The Boston College Eagles football team earned a convincing victory, defeating the No. 10 Florida State Seminoles 28-13 on Monday night at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida.

The team seemed to have improved and showed solid performances on both sides of the ball.

Here are three takeaways from the win.

Depth in the offensive

Boston College’s offense can be explosive, especially when led by a dual-threat quarterback. However, it’s the depth of offensive weapons that really stood out in Monday night’s game. In total, the Eagles had five different rushers (including Reed Harris’ fumble recovery) and seven different receivers. Of particular note are running backs Treshaun Ward and Kye Robichaux, who had great pass catches. The duo caught two pass touchdowns, and Ward was the top receiver in receptions (three) and yards (61). The mix of rushers and receivers on offense could make this team a threat down the stretch.

Lack of penalties

One of the main topics discussed throughout fall camp was reducing penalties, especially on the offensive line. In 2023, the Eagles had 85 penalties for 717 yards, an average of 6.54 penalties per game and 55.15 penalty yards per game. In the team’s game against the Seminoles last year, Boston College had 18 penalties for 131 yards. Now, nearly a year later, the group has had just one penalty, a catch interference call against defensive back Jalon Williams during a third-quarter punt. Despite only one game being played, the team looked very balanced and cohesive when it came to penalties.

Special teams still need some improvement

Both the offense and defense seemed to have improved significantly on Monday night. However, there is one area that still needs some work and that is the special teams. The unit had a few mistakes throughout the evening. The first was in the first quarter when the Eagles had to punt and tried to pin the Seminoles deep in their own territory, but a misstep resulted in it being ruled a touchback. The second was a botched punt attempt by Sam Candotti in the second quarter that went just 20 yards and out of bounds, which not only gave the Seminoles good field position but also led to three points. The third was the catch interference penalty in the third quarter. Of course, none of these mistakes were catastrophic or game-winning, but if O’Brien wants his team to be known as a “disciplined, tough, hard-working football team that plays well in critical situations,” these types of mistakes must be corrected before they become game-winning.