CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — Florida State regained its composure in the second half to pull off an emotional 38-31 victory over Boston College at Alumni Stadium in their noon matchup on Saturday.
It was FSU’s first game after Willie Taggart was fired Sunday and Odell Haggins was named the interim head coach for the second time in two years. It was the Seminoles’ first road win of the season.
The Seminoles’ defense was consistently victimized by Eagles’ strong run game, but FSU made some major adjustments on their alignments at the right time and held BC in check at the second half of the ball game.
“I’m so proud of these young men,” Coach Haggins said about the effort of his team.
Redshirt quarterback James Blackman connected with wide receiver D.J. Matthews for a 60-yard touchdown pass with 1:48 remaining in the game to give FSU a 31-24 lead.
FSU backup quarterback Jordan Travis, making his first appearance of the season, put the game out of reach with a 66-yard touchdown run on a draw play with 1:03 remaining in the contest which gave the Seminoles a 38-24 lead.
“You can tell we came out there working,” Wide receiver Tamorrion Terry said.
Boston College put a drive together of their own when quarterback Dennis Grossel hit wide-out Kobay White with a 20-yard touchdown dart with 14 ticks on the clock. FSU ended the game by recovering the onside kick.
It wasn’t easy for the Seminoles, they trailed 14-3 with five minutes remaining before the break but Blackman hit a streaking Terry for a 74-yard touchdown hookup to cut the lead to four.
FSU’s offense dominated the third quarter with two touchdowns on a 26-yard run by quarterback Jordan Travis and a 13-yard run by junior Cam Akers on a power play in between those upfront massive linemen.
“I always knew he had it in him,” Terry said.
Those two touchdowns put the Seminoles up 24-14 going into the fourth quarter. FSU blew a double-digit lead for the fourth time this season and allowed Boston College to tie the game with 2:33 remaining left on the clock.
Florida State averaged 9.2 yards per play and racked up 524 yards of total offense. The defense allowed 5.4 yards per play and finished with 508 yards of offense. Boston College rushed for 281 yards and averaged 4.4 yards per carry.
BC rushed for 281 yards on 64 carries with junior A.J. Dillon leading the way for the Eagles with 165 yards on 40 carries.
It was The Red Bandanna Game and the Senior Day team was on hand. It was a lot going on at Alumni Stadium for Boston College’s home finale against Florida State they just came up a little short.
