Whether it was the Red Bandana Game magic or a look ahead trap, Florida State found themselves in an unexpected fight with Boston College on Saturday.
The Eagles challenged the Seminoles early but Jordan Travis and company pulled away in the middle eight, taking a 31-10 lead early in the third quarter. Then BC mounted a comeback, pulling within two points late in the fourth quarter. They had the ball with the chance to take the lead with four minutes to play.
FSU can breathe a sigh of relief. They got a 31-29 win and moved on with their perfect record intact. But they need to clean things up if they want to make it through Clemson.
Florida State concerns looking ahead to Clemson: No. 3 Gift-giving
The Seminoles gifted the Eagles opportunities because they didn't protect the football. Worst of all, those mistakes came when the game was hanging in the balance.
Trey Benson opened the door for the comeback when he muffed a kickoff after Boston College made it 31-16. They made it to the FSU five-yard line and could have kicked a field goal to pull three points closer but ended up failing on fourth down instead.
On the next drive, Lawrance Toafili fumbled and it was recovered for a touchdown to make it 31-22.
The ensuing drive also featured a gift in the form of penalties. On fourth-and-one from the BC 29, Kyle Morlock made the conversion, but it was called back because of offensive pass interference on Keon Coleman. The Eagles got the ball back and scored the touchdown that pulled them within two.
The lack of composure by players in key moments nearly buried the Seminoles. Making those mistakes against Clemson could be catastrophic.
Florida State concerns looking ahead to Clemson: No. 2 Seminoles needed BC to blow it
Penalties told a story in both directions on Saturday. While Florida State had a couple of costly moments, the game was littered with them for Boston College.
The Eagles committed 18 penalties. That's a school record. Multiple face mask infractions were extremely costly, including the one that allowed Florida State to run the clock at the end of the game.
Boston College had major chances to pull off the upset. With zero points on their final four possessions, not including the clock-draining final one, Florida State didn't put the Eagles away when they had the chance. They relied on the opposition to bury themselves.
If one or two bounces when BC's way, Florida State would be feeling very different right now. They went for a fourth down instead of taking points on a field goal. That's the difference in the game. They missed an extra point and failed on a two-point conversion. That's the difference in the game.
Florida State can't rely on every opponent to make those kinds of mistakes when they're working on an upset bid next time. That means every aspect of the game needs to be sharper.
Florida State concerns looking ahead to Clemson: No. 1 Mobile QB issues
Thomas Castellanos gave the Florida State defense fits with his legs. The BC quarterback rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown in addition to racking up 305 yards through the air.
Mobile quarterbacks are a problem. Most defenses struggle to deal with them. FSU in particular has issues because the Seminoles play so much man-to-man defense and when they do switch into a zone the results aren't great.
Clemson's offense is a shell of what it once was, but the Tigers have a quarterback who can be effective with his legs. Cade Klubnik will watch this tape and know he can make the Seminoles pay if he takes off and runs.
DJ Uiagalelei's running in last year's loss wasn't prolific but it did help the Tigers keep things moving.
If Castellanos found joy extending drives with his running, Klubnik will be just as capable of doing the same. FSU has to make that a point of emphasis going into the big ACC matchup.
