‘We have to be better’ … Big busts, third-down lapses nearly doom Florida State defense at BC

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — After a dominant second half in the season opener and then a dominant first half last week, the Florida State defense was looking to put together a complete effort Saturday at Boston College.

That didn’t happen. Not even close.

Facing a young quarterback making his second career start and a BC offense that was solid but not spectacular in its first two games of 2023, the No. 3 Seminoles gave up a slew of big plays — and an agonizing number of third-down conversions — before holding on for a 31-29 victory.

Despite entering this ACC opener for both teams as a nearly four-touchdown favorite, Florida State’s defense seemingly had no answers for BC sophomore QB Thomas Castellanos.

The Waycross, Ga., product, who actually was recruited by FSU as a running back/athlete but not as a quarterback, passed for 305 yards and rushed for 95 more. According to ESPN, he is only the fifth player to rack up those numbers against a top-five opponent since 2010.

The others were Johnny Manziel against Alabama in 2013; JT Barrett against Penn State in 2017; Kyler Murray vs. Alabama in 2018; and Spencer Sanders against Notre Dame in 2021.

“He’s a fast guy,” FSU linebacker DJ Lundy said. “He’s speedy and twitchy. He’s agile. He’s good at making you miss. We’ve just got to stay disciplined. The D-Line’s got to stay in their rush lanes, and we’ve got to tackle better.”

Those were just some of Florida State’s problem areas on Saturday.

Along with allowing Castellanos huge holes to run through — he actually racked up 121 yards on the ground but suffered 26 yards in losses — Adam Fuller’s defense also experienced several busted coverages, which left BC receivers running wide open.

To make matters worse, many of the breakdowns occurred on third-down plays — including several third-and-longs. For the game, Boston College converted 8 of 19 third downs, and Castellanos was 5-for-8 passing for 101 yards on those plays.

When asked what led to all of the breakdowns, FSU coach Mike Norvell said it was a combination of issues. On some plays, there were miscommunications on the field or from the sideline. On some others, players got overly aggressive and tried to make big plays instead of sticking to their assignments.

“That’s something that can’t happen,” Norvell said. “But got to give credit to them, their group … he (Castellanos) made plays when he had the opportunity to make them. But ultimately, we just have to be better.”

“We’ve just got to get off the field on third down,” Lundy said. “As a defense, you’ve got to get off the field on third down, and we didn’t get off the field on third down enough today.”

It wasn’t all bad for the Florida State defense, even if it might have felt that way.

After allowing the Eagles to score 10 points on their first two drives, the Seminoles shut them down for most of the next two quarters. They forced BC to punt on four of its next five drives, and the other possession ended with a Lundy interception.

“When I [saw] the ball in the air, I just had to go get it,” Lundy said.

After that interception in BC territory, Florida State’s offense cashed in to open a 31-10 lead early in the third quarter. And it looked as if the Seminoles were in full control on both sides of the ball.

Then the Eagles found a way to make three more conversions on their next drive — one on fourth-and-1 and two on third downs — to claw their way back into the game. One of the third downs was third-and-17, and Castellanos found receiver Dino Tomlin for a 52-yard gain.

Lundy, who was the only defensive player made available to the media, said many of the mistakes were caused by a lack of discipline.

“You’ve just got to trust your teammates and your brothers,” Lundy said. “We’re all brothers. So I’ve got to rely on the guy next to me the same way he’s got to rely on me. We all do our job, we’ll be good.”

The defense did come up with one huge play to preserve the win.

After Boston College took possession with 4:37 to go and trailing by two points, the Eagles could have won the game with a field goal. But on a third-and-10 from the BC 40, Fuller dialed up a blitz, and linebacker Kalen DeLoach dropped Castellanos for a 14-yard loss.

It would be the Eagles’ last offensive play of the game.

“We needed it,” Norvell said of the sack, while acknowledging that the Seminoles will have to play much better next Saturday at Clemson.

“We’ve all got to get on the same page,” said Lundy. “As long as we play together and respond, we’ll be good.”

Talk about this story with other die-hard Florida State football fans on the Tribal Council.

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