Thomas Castellanos threw for 106 yards and two of his three total touchdowns as visiting Boston College earned a 28-13, season-opening win over No. 10 Florida State in an Atlantic Coast Conference game Monday night in Tallahassee, Fla.
In Bill O’Brien’s debut as coach, the Eagles (1-0, 1-0 ACC) possessed the ball for 39:09, rushed for 263 of their 369 total yards and scored in four red zone trips en route to their first season-opening victory over a ranked opponent since 1976.
Kye Robichaux rushed for a touchdown and caught another from Castellanos, who was 10-for-16 passing and also added 73 rush yards as Boston College built a 14-0 lead and never looked back.
Former Florida State running back Treshaun Ward led the Eagles with 61 receiving yards and a touchdown while rushing for 77 more.
Florida State (0-2, 0-2) quarterback DJ Uiagalelei was 21-for-42 for 272 yards and a touchdown, but threw an interception and was sacked three times.
Kentron Poitier had three catches for 79 yards and a score in the loss.
The Seminoles are the fourth preseason AP Top 10 team to start 0-2 in the past 10 seasons, earning that dubious distinction for the second time in that span (2017). Only four teams — now including Florida State this season — ranked in the top 10 since 1970 started 0-2 with a pair of losses to unranked teams.
In the first quarter, Boston College orchestrated a 14-play, 71-yard scoring drive while limiting the hosts to just 51 seconds of possession. Three third-down conversions fueled a red-zone march that culminated with Castellanos diving in for a 4-yard touchdown four seconds into the second quarter.
Ward was the top target on the Eagles’ second touchdown drive, taking a 13-yard catch-and-score to the front corner of the end zone at the 9:58 mark. Four plays earlier, he also had a key 42-yard reception and burst up the sideline.
Florida State worked inside the 10-yard line on its final two second-half series before settling for two field goals by Ryan Fitzgerald.
It was also an inauspicious start to the second half for the Seminoles, as Uiagalelei’s fourth-and-5 pass was intercepted by Max Tucker and returned 58 yards across the field. Two plays later, Robichaux caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Castellanos.
Uiagalelei found Poitier for a pair of 29-yard catches to trim Florida State’s deficit to 21-13, but the visitors marched 75 yards on the next eight plays and made it a two-score game on another Robichaux touchdown.
–Field Level Media
