Florida State (0-1) host Boston College on Monday in Doak Campbell Stadium in the Seminoles home opener. FSU is looking to rebound from its season opening loss to Georgia Tech last week in Dublin, Ireland. This will be the Eagles' 2024 season opener under new head coach Bill O'Brien.
As we do on each game week the Osceola staff offers their thoughts on what will be the keys to an FSU win over the Eagles. We also offer our score predictions for the game.
Bob Ferrante
Hunger Games: This isn't the intangible key that we would expect for Florida State in game two. Humbled by Georgia Tech on offense and defense, what have the Seminoles learned? Do leaders emerge? Coach Mike Norvell spoke of ownership in his weekly press conference. So, let's see it - hungry, smart and physical football.
Contain Castellanos: And we can use contain loosely. The BC quarterback will get his yards. He will use his legs to extend the chains. He's quicker than Haynes King. The Seminoles have to set the edge better, and that starts with playing Sione Lolohea more, and have better communication. There are concerns about which linebackers are best suited to contain or chase down Castellanos, but here's hoping we see more Blake Nichelson. While he lacks in experience he is a runner and hitter.
Prediction: FSU 27, Boston College 23
Pat Burnham
Pencil Whipped: On paper, Florida State should be the better team when it plays Boston College on Monday night when it comes to size, speed and athleticism. According to most experts, they were the better team on paper heading into the Georgia Tech game. However, I have never seen a football game played on paper.
Last week the Yellow Jackets coaching staff won the battle of game planning and in-game adjustments.
Georgia Tech consistently had more hats at the point of attack defensively than FSU could block and Mike Norvell and his offensive staff didn't have the answer. On the opposite side of the ball, Tech's motion and shifts kept FSU's defense off balance and out of position. Those things can't happen this week. Florida State will need to win the battle of in-game adjustments against a Boston College staff that has a wealth of experience in the NFL, including head coach Bill 'O Brien, who will be heavily involved in BC's offensive play calling along with offense coordinator Will Lawing, who has been with O'Brien since he was head coach of the Texans. BC defensive coordinator Tim Lewis also has a proven track record in the NFL. The coaching matchups are as interesting as the on-field matchups.
Mike Norvell has shown in the past that he is one of the best play callers in college football so it will be interesting to see what FSU's game plan is early — and what adjustments he makes once he gets a bead on what BC is going to do on defense. He typically matches up well vs. any defensive coordinator he faces. I imagine the offense will have a better game plan for this game, knowing more about who they are.
O'Brien and Lawing have the benefit of seeing Adam Fuller's 2024 defense on tape. So FSU defensive coordinator Adam Fuller probably has some ideas of what O'Brien is likely to do, which is take some of what Georgia Tech did on offense to FSU last week. O'Brien knows where the weak spots were last week for the Seminoles defense and he will try to attack them. It will be interesting to see if Fuller changes anything schematically going into the game and how he will adjust in-game after last week's performance where they had no answers for Georgia Tech.
In a tight game, which I think this will be, coaching decisions become more magnified. Norvell and Fuller need to beat Boston College's staff in the battle of the headsets. If that happens, Florida State walks away with its first win of 2024.
Play Big: We thought FSU would have an advantage on its offensive and defensive lines no matter who it played coming out of camp. That perception was quickly debunked by a Yellow Jacket team that dominated the line of scrimmage last week in a performance that stills stings Florida State fans. Simply put, FSU's front four on defense and offensive line have to win the battle of the trenches and they should. If they don't it will be a long night in Doak Campbell Stadium. This a big game for FSU and the Seminoles need their big boys to show up big time for FSU to avoid its' second loss in a row to start the season.
The only thing we have to go by for this FSU football team is what we saw last Saturday in Dublin. And what this team and staff put on tape was not very good. Mike's last two teams showed a lot of resolve. We will find out this week if this team has that same characteristic. BC is not as talented or athletic as FSU, but they will come in thinking they have a shot to win because they gave a much more talented Seminoles everything they wanted and more last year Boston. They have a new head coach, which will bring some renewed enthusiasm into the program, and they watched last week's game tape vs. Georgia Tech.
I think FSU could benefit greatly from the home crowd in this game. Huge game for FSU. I think they will play better. The question is how much better? I said last year, I wasn't picking against FSU until they lost a game, so I am applying that same philosophy to this season, just in reverse. Hope I am wrong and have to apologize on Takeaway Tuesday. Can't wait to see what this team is made of but still a lot of questions about exactly who this 2024 team is.
Prediction: Florida State 25, Boston College 27
Jerry Kutz
Passion Project: I want to see Florida State's offensive and defensive line play with intensity and discipline, and it would be good to see some passion, too. Last week FSU's defense seemed to be playing on their heels, reading and reacting to the motion and changing GT's offensive sets.
With a game now under their belts, I want to see the FSU defense play on their toes and attack. Maybe with a start under their belt, we'll see a bigger impact from Darrell Jackson and Marvin Jones Jr., who have had relatively little playing time in their collegiate careers. That intensity and discipline from Jackson, Jones, Patrick Payton and Josh Farmer will be especially important in containing quarterback Thomas Castellanos and what can be an explosive running game if you allow them space to light the fuse.
