Florida State will aim to keep its bowl-game hopes alive when the Seminoles visit the resurgent Boston College Eagles in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup on Saturday in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
The Seminoles (4-6, 3-4 ACC) have won four of their last six games after opening the season with four losses. Florida State would need to win its final two games to become bowl eligible for the first time under second-year coach Mike Norvell.
Last Saturday, the Seminoles earned an emotional 31-28 victory against rival Miami to snap a two-game skid.
The Hurricanes led 28-20 with 11:04 to play before the Seminoles scored 11 unanswered points, taking the lead for good on quarterback Jordan Travis’ 1-yard TD run with 26 seconds remaining.
Travis finished 18-of-26 passing for 274 yards while rushing for 62 yards and a pair of scores. Ja’Khi Douglas reeled in four passes for 90 yards, and Jashaun Corbin rushed for a team-high 68 yards and one touchdown.
“I liked what I saw from the guys, but they understand what’s ahead,” Norvell said. “You win a rivalry game, and that’s big, but to be able to take the step afterwards is something that’s critical for us. We know the opportunity that’s in front of us; we need to go seize that.”
The Seminoles will face a Boston College team that has looked like a completely different group since the return of starting quarterback Phil Jurkovec.
The Eagles (6-4, 2-4) have won two straight since Jurkovec’s surprise return from a hand injury in a Nov. 5 win over Virginia Tech that snapped their four-game skid.
Jurkovec was 13-of-20 for 310 yards and two passing touchdowns while rushing for 71 yards and three more scores in BC’s 41-30 shootout victory at Georgia Tech last Saturday. Pat Garwo III rushed for 104 yards while Zay Flowers had two catches for 87 yards and a pair of TDs.
The win clinched bowl eligibility for the Eagles for a second straight season under second-year coach Jeff Hafley. Now the team has a realistic shot at an eight- or nine-win season for the first time since 2009 (8-5) or 2008 (9-5).
“It’s a great opportunity; it’s a good (Florida State) team,” Hafley said. “Our guys are feeling good, too. It was loud, a lot of energy (at practice). Defense was (practicing) outside, feeling good in the cold weather. Probably a little bit colder here than it is down there.”
Florida State leads the all-time series 13-5. The teams last met in 2019 when the Seminoles earned a 38-31 win in Chestnut Hill.
–Field Level Media
