History leans one way here — FSU is 9-3 at Alumni Stadium in this series — but history isn't walking through the door with either roster this year. This is a program-defining stretch for both coaching staffs, and a Friday night loss lands differently in November than it would in September.
Daniels' floor was enough to win him the job in spring, but his college track record includes a 24:22 interception ratio and 16 career career fumbles, and Norvell is now calling his own plays after Gus Malzahn's retirement. That's a lot of transition for a team that supposedly has the deeper roster. BC's counter is that McKenzie, Grayson Wilson and freshman Femi Babalola give O'Brien actual competition and juice at a position that was a black hole last season.
By the time this one kicks off at 11:00 PM CT on Friday, November 6, both staffs will have had a full season to find out whether their quarterback bets paid off. If FSU's skill talent has clicked with Daniels running the show, the Noles should have enough juice to win a game like this even on the road. If Boston College's new-look offense has actually taken a step, it's the kind of home spot — desperate team, desperate building — where an upset lives.
The bigger story by November might be where each team sits in the bowl picture. FSU projects as a fringe bowl team that needs to beat the teams it's supposed to beat, and Boston College is exactly the kind of game that decides whether that math works out. For BC, every one of these ACC nights is about proving 2-10 was the floor and not the new normal.