The Daily Nole

Boston College at FSU: Gameday Primer

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No. 18 Florida State will be 3-touchdown favorites on Friday night against Boston College as the Seminoles look to improve to 7-3 against the 4-5 Eagles. FSU was forced to rally last week in a thrilling 24-20 victory at North Carolina State while Boston College took it on the chin at home in a 52-7 loss against Louisville.

The Eagles have been inept offensively, but solid on the defensive side of the ball. Defensive end Harold Landry leads Boston College with nine sacks and 11 tackles for loss while linebacker Matt Milano is one of the best players in the ACC, but seems to get little recognition. Safety John Johnson leads the Eagles with 51 total tackles and two interceptions.

FSU junior running back Dalvin Cook is 127 rushing yards shy of statistically becoming the best ever to play in Tallahassee, but sophomore wide receiver Nyqwan Murray has been the talk of the offense over the last two weeks with 15 catches for 253 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, end DeMarcus Walker leads the nation with 10.5 sacks while sophomore cornerback Tarvarus McFadden is the nation’s top interception man with seven on the year.

Quick Hits

  • Florida State is 6-0 against Boston College under head coach Jimbo Fisher. Miami is the only other team Fisher defeated in each of his first six years. FSU is 8-3 against BC in ACC games.
  • FSU running back Dalvin Cook needs 127 yards to become Florida State’s all-time leading rusher. Warrick Dunn currently holds that spot with 3,959 career rushing yards.
  • Tarvarus McFadden’s seven interceptions is the most for any FSU player under Fisher. It’s also the most for FSU player since 1997 when cornerback Samari Rolle had seven.
  • Florida State has gone nearly a year without scoring a first quarter touchdown in an ACC game. The last one for FSU came on Nov. 14 of last year against N.C. State.
  • With a victory against Boston College, FSU would ensure a 40th straight winning season.
  • Since Boston College joined the ACC in 2005, only the 2011 and 2012 contests between the teams were decided by more than 14 points. FSU’s largest margin of victory was 51-7 in 2012. Boston College’s largest margin of victory came in 2008 as the Eagles won 27-17 in Tallahassee.
  • Friday’s game is the first midweek home game for Florida State since the 2009 opener against Miami on Labor Day. The last time FSU played a home game on a day other than Saturday or Labor Day came on a Thursday night against Clemson in 2002. The Seminoles won 48-31.

Good Times, Bad Times

All-Time Series: Florida State leads 9-4.
Good Times: Boston College’s first conference game as a member of the ACC came at home against Florida State in September 2005. FSU linebacker A.J. Nicholson returned an interception 19 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage and came up with another pick to set up FSU’s second touchdown to make it 14-0 Seminoles. The Eagles however, answered with 17 straight points to take the lead into the fourth quarter. In the final stanza, Drew Weatherford’s second touchdown pass to Greg Carr put FSU ahead for good before Lorenzo Booker iced the game for the Seminoles with a 4-yard touchdown with less than four minutes to play in a 28-17 FSU win.

Against second-ranked Boston College in 2007, the Seminoles forced BC quarterback Matt Ryan into four turnovers in a stunning 27-17 upset. FSU quarterback Drew Weatherford passed for 354 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but it was a 38-yard interception return for a touchdown by linebacker Geno Hayes with 1:10 to play that sealed the victory. De’Cody Fagg led the Seminoles with 111 receiving and a touchdown.

Ranked eighth in the country, Florida State looked to be in real trouble early during its 2013 visit to Chestnut Hill. FSU fell behind 17-3 early, but rallied to tie the game on a pair of Jameis Winston touchdown passes. On the final play of the first half, Winston shook off three Boston College defenders before finding Kenny Shaw for a 55-yard touchdown to make it 24-17. From there, FSU never trailed on its way to a 48-34 victory. Winston passed for 330 yards and four touchdowns in the win. Cornerback P.J. Williams sealed the game with a 20-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Bad Times: Florida State wore all black for the first time ever in Boston College’s first visit to Tallahassee as a member of the ACC in 2006 and for the Seminoles, it was a dark day. The Eagles took a 14-10 lead late in the first half on a 1-yard touchdown run by L.V. Whitworth and added to it just seconds later when DeJuan Tribble returned a Drew Weatherford interception 36 yards for a touchdown. FSU used a Weatherford touchdown and a safety to draw to within five in the fourth quarter, but Weatherford’s Hail Mary into the end zone as time expired was intercepted by BC’s Larry Anam.

FSU again wore all black against the Eagles in a 2008 contest in Tallahassee that would ultimately decide the ACC Atlantic. Boston College raced to a 14-0 lead thanks to a interception of FSU quarterback Christian Ponder that was returned 87 yards for a touchdown by Marty Bowman. The Seminoles drew to within seven early in the fourth quarter, but a pass into the end zone was intercepted by DeLeon Gause with 9:15 to play. The Eagles proceeded to bleed nearly nine minutes off the clock and kick a field goal with 20 seconds to play to cement a 27-17 win.

The 2009 contest between Florida State and Boston College in Chestnut Hill looked as though it might be a rout early as the Eagles jumped in front, 21-3. FSU was able to fight back and draw even early in the fourth quarter, but Boston College running back Montel Harris’ 42-yard touchdown run — his second of the day — with just over four minutes to play served as the game-winner in a 28-21 BC victory.

For Your Reading Pleasure

Here is what we at The Daily Nole have written about on FSU’s match-up with Boston College:

FSU Football: A First Look at Boston College
Preview: Limping Boston College Faces FSU in Friday Night Match-up
Staff Predictions for FSU-Boston College
FSU-Boston College: Five Things to Watch

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson

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