A Shot in the Arm: I want to see Mike Norvell do what the FSU head coach is best at, calling a game that gives his quarterback DJ Uiagalelei options to get the ball to his playmakers, including Jaylin Lucas. If Boston College begins to load the box, as Georgia Tech did last week, let DJ take some shots downfield to stretch the Eagles defense vertically. With the heat index pushing 100 and the humidity in the 90s, like to see a game plan to stretch the Beantown Boys horizontally and vertically.
Prediction: Florida State 24, Boston College 21
Doak transformation: What to expect when you arrive for Monday's game
Mark Salva
Right Place, Right Time: Georgia Tech started the game with a lot of shifting and motions, which seemed to handcuff the FSU defense, create uncertainty, and as a result they reacted slow at the snap, chased ghosts and were a step behind all night. Bill O'Brien is an offensive guy with NFL experience, and so shifting and motions will be something FSU is sure to see on Monday.
How will the defense's communication and adjustments be handled this time around?
One thing Georgia Tech didn't do was shift and move and try to throw downfield in the hopes of getting an uncovered receiver running down the field. That has happened in the past with the FSU defense when things weren't exactly clicking so I expect O'Brien to try and scheme some things up. I know the easy thing to say is to contain BC QB Thomas Castellanos.
But the bigger thing is, can this FSU Defense TRUST each other to be in the places they need to be, play with the EFFORT and INTENSITY needed, and play SMART. For the FSU defense, "It's about us, not them" is as cliche' as it gets. But in this case, it is really true. No one would argue that FSU has the better personnel. The question is, can FSU get back to playing team defense and playing it fast and get back to that point where the sum is greater than the parts. To me, that is what championship level defenses do
Threat Level 53 1/3 by 120: Threaten all parts of the field: Again, teams that have championship ambitions can't be one dimensional offensively. Last week Georgia Tech totally ignored the middle of the field in the passing game and played one or zero safeties and overloaded the box. FSU was consistently outnumbered in the running game and if the backs don't make the extra defenders miss, well, we saw how that went down. Mike Norvell needs to find ways for DJ Uiagalelei to threaten all parts of the field, especially on early downs or the offense will face numbers in the box and get behind the chains and bog down the offense.
I honestly am not sure what to expect. History with Mike Norvell-coached teams tell me they will have a response after the disappointment in Dublin. But what I saw last week was a team that needs more than an attitude adjustment. There are areas on this team that need to develop quickly and perform at a much higher level, and they need to do it fast if they are to realize their (and fans) ambitions for 2024. I think FSU wins, but there will be growing pains early and limited possessions again.
Prediction: Florida State 27, Boston College 17
Charles Fishbein
Four Quarters: Start strong - but this time finish. FSU got off to a great start by scoring on their first drive against Georgia Tech. They ended up getting the two-point conversion to go up 8-0. This week they need to jump on Boston College early and not give them any belief that this game is going to be close. FSU needs to dominate from start to finish.
Front and Center: FSU was dominated in the trenches a week ago. They play a BC team that should not be as good in both the offensive and defensive lines. FSU needs to be able to control the lines. Last week they never reset the line of scrimmage, and it showed in the results. I expect FSU to come out and play a much better game this weekend. Look for the run game to get going which will in return open up the deep passing game. I look for this to be a complete game by the offense, defense and special teams.
Prediction: Florida State 31, Boston College 20
Curt Weiler
Start fast: The Seminoles have had to stew with their underwhelming debut for over a week now. They have had to hear (and probably read) the things said about them for nine days. I have to imagine they are very ready to get back out on the field and prove that the GT game was a fluke and not representative of what this year’s team will be. A good way to prove that would be coming out and getting off to a quick start vs. the Eagles. Because BC probably comes into this game confident based on what they saw from FSU in Week 0. Come out quick and prove you’re the more talented team after failing to do so last week.
Don’t let BC establish the run: We saw last week how FSU’s defense struggled to contain a mobile QB and the running game as a whole. And we saw a season ago how BC quarterback Thomas Castellanos was able to dice FSU’s defense with 95 rushing yards in a close loss at BC. That combination, on paper, doesn’t look great for FSU entering Monday’s game. The defense needs to do much better at setting the edge against the run and play with better gap integrity or Castellanos and running backs Tye Robichaux and Treshaun Ward could make it a repeat performance and have FSU in another nailbiter Monday night. It’s unlikely Castellanos would be able to keep BC in this game with his arm alone so making him one-dimensional would go a long way towards a stress-free first win of the season.
Prediction: Florida State 34, Boston College 21
Nick Carlisle
Let Them Play: I feel like this could be a bunch of different keys all rolled into one, but the point of the matter is Florida State needs to be more explosive on offense and that means getting the ball into their playmakers' hands — preferably further than 5 yards down the field. Guys like Jaylin Lucas need to see the field more than just seven times a game and I'd like to see more from Lawrance Toafili in the passing game, too. And, yes, even though it's scary, you're going to need to let DJ play quarterback at some point. Maybe this is the game to open the playbook up a little more.
Knock'em Back: It's not rocket science to figure out who needs to impose their will on Monday. In front of a sold-out home crowd, there needs to be some physicality on the line from the defensive front seven and visible effort from snap one to snap 50. Kye Robichaux, Treshaun Ward and Thomas Castellanos are more than capable of making it another long game if the defense continues to be underwhelming at the line of scrimmage.
Prediction: Florida State 28, Boston College 21
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