Florida State was picked by many to lose to their long storied rival and arch nemesis Miami, but they obviously had other plans. The 'Noles stormed into South Beach and left town with a 45-17 dominating victory. The victory was the biggest and arguably the most important one of these season thus far and showed the rest of the college world that Florida State is ready to be categorized with the big dawgs of college football today. The played as if they belonged in the National spotlight and looked like one of the best teams in the country.
Now Florida State must turn their attention to Boston College who is coming off a 44-17 loss to North Carolina State. Boston College sits at 2-3 on the season and 0-2 in the ACC, but they have been known to give Florida State trouble in the past, most notably last year. In that particular contest, linebacker Mark Herzlich who was sitting out the season battling cancer made a surprise appearance announcing that he was virtually cancer free. He roamed the sidelines that day and gave the Eagles and extra dose of motivation that led to a huge victory.
This season tells a different story. Herzlich is back playing after defeating cancer which in itself is a remarkable story, but the Eagles will have their hands full. Florida State boasts one of the top defenses in the country and the Eagles have had their share of quarterback play. While running back Montel Harris is a solid back, he is the only one on offense that stands out amongst the other members of the offense.
Herzlich and the Eagles defense will have the tall task of trying to shut down the Florida State rushing attack which is averaging 223.5 yards rushing a game and is led by running backs Chris Thompson, Jermaine Thomas and Ty Jones with fullback Lonnie Pryor seeing more action. Even if the Eagles manage to contain the running game, they will still have to defend quarterback Christian Ponder, who has yet to appear as impressive as he did last season, but still must be respected.
Florida State looks to be too tough for Boston College to contain, but the Eagles have surprised in the past. Unfortunately this match-up looks like FSU will be the victor.
