Your Thoughts Thursday: FSU Football’s Best Win of 2019 Came at Boston College

College football season officially came to an end late Monday night as No. 1 LSU defeated Clemson in New Orleans for the national championship, 42-25.

The season for Florida State has been over for more than two weeks. The Seminoles suffered through a second straight losing season after falling to Arizona State in the Sun Bowl on New Year’s Eve, 20-14.

While FSU went just 6-7, there were nail-biting — and dare we say — thrilling moments in 2019. In this week’s The Daily Nole Poll, we asked our social media followers which of the Seminoles’ six wins this past season were best.

Of the 269 accounts to respond, the top answer was for the Nov. 9 road win at Boston College at nearly 47 percent. 42 percent said FSU’s 35-24 victory at home over Louisville on Sept. 21. 10 percent picked the 31-13 victory over NC State a week later and less than 2 percent picked the 35-17 win over Syracuse in late October.

Our Take
This week, our followers were absolutely correct in their assessment.

At 4-5 entering the Nov. 9 contest at Boston College, Florida State had not won a road game and was going through a tumultuous period after firing head coach Willie Taggart the Sunday prior. With a date with Florida still on the schedule, the contest in Chestnut Hill was essentially a must-win if FSU was to avoid missing a bowl for a second straight season.

FSU had rallied from an early 14-3 deficit with 21 straight points, but the Eagles answered with 10 straight points to draw even and gain momentum as the clock ticked under two minutes. With bowl-eligibility hanging in the balance, quarterback James Blackman found D.J. Matthews on a slant. Matthews weaved through defenders before launching from the 5-yard-line to touch the pylon for the game-winning 60-yard touchdown.

Cornerback Stanford Samuels III came up with a key interception of Boston College quarterback Dennis Grosel on the ensuing drive before quarterback Jordan Travis put the game away with a 66-yard touchdown run on the ensuing FSU possession in a 38-31 victory. FSU improved to 5-5 with the win and earned bowl-eligibility a week later with a 49-12 win over Alabama State.

Without that victory, FSU would have again been sitting home for bowl season and would have finished with a losing record in ACC play and without a road win. Unfortunately, FSU dropped its final two games.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson. Like The Daily Nole on Facebook. To pitch an idea, author a post or to learn more about The Daily Nole, email Mike Ferguson at Mike@TheDailyNole.com.