FSU Blitzes BC in Doak, Eagles Never Recover

TALLAHASSEE — Before the Saturday night roar of a sold-out Doak Campbell Stadium could quiet in the wake of Osceola and Renegade's midfield spear plant, Florida State running back Trey Benson pulled off a feat that had only been done twice in the Seminoles' prolific history.

Benson housed the opening kickoff. He dashed 93 yards while breaking four tackles, the last of which he effortlessly stiff-armed away.

“If you go up against a team like this, in an environment like this, and you give up an opening kick for a touchdown, it’s usually not going to end well," Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley said.

It took Benson 13 seconds to find the end zone. It took FSU just 115 more ticks to double its lead after fellow running back Lawrance Toafili scored from one-yard out, cashing in on the first of two first-half interceptions from BC quarterback Phil Jurkovec.

It was a nightmare start to what ended up being the worst half of Hafley's three-year stay: a 31-point shutout that saw FSU outgain BC, 327-64.

BC never recovered from FSU's first-quarter sucker punch, as the Eagles' offense—which entered 13th in the ACC in total yards per game—continued to unravel, and BC's defense—supposedly the strength of Hafley's team—cratered, allowing nine pass plays of 15-plus yards and seven runs of 10-plus yards.

After a raucous first quarter, Doak was tame for most of the game, simply because the Seminoles' 44-14 victory was never in question.

“Just not good enough," Hafley said of BC's performance. "We didn’t coach good enough. We didn’t play good enough. We didn’t tackle good enough."

BC (1-3, 0-2 ACC) totaled 38 yards in opening drives through its first three weeks of action. The Eagles didn’t get off to any better of a start offensively against FSU (4-0, 2-0). In fact, for the second straight road game, quarterback Phil Jurkovec threw an interception on the Eagles’ first series. His third down pass was behind wideout Zay Flowers and ended up in the arms of Seminoles cornerback Omarion Cooper.

The pick came moments after Benson’s thundering kickoff return touchdown. Immediately, the Seminoles capitalized on their great field position. FSU fifth-year signal caller Jordan Travis flashed his poise with a 32-yard completion to tight end Camren McDonald on 4th-and-9, vaulting the Seminoles to the goal line and setting up Toafili's touchdown.

“Momentum is a big thing in college football," said BC graduate linebacker Vinny DePalma, who had a game-high eight solo tackles. "It’s just about supporting each other and playing complementary football.”

That's the thing. BC didn't play complementary football.

The Eagles picked up the first of their four opening-half first downs on their next drive, however, back-to-back Jurkovec completions forced Danny Longman to punt. The 54-yard boot actually pinned the Seminoles at their own six-yard line. Except, it didn’t matter.

Head coach Mike Norvell’s team marched 94 yards in 10 plays to stake itself to a 21-0 advantage. That’s when Travis, who didn’t miss any time after leaving last week’s game at Louisville with a leg injury, began his dissection of an Eagles secondary that first showed concerning cracks against FCS Maine last week.

Travis, 16-of-26 for 321 yards and a score on the night, found wideout Darion Williamson for a 26-yard gain. Near midfield, Travis used a 16-yard completion to Oregon transfer Mycah Pittman to move the sticks on third down. Benson, also a former Duck, capped the drive with a 15-yard touchdown run.

Following a BC three-and-out—which included one of Jurkovec’s three sacks Saturday—the Seminoles extended their lead. Again.

A 16-yard Travis scramble slingshotted FSU into the red zone, where BC finally buckled down. Still, struggling place kicker Ryan Fitzgerald put a 30-yard field goal through the uprights to make it 24-0.

A pair of fourth down stops did give the Eagles chances to close the gap in the second quarter, but they were hapless on the other side of the ball. Earlier in the quarter, an intentional grounding penalty on Jurkovec ruined a drive. Then, not long after BC took over on downs on its own 30-yard line, Jurkovec’s second interception spoiled another series. The pick was the result of the former Notre Dame transfer throwing off his back foot. He was looking for Flowers, but he didn’t see nickel Greedy Vance Jr., who went low for the interception.

The biggest play of the night for BC’s first-team offense was a 22-yard pass and catch to tight end Spencer Witter. It was for naught, though, as a one-yard reverse by wideout Jaden Williams, a four-yard run by running back Alex Broome and a holding call on a Jurkovec scramble put the Eagles in a 3rd-and-17 that they, unsurprisingly, couldn't convert.

Prior to intermission, FSU went up, 31-0, thanks to a beautiful 31-yard touchdown pass from Travis to Seminoles wide receiver Kentron Poitier. Travis patiently waited in the pocket before letting his 6-foot-3 target go up and get it over BC nickel Josh DeBerry.

If it wasn’t for Fitzgerald’s missed extra point, FSU’s first scoring drive of the second half would have been flawless: four plays, 90 yards, 99 seconds. The backbreaker for BC was a 72-yard Travis pass to redshirt senior wideout Ontaria Wilson, who gobbled up most of that green after the catch. It took three Eagles defensive backs to bring him down. Two plays later, FSU running back Treshaun Ward scampered in for a 22-yard score.

Variety is what helped the Eagles end their scoring drought. Jurkovec completed passes to six different players amid a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, and first-year offensive coordinator John McNulty even called an option pass for Flowers, whose toss to Jaelen Gill drew a defensive pass interference penalty. That infraction pushed BC to the goal line, where Broome recorded his first career touchdown on a five-yard pass from Jurkovec.

But the game was all but over at that point. It was 37-7, late in the third frame, and, on the Seminoles’ next drive, backup quarterback Tate Rodemaker took the field. FSU tacked on another touchdown with the redshirt sophomore under center—Benson gashed the Eagles for one more score, this one a 36-yarder.

Likewise, BC turned to backup Emmett Morehead. The redshirt freshman led a garbage time touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter. Five consecutive Xavier Coleman runs kept the chains moving, and Morehead connected with true freshman wideout Joe Griffin for six.

It had been hours since FSU took the wind out of BC’s sails. As was the case in the Eagles' ACC opener, an early deficit snowballed into disaster.

“Right now, we’re not good when we go down," Hafley said. "I think it affects us, and we need to fix that."

The Eagles found themselves in an insurmountable hole Saturday night. Just like that.

And, just like that, Hafley—who got a complete buy-in from the fan base as a rookie head coach just two seasons ago—is now fighting an uphill battle against Eagles faithful desperate for ACC relevancy.