Schedule Preview: Boston College

As we work our way towards the start of Florida State Seminoles football season, Tomahawk Nation is taking the time to break down the Seminoles schedule. Next up — a week four matchup vs. the Boston College Eagles.

In the last few years, Florida State vs. Boston College has elevated in intensity.

This matchup will mark the Seminoles' first conference home game of the season as they play at home versus Duquesne in week zero, followed by a two-game road trip that sees them take on LSU and Louisville.

All-time, the Seminoles are 14-5 versus the Eagles and are currently on a three-game win streak in the series.

In their last matchup, the ‘Noles won by a field goal (26-23), but also went into the half with a 19-3 lead — two of the best players in that game Jermaine Johnson and Keir Thomas combined for 4 sacks and 20(!!) pressures, will not be on the field.

After playing the Eagles in week 4 they face their toughest stretch of the season with a gauntlet of three straight against Wake Forest, then NC State, and Clemson. Winning against BC would give the Seminoles much-needed momentum early in the seaosn.

What does the 2022 Florida State vs. Boston College game hold? Here’s a rundown.

Opponent: Boston College Eagles

Date: Saturday, September 24th

Time: TBD

Last matchup: November 20th, 2021, FSU 26 - BC 23

Boston College Eagles: Team Preview

2021 record: 6-6 (2-6 in ACC)

• The Eagles two wins in conference came against Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech with their best non-conference win coming against Missouri last season (41-34)
• In the 6 games that they had starting QB Phil Jurkovec the Eagles were 4-2

Names to Know

OL Christian Mahogany

The Eagles entered the off-season losing 4 of their 5 most experienced offensive lineman. But with Mahogany they had an All-ACC pre-season 1st team player, he is also projected to go high in the 2023 NFL Draft as ESPN’s #2 ranked guard.

Unfortunately he won’t be on the field against FSU as it was announced that he has torn his ACL and will not return until the 2023 season.

Slot CB Josh DeBerry

DeBerry versus the Seminoles slot receivers will be a fun matchup to watch. He will see a lot of time against Mycah Pittman, Ja’Khi Douglas, (and maybe) Winston Wright.

DeBerry was an All-ACC pre-season 2nd team recipient. He graded out as above average in coverage (79.2 grade) and elite in run defense (88.4 grade).

QB Phil Jurkovec

Since transferring from Notre Dame after two seasons Jurkovec has played 16 of 23 possible starts for the Eagles and in those games they are 9-7. In his 10 games in 2020 he finished with 2,500+ yards and 17 TDs.

He is also getting attention for the pro’s as he is a top-100 player on PFF’s 2023 Draft Board. At 6’5 225 he is tough to take down in the pocket and is willing to take hits, but those hits are also the reason that he has missed time.

Florida State Seminoles vs. Boston College Eagles Preview

Best Case

Double digit win - the Seminoles have not done this versus the Eagles since 2016 when they won 45-7 under Jimbo Fisher.

This is a good football team that has shown recently that they can hang with the ‘Noles. But they also could not establish the run against FSU in 2021 and that will be even tougher in 2022. FSU 27 - BC 13

Realistic Case

One score win - following up on their last three matchups that had an average win differential of 3.6 points I expect that BC will put up a good fight again. But the Seminoles highly efficient and explosive run game will give them the ability to control the pace of this game.

Given the Seminoles improvement on offense and strength on defense they should be able to get after whoever the Eagles signal caller is like they did in 2021. FSU 27 - BC 21

Worst Case

This game could be a turning point in the season for either team, if the ‘Noles struggle to get their ground game going it will be a long day.

Even then, the Seminoles are the better football team but not by so much that they can get out of this with a win if they do not play well. The Eagles could get up early and FSU 17 - BC 27