After a 47-2 Beating at Duke, BC Gets an FSU Team Playing for an Interim Coach. Saturday at Noon Decides a Lot
The Eagles are 4-4 and 2-3 in the ACC. Florida State is 3-5 under Rick Stockstill. BC hasn't beaten the Seminoles at Alumni Stadium since 2017.
Boston College football got embarrassed Saturday. A 47-2 loss at Duke, the kind of score that makes you check twice. Now the Eagles come home to face Florida State at noon Saturday on ACC Network at Alumni Stadium, according to the BC game notes.
BC is 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the ACC. Florida State is 3-5 and 1-4 in the league, playing under interim head coach Rick Stockstill, the game notes show.
How BC got here
The season has been a roller coaster, according to 247Sports' opponent preview. A 34-15 loss at Cincinnati to open. Home wins over Rutgers (28-21) and Maine (22-16). Then two straight ACC losses, 21-14 to Virginia Tech at home and 25-16 at SMU. Then the good stretch: 27-21 over Pitt at home and a 49-27 win at Georgia Tech. Then Duke.
Bill O'Brien is in his third season and is 13-20 at BC, 247Sports reported.
Remaining after FSU, per the schedule in the game notes: at Notre Dame, home against Syracuse, and at Miami. Four wins down, two more needed for bowl eligibility, with four games left, FSU included. You do the math on which of those games BC needs.
The defense takes the ball away
This is the part of BC that's actually good. The Eagles have 14 takeaways in eight games, first in the ACC and 14th nationally, including 11 interceptions, eighth nationally and tops in the conference, 247Sports reported.
Redshirt sophomore corner Charlie Comella leads with four picks, tied for sixth nationally. Four Eagles are in the ACC's top 10 in interceptions: Comella, safety KP Price (three), safety Carter Davis (two) and linebacker Anthony Palano (two).
BC allows 188.5 passing yards a game, 35th nationally. Georgia Tech's 259 is the most anybody has thrown on them. They've held four opponents under 200 passing yards, and Cincinnati managed just 85.
The offense doesn't finish
BC's turnover margin is plus-0.25 a game, but the offense has given it away 12 times, five fumbles and seven interceptions, which ranks 100th nationally, 247Sports reported.
Here's the problem. BC averages 355.4 yards a game, 97th nationally, and converts 34.7 percent on third down, 111th, according to 247Sports. The red zone numbers are rough: 14 touchdowns on 28 trips, 135th nationally.
Quarterback Mason McKenzie, a redshirt junior transfer from Division II Saginaw Valley State, has completed 57.4 percent of his passes for 1,450 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. Pro Football Focus has him 16-of-35 on deep passes with six touchdowns and one interception, per 247Sports, so the deep ball is there. He's more dangerous with his legs, though: 638 rushing yards and a team-high five rushing touchdowns. He leads all ACC quarterbacks in rushing and had a career-high 170 yards against Georgia Tech.
McKenzie was the GLIAC Player of the Year last season, 247Sports reported. He's been a real find. He's also the reason BC can't be one-dimensional: when the run game stalls, like at Duke, the passing game hasn't been able to carry it.
The history
BC has won six of 22 meetings with Florida State, three of 12 in Chestnut Hill, according to 247Sports. The Eagles won the last one, 28-13 in Tallahassee in 2024. But they haven't beaten FSU at Alumni Stadium since Oct. 27, 2017.
The other sideline
Florida State is in a strange spot, playing out a season with an interim coach. That can go either way. Some teams quit. Some play loose and dangerous. I'm not predicting which one shows up in Chestnut Hill.
What I'm watching
Whether BC's defense can get two or three takeaways and give McKenzie short fields. That's the formula. The Eagles don't have the offense to drive 80 yards over and over, and the red zone numbers say they'll leave points out there.
What we don't know
Injury news out of the Duke game. BC hadn't released an updated status report in the notes I reviewed. The TV call is Jorge Sedano and Dave Clawson on ACC Network, and radio is on WEEI 93.7 FM, per the game notes. Alumni Stadium holds 44,500. BC put up a season-high 399 rushing yards at Georgia Tech two weeks ago; that's the version of this team it needs Saturday.
