Looking Back at FSU Football’s Top 5 Moments vs. Boston College

Florida State will play its home opener on Labor Day in search of its first win of the season. The Seminoles will look to bounce back from a disappointing loss to Georgia Tech in the season opener as they take on Boston College.

All-time, FSU has a commanding 15-5 lead in the series. That includes victories in the last five meetings against the Eagles.

For the second week in a row, we’ll take a look back on the top moments for the Seminoles in their history against the upcoming opponent — Boston College. Narrowly missing the cut were the 1976 road upset for FSU in what would be Bobby Bowden’s first road win as head coach, Bert Reed’s 42-yard touchdown run to put the Seminoles ahead to stay in the 24-19 victory in 2010 and Roberto Aguayo’s field goal as time expired in 2014 to extend FSU’s record winning streak to 27 games.

5. Terry’s Long TD Catch Caps Upset

(22) Boston College 21, FSU 22 — Nov. 17, 2018

Over his two seasons as FSU head coach, Willie Taggart notched just one win over a ranked team. It came in the ACC finale in 2018. Trailing 21-16 with less than three minutes to go, the Seminoles began the game’s decisive drive at their own 13-yard-line. After runs by Cam Akers and quarterback Deondre Francois gave FSU a first down at their own 26, Francois took his shot. With single coverage deep, Francois fired deep over the middle for 6-foot-4 wide receiver Tamorrion Terry. Francois hit Terry in stride past midfield and he did the rest on his way to a 74-yard touchdown to put FSU in front with 1:49 to play. The Seminoles forced a turnover on downs on the following possession to give themselves a chance to extend the nation’s longest bowl streak to 37. Unfortunately, FSU lost its season finale to finish 5-7 and miss a bowl for the first time since 1981. Francois passed for 322 yards while Terry led all receivers with 112 yards. On the ground, Akers finished with 110 yards rushing and a touchdown on just 14 carries. Stanford Samuels III and Hamsah Nasirildeen each recorded interceptions for the FSU defense.

4. Jordan Travis Debuts with a Bang

FSU 38, Boston College 31 — Nov. 9, 2019

Now FSU’s all-time leader in total offense, total touchdowns and the 2023 ACC Player of the Year, there was a time when quarterback Jordan Travis was an afterthought. In his FSU debut, he made his presence felt. With FSU trailing 14-10 early in the third quarter at Boston College in the 2019 ACC finale, Travis took his first snap as a Seminole. The result? A 26-yard touchdown to give FSU its first lead. After FSU went ahead for good on an electrifying 60-yard touchdown from James Blackman to D.J. Matthews, Travis put the game away with a 66-yard touchdown run with just over a minute remaining. Travis would finish the day with a team-high 94 yards rushing on just three carries as the Seminoles improved to 3-0 under interim head coach Odell Haggins and moved to within one win of bowl eligibility.

3. Welcome to the ACC

(8) Florida State 28, (17) Boston College 17 — Sept. 17, 2005

With College Gameday on the scene for the top-20 match-up and first ACC game for Boston College as a member of the conference, the Eagles were in for a rude awakening to ACC play. On the game’s very first play, FSU linebacker A.J. Nicholson intercepted Boston College’s Quinn Porter and returned it 19 yards for a touchdown. Nicholson’s second interception later in the quarter would set up FSU’s second touchdown on a 30-yard pass from Drew Weatherford to Greg Carr to go up 14-0. Boston College would answer with 17 straight points to go ahead, but Weatherford’s second touchdown pass to Carr with under 11 minutes to go put FSU ahead for good before Lorenzo Booker put the exclamation point on the win with a 4-yard touchdown run with 3:53 remaining. The win would serve as the ACC Atlantic tiebreaker as both teams finished 5-3 in conference. The Seminoles would go on to beat Virginia Tech for a 12th ACC title in 14 years.

2. Winston Plays Houdini Before Halftime

(8) Florida State 48, Boston College 34 — Sept. 28, 2013

Behind a pair of Jameis Winston touchdown passes, Florida State had erased an early 17-3 deficit at Boston College in the final game of September 2013. With the score tied at 17, the Seminoles were looking for more points before halftime but time was running out as FSU scrambled to get another snap off from its own 45-yard-line. Just beating the first-half clock, Winston took the shotgun snap and somehow shook off multiple would-be sacks before heaving the ball downfield for Kenny Shaw, who found himself in man coverage. Shaw was able to pinpoint the football and haul it in for an improbable 55-yard touchdown that gave FSU its first lead and put the Seminoles ahead for good. Winston finished with 330 yards passing and four touchdowns in a 48-34 victory — a win that would be the closest of the regular season for the eventual national champion Seminoles.

1. Hayes’ Pick-6 Seals the Upset

Florida State 27, (2) Boston College 17 — Nov. 3, 2007

Florida State never trailed second-ranked Boston College to open the month of November 2007, but with less than four minutes to play, the Eagles and star quarterback Matt Ryan got the ball back inside their own 10, down just 20-17. Boston College had marched past its own 30-yard-line, but with just over a minute to play, FSU linebacker Geno Hayes stepped in front of Ryan’s throw and returned it 38 yards for the game-sealing touchdown. It was the third FSU interception of Ryan on the night as FSU notched its first top-5 road victory since 1999. Drew Weatherford passed for 354 yards in the FSU victory. De’Cody Fagg finished with 111 yards receiving and a touchdown.

*NOTE: Portions of this article were taken from a 2018 piece at The Daily Nole by the same author

- Mike Ferguson is the lead writer for Double Fries No Slaw. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson. For all of his work, “Like” or “Follow” Mike on Facebook.