Florida State upset by Boston College at home, Seminoles fall to 0-2 to start season
Amid a chorus of boos and groans, Florida State football walked away from its home opener against Boston College with a loss, dropping to 0-2 for the first time since 2021.
Boston College won 28-13 as quarterback Thomas Castellanos and the Boston College offense dominated against another lackluster performance from the Florida State defense.
The loss snapped a nine-game home winning streak for the Seminoles.
FSU quarterback DJ Uiagalelei struggled to get going and had fans calling for his benching with "We want Brock" chants filling the air at Doak Campbell Stadium on more than one occasion Monday night.
Uiagalelei went 21-for-42, throwing one touchdown and an interception. Castellanos went 10-for-16, throwing two touchdowns and he added 85 rushing yards on 19 carries, scoring one touchdown.
Boston College scored twice in the second quarter, with Castellanos running for one and throwing for another. The first scoring drive came after a 14-play, 71-yard drive that took 9:18 off the clock. BC outgained FSU 172 yards to 8 yards at one point in the first half.
A late push for a comeback came when Uiagalelei found wide receiver Kentron Poitier for a score to cut the deficit to 21-13. But, the defense's inability to get a stop allowed Boston College to score on a short rush from running back Kye Robichaux, making it 28-13, which was the final score.
Here are three takeaways from FSU football's 28-13 loss to Boston College.
Rudderless FSU offense, DJ Uiagalelei can't crack Boston College's defense
Following an uninspiring offensive performance against Georgia Tech in Week 0, FSU's offense hoped for a response against Boston College.
What they got instead was a rudderless display as the Seminoles failed to create explosive plays for much of the game.
Uiagalelei struggled as he missed throws and failed to find receivers consistently. The times when he did find his man it was dropped too often, which ended with a 21-for-42 display.
Toward the end of the first half, the Seminoles went on a 13-play, 70-yard drive, getting the ball to the four-yard line and on the doorstep of the endzone. Following three straight incompletions, one deflected and two overthrown, FSU instead settled for a field goal to end the first half without a touchdown.
The drive and inability to find the endzone summed up the offense's performance against Boston College.
In the second half, it wasn't much better. The first drive ended in an interception thrown by Uiagalelei on a fourth-down attempt by FSU on its own 45.
Poitiers touchdown drive started poorly, with a trick play on third down getting the Seminoles a sliver of momentum. The wide receiver then caught a ball, breaking three tackles from Eagles defenders and getting into the endzone.
It was the only score of the second half for FSU.
Lackluster Seminoles defense struggles to contain the run
Coming into the Boston College game, defensive coordinator Adam Fuller knew his team needed to defend the run better.
While that fact was known, the Seminoles failed to make Fuller's desire to defend the run better a reality. The Eagles rushed for 263 yards, scoring two times on the ground with former FSU player Treshaun Ward a thorn in the side of the defense.
Ward recorded 77 yards rushing on 12 carries while also adding 61 receiving yards on three receptions for one touchdown.
When Boston College did go to the air, they still had success, recording 106 yards receiving and blowing open coverages on multiple occasions throughout the game.
There was a stretch in the first half where Ward ran the same route on three separate third down plays, he was wide open each time. A dropped pass on the first route and a no-throw from Castellanos on the second were the warning signs a big play could happen.
That big play moment did happen. A 42-yard third-down catch and run from Ward set the Eagles up for a touchdown four plays later.
The Eagles averaged 5.4 yards per play, with 10.6 yards per reception and 5.1 yards per carry.
FSU's inability to stop a run allowed the Eagles to do whatever it wanted, similar to how Georgia Tech controlled the game against the Seminoles in week zero.
It is the second straight game where poor tackling, missed assignments and slow reaction plagued the Seminoles' defense as it couldn't keep up with its opponent's ground game.
Ineffective game plan, inability to change cost the Seminoles
A run-heavy offense struggled to find gaps and create scoring opportunities for the Seminoles in week zero against Georgia Tech, and in week one, a pass-first approach resulted in an angry Doak Campbell Stadium.
Uiagalelei struggled to find his receivers to start the game, with the Seminoles throwing the ball 21 times in the first half while only running the ball six times. At times, the fans were booing and chanting "We want Brock" before the ball was even snapped, and those calls got even louder when the play resulted in an incompletion.
While the pass-first approach seemingly wasn't working as Boston College was prepared for it with heavy coverage packages, Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell continued to let Uiagalelei throw the football. FSU finished the game with just Xx rushing attempts, with a handful of those coming on Uiagalelei scrambles as the offensive line offered him little protection.
It was a stark contrast to the Georgia Tech game where Norvell continued to push running the football. The lack of changes to the game plan allowed Boston College to predict the Seminoles' play on more than one occasion.
Defensively, the Seminoles struggled with tackling and setting the edge, despite making it a focus during game preparation. There were too many moments when defenders were caught flat-footed and unable to stop a rumbling Boston College running back.
The game plan remained the same for all four quarters, and the 28-13 loss was the result.
Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at [email protected] or on Twitter @__liamrooney.