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Sports

Boston College-Florida State Preview Capsule

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Boston College (1-4, 0-2 ACC) at No.12 Florida State (5-1, 2-1), 5:30 p.m. (ESPN2)

Line: Florida State by 28.

Series Record: Florida State leads 6-4.

WHAT'S AT STAKE

After stumbling at North Carolina State and dropping nine spots to No. 12 in The Associated Press Top 25, Florida State can't afford another ACC loss, especially to one of the worst teams in the conference. Boston College has yet to beat an FBS team. The Eagles only victory of the season is a 34-3 win over the Maine Bears, an FCS member. BC has given up 86 points in its losses to Miami and Clemson.

KEY MATCHUP

Florida State's ability to defend the pass-happy Eagles, who average an ACC best 306.2 yards a game through the air. The Seminoles own the top-ranked pass defense in the ACC, but have only four interceptions. They've held opponents to an average of 150.2 yards passing a game.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Florida State: QB EJ Manuel who has struggled hitting downfield receivers, including a couple of misfires that factored into Florida State's 17-16 loss last weekend at North Carolina State. Manuel is the ACC's career leader in completion percentage at 67.1 percent, but hasn't been turned loose by coach Jimbo Fisher halfway through his final season.

Boston College: QB Chase Rettig is throwing an average of 40 passes a game and with just three interceptions in 199 passes. His favorite target, Alex Amidon, ranks second in the league with 38 catches good for 644 yards and four touchdowns.

FACTS & FIGURES

Florida State placekicker Dustin Hopkins could become the ACC's and Florida State's career leading scorer in the game. He needs seven points to erase the existing marks of 393 ... Hopkins and BC's Nate Freese have each kicked nine field goals this season ... The three leading tacklers in the conference are all from BC, which says a lot about how much the Eagles' defense is on the field. LB Nick Clancy leads with an average of 16.6 tackles a game ... Florida State hasn't gone through its ACC schedule unbeaten since 2000 ... Seminoles WR Rodney Smith has caught at least one pass in 31 straight games ... Florida State now needs North Carolina State to lose a game in conference play to keep alive its hopes of winning the ACC's Atlantic Division.