Boston College gets Florida State on Saturday with both teams stepping into a fresh chapter, even if the calendar says game nine. At Alumni Stadium, the ACC matchup carries the usual bowl-eligibility pressure, but the Seminoles arrive with an even stranger backdrop after the decision to move on from head coach Mike Norvell.
Bill O’Brien addressed that change on Tuesday, making clear Boston College is preparing for the team it expects to see on film, not the noise around it. “I think Mike Norvell is a great football coach,” O’Brien said.
“They went 13-0 [in 2023], and it’s hard to do that. But that’s the way that it is.
We all know what we sign up for, and Rick Stockstill is a great coach. I’ve known him for a long time.
I have a lot of respect for him, and we’re just going to prepare for what we see on film.”
Florida State came into 2026 with big internal expectations after improving from last season’s 5-7 finish, and the roster was built to look the part. Graduate transfer Ashton Daniels brought 4,000-yard passing experience from both Stanford and Auburn as a one-year bridge to highly touted passer Jaden O’Neal.
Lafayette transfer Dean Denobile added depth behind him after piling up approximately 7,000 yards and 50-plus touchdowns over three seasons for the FCS-level Leopards. The Seminoles also added Nehemiah Chandler to the secondary after he left South Alabama, while Mikai Gbayor and Quintrevion Wisner arrived as two of the more regarded four-star portal pickups from North Carolina and Texas.
The results, though, never matched the profile. Florida State has shown flashes on offense, but the season has kept slipping away from it.
The 34-17 win over New Mexico State included 115 rushing yards from Ousmane Kromah and 202 passing yards plus a touchdown from Daniels, yet Trey Hedden still piled up 272 yards and two scores for the Aggies in a game that stayed tight for long stretches. The next week, SMU beat the Seminoles 27-24 behind Kevin Jennings’ 400 passing yards, a number that overshadowed Florida State’s 199 rushing yards and four forced turnovers.
A 50-36 loss to Alabama followed, and even wins over Charleston Southern and Virginia did not spark momentum before road losses to Louisville and Miami and last week’s 36-24 defeat against Clemson.
Even with the coaching change and the uneven stretch, Florida State still brings one of the ACC’s more dangerous offenses. Through eight games, the Seminoles were averaging 30.6 points and 414 yards per game, leaning on a 60-40 pass-run split and quarterbacks who were averaging about 10 yards per attempt. Their spread option and direct-snap quarterback zone reads in the red zone have accounted for a huge chunk of their scoring, and their 15.3 yards per completion has helped them stress defenses that crowd the box against Daniels and a ground game led by Kromah and Wisner.
Boston College knows the challenge starts with Daniels, especially when Florida State uses him on designed runs. The Eagles’ defensive ends and linebackers will have to stay disciplined on the edge, even if they can get a similar look in practice when BC runs a comparable scheme with Mason McKenzie.
The tougher part may be limiting the explosive plays outside, where Jayvan Boggs and Micahi Danzy have both produced similar yardage on similar reception totals. With Duce Robinson out for the season, the Seminoles may lean more on Jasen Lopez or tight end Desirrio Riles underneath, while still trying to keep the red zone attack rolling.
Carter Davis said the approach has not changed for Boston College, no matter the opponent or the circumstances. “You have to treat every week the same,” Davis said.
“We just go in each and every week, ready to put in the work. No matter if we lost or if we won, we treat it all the same.
We treat wins the same. We treat losses the same.
We go and look at the film, watch it, get better, and go to work all week.”
Davis added that BC is focused on itself this week, even while recognizing the talent coming to Chestnut Hill. “We’re just working on ourselves this week,” he said.
“We’re preparing for the game like we would with any other week. Florida State is a very talented team, so we know it’s going to be a test.”
Bo MacCormack framed the game in even simpler terms. “I think we need every game,” he said.
“That’s how we look at it. We’re preparing to win the same way that we prepared to win our other games, and we’re going to continue to prepare to win every week.
It’s definitely a must-win game because I think every game is a must-win.”
Boston College and Florida State kick off Saturday at 12 p.m. at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. The game will air on ACC Network, with streaming available through ESPN’s family of Internet and mobile device apps for cable subscribers with access to the channel.
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