College Football Betting – Can Eagles End (3) Noles’ Title Hopes?

Boston College Eagles at (3) Florida State Seminoles (-19, 56.5 o/u)

It was the same old script for the No. 3 Florida State Seminoles (10-0, 7-0 ACC) last weekend against Miami. Fortunately for coach Jimbo Fisher and company, that script ends with a Noles’ victory.

As they have done all season, Florida State fell behind early against Miami. But they battled back in the second half to remain undefeated. At first glance, it can be hard to fathom how an undefeated, defending National Champion can be ranked behind two one-loss teams, but the reality is that Florida State is clinging to its undefeated record by the skin of its teeth while playing in a much weaker conference than No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Oregon.

This week, the Noles host another dangerous, if incomplete, team, as the Boston College Eagles (6-4, 3-3 ACC) come to town.

The bowl-eligible Eagles managed to take down then-No. 9 USC earlier in the year, and almost upset then-No. 24 Clemson, but Boston College head coach Steve Addazio knows it’ll take perfect execution to win in Tallahassee.

“These guys find a way to win and they play the best at their most competitive moments. That’s usually what great teams do,” he said. “They won the national championship and they’re undefeated and it’s their second year running. They played Auburn last year in the national title game, found a way to win.

“I’m into giving credit where credit is due, and they’re an amazing football program.”

While Addazio is all praise, the Noles have plenty of haters, nationally, who question whether they are even worthy of the No. 3 ranking.

Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher said, “When you measure this team for 60 minutes, it measures up pretty daggone good.”

Daggone good or not, this season, the Seminoles have been pushed to the limit by marginal competition, with last-minute wins becoming their forte. The fourth-quarter comeback against Miami was the third comeback in four games for Florida State.

Fisher is downplaying any comparisons – good or bad – regarding last year’s championship team and this year’s squad.

He said, “I hate comparing players and I hate comparing teams. It’s unfair. You can’t compare teams year to year. It’s like a pair of children. It’s like a pair of brothers. It’s unfair of brothers to compare because they’re different DNA. That group of guys will never play again together. This group of guys, in another two months, will never play again together.”

Getting back to the original question: can the Eagles can upset the Seminoles on Saturday? Probably not. Do they stand a decent chance of staying close to the inconsistent Noles? Certainly. Take Boston College and the points (+19).

(Photo credit: Kathy Vitulano (flickr) “Devonta Freeman dives for touchdown” [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/legalcode].)