“I didn’t want to coach this game to be close,” said coach Jeff Hafley after the Red Bandana Game on Saturday, but close it was, as Boston College football fell to No. 3 Florida State in a 29-31 nail-biter at Alumni. The Eagles drop to 1-2, but the undefeated Seminoles can expect to see a drop in their ranking after being brought to the brink by the 25-point underdogs in their ACC opener. Aided by some impressive O-line play, quarterback Thomas Castellanos delivered a break-out performance for BC, logging 400 combined yards, but the Eagles’ program-record eighteen penalties for 132 yards ultimately proved too costly to overcome.
BC struck first with a 32 yard catch-and-run score by a wide-open Lewis Bond. The defense bent but didn’t break on FSU’s first drive, as the visitors had to settle for a short field goal. In the postgame, Hafley called his early gameplan “[maybe] too aggressive,” but it worked, as his team converted on an early 4th and 1 in their own territory, thanks to a hard-nosed run down the middle by Kye Robichaux. This season’s surprise starting quarterback Thomas Castellanos kept the drive moving with a couple of chunk plays on the ground, ultimately putting his team in position to score a short field goal to extend their lead back to seven.
In the second quarter, penalties really began to hurt the Eagles. In a bizarre sequence of events, the defense was penalized twice in the same drive for “disconcerting signals,” as well as for a myriad of other infractions. FSU capitalized with a 19 yard touchdown catch-and-run by tight end Jaheim Bell to tie it up at 10 apiece. Pinned back on the following drive, Castellanos broke out for a 45 yard scramble on 3rd and long to keep the drive alive, but BC couldn’t keep the momentum and eventually punted it away in no man’s land. The Seminoles seized the opportunity to take the lead on the following drive, thanks in part to a face mask penalty and then a blatant pass interference penalty in the end zone by the Eagles’ defense; running back Trey Benson finished off the drive with ease on a 1 yard run, giving the ‘Noles a 10-17 lead. Both teams got the ball again before the half, but after an injury scare sent FSU quarterback Jordan Travis to the tent, the score remained unchanged as both squads headed to the locker rooms.
A healthy Jordan Travis led his team out of the tunnel in the second half and quickly put any thoughts of an upset (temporarily) to rest. He beat the blitz with a quick 4 yard play action score to a wide open Preston Daniel after another costly defensive penalty by BC earlier in the drive. Down 10-24, Castellanos made his worst play of the game on an ugly interception into triple coverage by the linebacker DJ Lundy. Lining up at fullback, Lundy soon finished off the drive for his team, as he pushed through the BC line for a short six points with 11:20 to go in the third quarter. But credit to the Boston College defense, who went on to shut the Seminoles out for the rest of the game. After both teams traded punts on the following two drives, Dino Tomlin launched the comeback attempt with a 52 yard catch and run down the sideline. Robichaux then punched it in for six, but only six, as the Eagles missed the extra point. Now looking at a score of 16-31, the Eagles special team came up big with a muff recovery on a deftly executed squib kick, but the offense quickly fizzled-out, turning it over on 4th and 1.
Needing at least a pair of scores, the defense came up even bigger, as Khari Johnson scored early in the next drive on a scoop-and-score, courtesy of an Elijah Jones strip. Going for two to make it a one score game, Castellanos scrambled out of the pocket and found a leaping Bond who made the catch in the corner of the end zone, but couldn’t get a foot down. Still needing two scores with 7:37 to go, the Eagles caught a huge break on an offensive pass interference call that pushed FSU into a 4th and long that forced them to punt. Back under center, Castellanos looked unfazed, bailing out his team on a 13 yard scramble on 3rd and 10 deep in BC territory, and again on a quick 42 yard pass to Bond on the next play. He scored on a 4th down run, putting an FSU defender on skates as he glided into the end zone. After forcing yet another FSU punt, BC got the ball back with four minutes remaining. After overcoming an early sack to get a first down, Castellanos went down again, forcing BC to punt with just two and half minutes left on the clock. Staring down a 3rd and medium, the Seminoles were stopped short of the sticks, but BC’s eighteenth and final penalty, a face-mask committed by John Pupel, was the final nail in the coffin for the Eagles as FSU got the first down and entered victory formation.
“We cleaned it up in the second half,” said Jeff Hafley after the game on his team’s penalty-ridden performance. “We cleaned up that part of it. We didn’t have the personal fouls, we didn’t have the dumb fouls. I’ve got to see the tape, but there were too many.” Despite the tough loss, the BC coach emphasized his pride in his team, saying, “I think this one’s going to bring us closer together. We’ve still got things to clean up, obviously, but this can be a really good team…. I’m hurt, I’m upset for the guys, but I’m proud of this group right now.”
They’ll go on the road for the first time this season at Louisville next Saturday. When asked if he thought the team could carry their second half momentum to Kentucky, Kam Arnold answered, “Yes, most definitely. There’s not a team on our schedule we can’t beat.”
Unashamed Boston sports homer. History nerd. I’ve had a PS5 since day one, so I’m also pretty cool.
