Upcoming matchup for Florida State could shatter 2024 dreams

After sustaining an upset loss to an unranked Georgia Tech team this past weekend, Florida State will attempt to get their season back on track in their next matchup when they host Boston College inside Doak Campbell Stadium on Monday, Sep. 2nd.

According to the latest odds from ESPN BET, Florida State is favored to defeat Boston College by more than two touchdowns. But after the Seminoles’ surprising loss in Ireland, a win over the Eagles next Monday is far from a guarantee.

Boston College has a new head coach this year in Bill O’Brien and he’ll be looking to lead the school to even more success than what they were able to achieve last season, when the Eagles finished with a 7-6 record.

Helping Boston College’s chances to improve this year is the return of the school’s dynamic starting quarterback, Thomas Castellanos. In 2023, Castellanos only threw for 2,248 yards and 15 touchdowns in 13 games — but he also rushed for 1,113 yards and 13 scores.

O’Brien has worked with a number of talented quarterbacks during his coaching career at the college level and in the NFL, including Tom Brady, Deshaun Watson and Bryce Young. If he can steer Castellanos in the right direction as a passer, then the Eagles could have a good shot to defeat Florida State and several other notable opponents this season.

In order for the Seminoles to avoid another upset, they’re going to need their own starting quarterback, DJ Uiagalelei, to have a much better performance than he did last week against the Yellow Jackets. In the loss to Georgia Tech, Uiaglelei failed to throw for a touchdown and finished with only 193 passing yards.

Florida State will also need their rushing attack to perform better against Boston College on Labor Day, as the Seminoles averaged just 3.2 yards per carry in the loss to Georgia Tech. But this has a pretty good chance of happening, at least, as Florida State will be taking on a Boston College defense that ranked 121st out of 133 schools in rushing yards allowed per game last season.

Florida State has won their last five games against the Eagles dating back to 2018 and the Seminoles hold a 14-5 lead all-time in the series between the two programs. The last time Florida State took a home loss against Boston College came in 2008.

If the Seminoles are upset for the second week in a row, it would mark the school’s third 0-2 start in the last five seasons and would considerably dim their hopes of competing in the 2024 College Football Playoff.