Sep 12, 2015; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles running back Dalvin Cook (4) runs the ball against South Florida Bulls at Doak Campbell Stadium. Florida State won 34-14. Mandatory Credit: Glenn Beil-USA TODAY Sports
KICKOFF: Friday, 8 p.m. ET
GAMEDATE: 9/18/15
SITE: Alumni Stadium, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
TV: ESPN
SERIES: Florida State leads the series against Boston College 9-4 and has won the last five meetings. But last year’s was a 20-17 squeaker for the Seminoles.
RANKINGS: Florida State 9th
KEYS TO THE GAME
After cruising through a couple of games against FCS opponents that amounted to little more than scrimmages, Boston College faces a huge challenge in Game 3.
“Things are going to happen so much faster on the field,” Eagles coach Steve Addazio said of the date with Florida State.
And that’s going to be a huge difference for his young Eagles,Addazio said.
“Young players just don’t have a reference point,” Addazio said. “They don’t understand the intensity. What have they seen? They’ve seen Maine and Howard. They don’t understand the intensity of these games.
“The speed and the physicality of these games is so much greater and different. The margin of error is so much smaller. And with these young guys, they have a large margin for error.
“We might get away with some of that stuff against a lesser opponent but when you play these teams, you don’t get away with anything. To get them to understand, to realize, that is hard. By nature, they’re sloppy.”
FSU coach Jimbo Fisher is hoping his Seminoles repeat the second-half performance of their 34-14 win over South Florida, not the first which ended in a 7-7 tie.
“We need to start better on offense,” Fisher said, noting “just a few things out of whack” in the first two quarters.
FSU has won the last five meetings of the series with two of the wins 31- and 44-point routs. But in addition to last year’s three-point win, the ‘Noles survived by only five points in their 2010 win in Tallahassee. The fifth game in the series was a two-touchdown win for the ‘Noles two years ago in Chestnut Hill.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Seminoles
–QB Everett Golson might really need to perform well to continue his hold on the starting job. There has been a lot of good in Golson so far, but his first half against South Florida — 1-for-9 passing for six yards and two sacks — showed some of the bad and why he lost his job at Notre Dame at the end of last season.
–RB Dalvin Cook made up for Golson’s struggles by rushing for 266 yards against the Bulls. He is nearly halfway to a 1,000-yard season already with 422 rushing yards and has run for five touchdowns.
–LB Reggie Northup is the team’s leading tackler (tied with LB Jacob Pugh) with 10 tackles. He hasn’t been the overall top tackler in either of the team’s first two games, but just like last year when he led the Seminoles in that category with 122, he has been the most consistent.
Eagles
–QBs Darius Wade and Jeff Smith have been successful against lesser opponents but will now see a brand of defense that can be stunning. Smith replaced Wade against Howard and scored three times, running for a touchdown on his first college play from scrimmage.
–RB Tyler Rouse carried the ball four times in the first quarter against Howard and scored on three of them. That gave him five touchdowns in two quarters going back to the opening game against Maine.
–LB Matt Milano had two sacks in the opening game and then blocked a punt in the win over Howard. It’s tough to judge anyone on the defense in games like that one, but Milano has played well.
Prediction: Florida State 27, Boston College 23
