How bad was it?
Early in the second quarter of last night’s game against Florida State at Alumni Stadium, Boston College had run 14 plays and compiled minus-2 yards in total offense.
How bad was it?
Rolandan “Deuce’’ Finch, who ran for a career-high 243 yards in last week’s 28-17 win over Maryland, carried 12 times in the first half for 5 yards and fumbled twice, at the BC 7 and the Florida State 2. Overall, Finch was limited to 59 yards on 28 carries.
How bad was it?
Quarterback Chase Rettig was so ineffective he was replaced by Josh Bordner, a redshirt freshman who had enrolled with Rettig in the winter of 2010. Making his BC debut midway through the second quarter, Bordner led the Eagles to their initial first down and took the offense to the doorstep of the end zone before Finch fumbled the ball away.
Advertisement
How bad was it?
Florida State built a 28-0 first-half lead by outgaining BC, 214-16, and then coasted to its fourth straight victory, 38-7.
The loss officially eliminated the Eagles (2-7, 1-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) from bowl consideration, ending a 12-year run in the postseason. Florida State (6-3, 4-2) qualified for a bowl game for 30th consecutive season.
Although the Eagles did show some signs of life at the start of the third quarter, it was not nearly enough before 38,729 fans and the prime-time TV audience on ESPN.
“We got licked,’’ said BC coach Frank Spaziani, who said his decision to change quarterbacks in the first half was not one of desperation, but of necessity.
“We were having trouble blocking them and trouble protecting [the quarterback],’’ said Spaziani. “We couldn’t make a first down, we couldn’t get out of our own way there for a bit.’’
The Eagles had to try something because nothing was working offensively, and the mistakes they made were turned into points in rapid fashion by the Seminoles.
Advertisement
“We’re disappointed we lost,’’ said Spaziani. “We had a lot of goals that disappeared this year. We’re disappointed, but we’re not discouraged. We know exactly who we are and where we have to go.’’
For the second consecutive week, the Eagles turned the ball over four times.
“When you are playing a team like that caliber, we have to play error-free football. We have to be darn near perfect,’’ said Spaziani.
The Eagles were far from perfect.
“That’s a real good football team,’’ said Spaziani. “But we’ll move forward from this and build on it. The season is not over.’’
“No one is going to quit,’’ said middle linebacker Luke Kuechly, who finished with 20 tackles, his 31st straight game in double figures. “We’re all going to try and win every game.’’
That enthusiasm was overshadowed by the disappointment in the Eagles’ locker room.
“It’s frustrating,’’ said Kuechly. “We had a good game plan going in. We knew what they were going to do even when they were running and having success with that. We were inconsistent. We came out in the first series, played well, and then [again] at points in the second half. But we couldn’t put it all together. It needs to be consistent every series.’’
The inconsistency was especially prevalent in the running game. Finch never got on track and the fumbles were costly.
Advertisement
“It’s frustrating that we lost, but all we can do is come out and get ready for N.C. State,’’ said Finch. “Florida State is a really good team. I think it was one of the best defenses we faced.’’
Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher expected as much from his unit.
“Our defense was very dominant from start to finish,’’ he said. “They controlled the run very well. They created a lot of turnovers.’’
The Eagles finally showed a spark at the start of the second half when they converted a fumble by Florida State quarterback E.J. Manuel into their only touchdown.
But that only made the score 28-7, and the Seminoles never let up enough to give the Eagles even a remote chance of getting back into the game.
“Our guys are playing hard,’’ said Spaziani. “Our guys are working hard. We’re trying to do it the right way. The success isn’t as obvious in wins and losses as everybody would want, but it will come, the sooner the better.’’
Mark Blaudschun can be reached at blaudschun@globe.com.