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Florida State looking to get back to ACC title game

Nov 15, 2008 - 11:28 AM Boston College (6-3) at (19) Florida State (7-2), 8:00 pm EST

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Ticker) -- After becoming bowl eligible for the 27th consecutive season, Florida State now has a bigger goal - returning to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game for the first time since the inaugural contest in 2005.

The 19th-ranked Seminoles, who have matched their win total from each of the last two seasons, look to keep that hope alive Saturday when they host Boston College.

Florida State (7-2, 4-2 ACC Atlantic) is tied for first place in the division with Wake Forest but does not control its destiny. The Seminoles would lose a tiebreaker, based on a 12-3 defeat to the Demon Deacons on September 20.

Florida State needs Wake Forest to lose one of its last two conference games. The Demon Deacons play at North Carolina State on Saturday and host Boston College on November 29.

The loss to Wake Forest - a game in which they committed seven turnovers - may keep the Seminoles out of the ACC title game.

The other game Florida State may look back on is a 31-28 defeat at Georgia Tech on November 1, when running back Marcus Sims fumbled at the 3-yard line in the final minute.

Still, the Seminoles rebounded from the loss to the Yellow Jackets to defeat Clemson, 41-27, last week, their fifth win in six games.

Florida State coach Bobby Bowden won his 380th game on his 79th birthday, leaving him one shy of Penn State's Joe Paterno on the all-time wins list among coaches in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Last season, Florida State upset second-ranked Boston College, 27-17, in Chesnut Hill, intercepting Matt Ryan three times. Drew Weatherford completed 29-of-45 passes for 354 yards and two touchdowns for the Seminoles.

Boston College (6-3, 2-3), which lost to Virginia Tech in last season's ACC title game, is in somewhat of a rebuilding mode following the graduation of Ryan, the Atlanta Falcons' first-round draft pick.

With a pair of difficult road games coming up at Florida State and Wake Forest, Boston College's string of seven straight seasons with at least eight wins could be in jeopardy.

Last week, the Eagles snapped a two-game losing streak with a 17-0 win over Notre Dame. The victory allowed Boston College to become bowl eligible for the 10th straight season.

It was the third shutout of the season for the Eagles, who intercepted Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen four times.

Boston College has 18 interceptions on the season, tied with North Carolina for the lead in the Football Bowl Subdivision.