Boston College stuns No. 10 Florida State to deepen Seminoles’ woes as winless start to season continues
By Ben Morse, CNN
(CNN) — Boston College pulled off one of the early surprises of the college football season on Monday night as the Eagles beat No. 10 Florida State 28-13 in Tallahassee, a result which dropped the Seminoles to 0-2 on the year.
Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos was the driving force of his team’s multi-faceted offense, throwing for two touchdowns and running for another. He threw 10-of-16 for 106 yards and added 73 on the ground.
Florida State never really got a foothold in the game after Boston College raced into a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter. Two field goals at the end of the first half reduced the deficit but Castellanos’ second touchdown through the air shortly after the break effectively put the contest to bed.
The road win was Boston College’s first victory over a top-10 opponent in a decade and new head coach Bill O’Brien’s first at the helm.
“I’m very proud of these guys,” O’Brien said. “They were resilient tonight. To come down here against a team that really in their minds had to have this win, that’s a heck of a statement for BC. But it’s just one win.”
For the Seminoles though, it was another disappointing defeat which compounds the team’s bad start to the new season with two losses from their first two games.
FSU quarterback DJ Uiagalelei struggled for consistency at Doak Campbell Stadium – such was his up-and-down performance, fans could be heard chanting for backup Brock Glenn after halftime.
Uiagalelei finished 21-of-42 for 272 yards and a touchdown, but his interception in the third quarter more or less clinched the result.
Seminoles’ stalled season
Florida State’s stuttering opening to the season is far below the high standards of a three-time national championship winning program, with head coach Mike Norvell saying he felt “sick” about the first two games.
“Obviously, tonight, I failed in preparing the team to be able to go out and respond tonight,” Norvell told reporters. “And just the things that were necessary for us, the things we talked about, things we emphasized – obviously in all phases – we were not able to execute.
“I didn’t put them in a position to showcase what I believe that this football team is, and it’s extremely disappointing. And I apologize to our fans, apologize to everybody associated with the program. I mean, that was extremely disappointing that we were not better.”
Florida State entered the new campaign as the reigning ACC champion and heavy favorites to retain the title, despite losing a host of key contributors to the NFL; players such as Jared Verse, Braden Fiske and Keon Coleman were all drafted in April.
One of the team’s most famous recent alumni, Super Bowl winning corner back Jalen Ramsey, expressed his displeasure with Florida State’s performance on Monday, calling it “embarrassing” on social media.
But Norvell called for his team to stay unified in the face of pressure.
“You’ve got a football team that’s hurting. Nobody envisions ever being where we are and having disappointment, having failure,” Norvell said. “I do believe in what this team can do. I believe in what this team can accomplish.
“There’s going to be plenty of negativity around this program. I understand that. When you perform the way we just did, it’s all part of it. But for a football team, you’ve got to stay together. And you’ve got to make sure that you’re there for each other.
“We’ve been knocked down. We know how to get up. But we’ve got to go do that. And it’s one thing to talk about it. It’s another thing to put it into action and then to be able to perform in the moment throughout the course of the game.”
The-CNN-Wire
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