Then the game went back to Boston College. The Eagles had 7 in the 3rd quarter while FSU got blanked, and BC took a 24-21 lead into the 4th. That was the version of the Eagles from the Georgia Tech win, not the one that got 2 points at Duke. A home team that had been outscored 47-2 the week before was 15 minutes from flipping its season back over .500.
The 4th quarter belonged to Florida State: 10 points for the Seminoles, 0 for the Eagles. Micahi Danzy was the steady piece all day with 7 catches for 86 yards, and FSU finished ahead 380 to 320 in total yards and 22 to 19 in first downs. That's not domination. It's a team that kept moving the ball and finally got the stops it hadn't gotten in weeks.
The defensive turn is the real headline here. The preview's biggest knock on Florida State was a defense that let 36 or more through in each of its last 3 games, and that defense was missing 4 linebackers plus Deante McCray and Kevin Wynn up front. It still gave up 24, and 17 of those came in the first half. Shutting BC out in the 3rd quarter would have been nice. Shutting the Eagles out in the 4th with the lead on the line is what won it.
Boston College's offense did enough to win for 3 quarters and then ran dry. Without Evan Dickens and Sedric Addison at running back, and without offensive linemen Trevon Humphrey and Michael Crounse, the Eagles still got to 320 yards, and Nedrick Boldin Jr. caught a touchdown. But they didn't score in the last 15 minutes, and a patched-up line and a thin backfield are exactly the kind of roster that fades late.
So where does that leave them? Both teams are 4-5 and 2-4 in the ACC. Florida State broke the skid and still has a shot at 6 wins, with a lot less room for error. Boston College has now lost 2 straight and needs 2 wins from what's left. The preview said the loser's season would get a lot harder, and that's the Eagles now.
