goal, Boston College would again show flashes of taking control in the second quarter as they added another touchdown on a lengthy drive to take a 14-3 lead.
The Seminoles began turning the tide as the second quarter wound on - Seminoles quarterback James Blackman hit Tamorrion Terry for a 74-yard touchdown pass to cut the Boston College lead to 14-10 with 4:31 to go in the quarter. Though the Eagles got the ball back, they were unable to get any points out of it, when Aaron Boumerhi missed a 45-yard field goal attempt at the end of the half - it was his second missed field goal of the first half.
The third quarter belonged to Florida State, as they were able to get two touchdown runs - one from Jordan Travis and one from Cam Akers - to start to take control of the football game with a 24-14 lead. The Eagles were not going to go down without a fight in the fourth quarter, however - after Aaron Boumerhi hit a 30-yard field goal early in the 4th quarter to pull Boston College within 24-17, they were able to orchestrate another lengthy touchdown drive late. This time, a 13-play, 90-yard drive that ate up more than 7:00 of clock time in the fourth quarter ended when Grosel ran in for a 1-yard touchdown with 2:33 to go in the game that tied the ballgame 24-24.
Florida State had some kind of answer waiting, though. First, James Blackman hit D.J. Matthews for an incredible 60-yard touchdown pass that gave the Seminoles a 31-24 lead. Moments later, Stanford Samuels III intercepted Dennis Grosel to put the Seminoles in prime position to secure the win. As if that weren't enough, Jordan Travis then broke free for a 66-yard touchdown that lifted the Seminoles to a 38-24 lead. Though Boston College was able to get a touchdown pass to Kobay White (his second of the game) to pull within 38-31, it was too little, too late for Boston College as Florida State held onto the impressive win in the first game of the post-Willie Taggart era.
James Blackman went 18-for-26 with 346 yards and two touchdowns in the winning effort for Florida State - his favorite target was Tamorrion Terry, who had seven catches for 156 yards and a touchdown. Jordan Travis led Florida State rushing with 94 yards and two touchdowns on just three carries - Cam Akers added 59 yards and a touchdown on the ground. For Boston College, Dennis Grosel finished his day 20-for-29 for 227 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. The Eagles offense throughout the day was paced by running back A.J. Dillon - even though he never scored, he helped create long drives with 40 carries and 156 yards in an impressive day.
Florida State returns to Tallahassee where they will battle Alabama State in the second to last game of the regular season next week. Kickoff next Saturday afternoon is scheduled for high noon from Doak Campbell Stadium.