The Bill O’Brien Era at Boston College is off to a fantastic start.
The Eagles went into Tallahassee as 16.5-point road underdogs on Monday night, but they dominated in the trenches on both sides of the ball and coasted to a 28-13 win.
O’Brien’s team cashed +700 money-line tickets at the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas.
BC’s offense produced 263 rushing yards, averaging 5.1 yards per carry. On the flip side, FSU generated merely 21 rushing yards on 16 attempts, averaging an abysmal 1.3 YPC.
The Eagles played the cleaner game, too. committing only one penalty. Meanwhile, the Seminoles were flagged seven times for 50 yards.
BC star quarterback Thomas Castellanos completed 10-of-16 passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. He also made plays with his legs, rushing for 73 yards and one TD on 14 attempts.
Running back Treshaun Ward announced his return to Doak Campbell Stadium with authority. Ward, who played at FSU from 2019-22 before transferring to Kansas St. last year, is now on his third school at BC. In his debut for the Eagles, Ward caught a 13-yard TD pass from Castellanos to put his team up 14-0 in the second quarter.
Castellanos had scored on a four-yard TD run to open the scoring on the first play of the second quarter. Ward finished with 77 rushing yards on 12 attempts and had three receptions for 61 yards.
Mike Norvell’s team trimmed the deficit to 14-6 at halftime thanks to a pair of field goals from Ryan Fitzgerald. But on the opening drive of the second half, Norvell elected to go for it on a fourth-and-five play from FSU’s own 47.
The decision – one that wreaked of panic in a one-possession game only minutes out of halftime – didn’t work out when DJ Uiagalelei was intercepted by Max Tucker, who returned the pick 58 yards to give BC a first-and-goal opportunity at FSU’s 7.
On second and goal, RB Kyle Robichaux bullied his way into the end zone for a four-yard TD run to extend his team’s lead to 21-6.
After both teams traded punts, FSU put together a five-play, 72-yard drive that was capped by a 29-yard TD pass from Uiagalelei to Kentron Poitier to cut the deficit to 21-13.
BC promptly answered, though. The Eagles went 75 yards in eight plays and stretched their lead to 28-13 on Robichaux’s two-yard TD run with 1:03 remaining in the third quarter.
FSU’s next three drives produced a pair of punts and one failed fourth-down attempt.
Robichaux had 85 rushing yards and one TD on 19 carries.
Uiagalelei struggled mightily, completing just 21-of-42 passes for 272 yards and one TD with one interception. Poitier had three receptions for 79 yards and one TD, while Ja’Khi Douglas had four catches for 66 yards.
FSU is now 0-2 both straight up and against the spread. Worst of all, the Seminoles are 0-2 in ACC play.
Where does Norvell’s team go from here? The reality is that FSU has been pushed around on national television in back-to-back losses to opponents that weren’t expected to be top-tier ACC teams in 2024.
“I’m sick to how this season started,” Norvell said late last night. “Tonight, I failed in preparing the team to go out and respond.”
FSU has an open date in Week 2 and returns to the field for a Sept. 14 home game vs. Memphis. Looking at the schedule ahead, the ‘Noles are going to be significant underdogs at Miami and at Notre Dame unless a lot of things change in the coming weeks.
If we continue to see the same team we saw vs. Ga. Tech and BC, FSU could lose at home to Memphis, Clemson and maybe even UNC and Florida, too. There’s also a road game at SMU later this month.
Whatever the case, Norvell has now started 0-2 in three of his five seasons in Tallahassee. Since Jordan Travis got injured in late November of last year, FSU’s offense has produced 24, 16, 3, 21 and 13 points in its five games.
BC will play host to Duquesne on Saturday at Alumni Stadium. The Eagles play at Missouri in Week 3.