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    • FSU football Boston College loss takeaways DJ Uiagalelei Mike Norvell
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    FSU football Boston College loss takeaways DJ Uiagalelei Mike Norvell

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    Amid boos and groans, Florida State Football lost its home game against Boston College 0-2. For the first time since 2021, the team was behind 0-2.

    The Eagles won 28-13, with quarterback Thomas Castellanos and the Boston College offense dominating the game against another lackluster performance from the Seminoles defense.

    The loss ended a nine-game home win streak for the Seminoles.

    FSU quarterback DJ Uiagalelei struggled to get going and fans chanted to bench him, with chants of “We want Brock” ringing through the air more than once Monday night at Doak Campbell Stadium.

    Brock Glenn is the Seminoles’ backup freshman quarterback. He has played in five games, including the ACC Championship game and last year’s Orange Bowl.

    Uiagalelei went 21-for-42, throwing one touchdown and an interception. Castellanos went 10-for-16, throwing two touchdowns and added 85 rushing yards on 19 carries, scoring one touchdown.

    Boston College scored twice in the second quarter, with Castellanos running one and throwing another. The first scoring drive came after a 14-play, 71-yard drive that took 9:18 off the clock.

    At one point in the first half, the Eagles outgained FSU by 172 yards to 8 yards.

    A late attempt at a comeback came when Uiagalelei found wide receiver Kentron Poitier for a score to cut the gap to 21-13. But the defense’s inability to make a stop allowed Boston College to score on a short rush by running back Kye Robichaux, making it 28-13, which was the final score.

    Here are three lessons we learned from FSU football’s 28-13 loss to Boston College.

    FSU Offense Stuntless, DJ Uiagalelei Can’t Crack Boston College Defense

    After a disappointing offensive performance against Georgia Tech in Week Zero, FSU’s offense was hoping for a response against Boston College.

    Instead, it was a rudderless game as the Seminoles failed to create explosive plays for most of the game.

    Uiagalelei struggled, missing throws, throwing over and under, failing to consistently find receivers, and when he did find his target, it was dropped too often.

    The run game was not a factor, with only 16 carries for 21 yards, compared to Boston College’s 52 rushes for 263 yards.

    Towards the end of the first half, the Seminoles went on a 13-play, 70-yard drive, getting the ball down to the 4-yard line and into the end zone. After three straight incompletions, one of which was a deflection and two of which were throws, FSU settled for a field goal to end the first half without a touchdown.

    The drive and inability to reach the end zone were emblematic of the offense’s performance against Boston College.

    The second half wasn’t much better. The first drive ended in an interception by Uiagalelei on a fourth down attempt by FSU at their own 45.

    Poitiers’ touchdown drive got off to a bad start, with a trick play on third down that gave the Seminoles a little momentum. The wide receiver then caught a ball, broke three tackles from Eagles defenders and got into the end zone.

    Aside from the game’s lone touchdown drive, FSU punted three times and lost the ball once on downs in the second half.

    Weak defense struggles to contain the run

    Before the game against Boston College, defensive coordinator Adam Fuller knew his team needed to do a better job of defending the run.

    Despite that fact, the Seminoles failed to make Fuller’s desire to better defend the run a reality. The Eagles rushed for 263 yards, scoring twice on the ground with former FSU player Treshaun Ward as a thorn in the defense’s side.

    Ward had 77 yards rushing on 12 carries and added 61 receiving yards on three receptions for one touchdown.

    When Boston College took to the air, they continued to find success, racking up 106 yards and creating open coverage multiple times throughout the game.

    There was a stretch in the first half where Ward ran the same route on three separate third down plays, and he was completely open each time. A dropped pass on the first route and a no-throw by Castellanos on the second were warning signs that a big play was about to happen.

    That big play happened. A 42-yard third-down catch and run by Ward set up the Eagles 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 they wanted, similar to the way Georgia Tech controlled the game against the Seminoles in Week Zero.

    It’s the second game in a row that the Seminoles’ defense has struggled with poor tackling, bad assignments and slow reaction. The defense couldn’t keep up with the opponent’s ground game.

    An ineffective game plan, inability to change cost the Seminoles

    An offense that relied heavily on running struggled to find holes and create scoring opportunities for the Seminoles in Week Zero against Georgia Tech. 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 and running it just six times. At times, fans booed and chanted “We want Brock” before the ball was even snapped, and those chants grew louder when the play resulted in an incomplete.

    While the pass-first approach apparently didn’t work, as Boston College was prepared for it with heavy coverage packages, Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell continued to let Uiagalelei throw the ball. FSU finished the game with just 16 rushing attempts, a handful of which came on Uiagalelei scrambles, as the offensive line offered him little protection.

    It was a stark contrast to the game against Georgia Tech, where Norvell kept pushing by running the ball. The lack of game plan changes allowed Boston College to predict the Seminoles’ play more than once.

    Defensively, the Seminoles struggled with tackling and while they were better at setting the edge, the unit struggled with runs up the middle. There were too many times when defenders were caught off guard and unable to stop a fumbling Boston College running back.

    The game plan remained the same on both sides of the football through all four quarters, and the inability to change led to the loss.

    Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at [email protected] or on Twitter @__liamrooney

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