The Eagles had let an 18-point lead slip away, after the Florida State Seminoles’ comeback ended with a touchdown and successful two-point conversion. BC’s Jeff Smith then fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and the Seminoles took over on the BC 29-yard line in a tie game.
FSU ended that drive with a missed field goal, and with the presence of Mark Herzlich on the sideline and an emotional home crowd behind him, BC drove 80 yards to take a seven-point lead and hung on to win 28-21.
Montel Harris had two touchdowns and 179 yards on the ground, including a 42-yard touchdown scamper down the right sideline in that final scoring drive to give the Eagles a lead. Harris also broke free for a 39-yard run when the Eagles took over with 2:16 left in the game, alertly staying in bounds to keep the clock moving.
Quarterback Dave Shinskie showed tremendous improvement under center, completing an efficient 13 of 22 passes for 211 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. His top targets were Colin Larmond Jr and Rich Gunnell, who each caught five passes. Larmond finished the game with 98 receiving yards while Gunnell had 47 and a touchdown. Smith caught the other touchdown.
Eagles fans were encouraged to wear gold for a “gold out,” while Herzlich gave a pre-game speech to help fire them up. Despite the rain — which at times came in buckets — the BC student section was full and spirited throughout the day.
They couldn’t stop FSU from charging back in the second half, however, as the Seminoles scored on a 91-yard drive to end the third quarter and on an 84-yard drive on their next possession.
The win puts the Eagles at 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the ACC. They’re currently in second place in the Atlantic division of the ACC after Maryland beat Clemson on Saturday. Next week won’t be easy, however, as the Eagles travel to Blacksburg to take on No. 6 Virginia Tech, which handled Duke 34-26 on Saturday.
The Eagles last played the Hokies last year in the ACC Championship Game, when Virginia Tech blew out BC 30-12.
