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Boston College's home football game on Saturday against Army is in danger of being canceled due to the government shutdown caused when Congress did not pass a spending bill to fund the government. Air Force at Navy also could be canceled.

"We have been in close communication with Army athletics officials regarding the potential impact of the government shutdown on this Saturday's football game," Boston College athletic director Brad Bates said in a statement. "Obviously our intention is to exhaust all possibilities to play the game and we will communicate the information promptly as soon as we have resolution."

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NEWTON, Mass. -- As he usually does, Steve Addazio started his weekly media session on Monday with a recitation of facts from the previous game.

The BC coach rattled off the numbers from the 48-34 loss to No. 8 Florida State -- the Eagles scored the most points they ever have against FSU, Andre Williams had the most yards by one ball carrier against FSU in three years, the defense sacked Jameis Winston four times -- before going back to the play that turned the tide Saturday.

“We left at least three sacks on the table in that game,” he said. “But also the sad part was we missed three opportunities, we had three opportunities to tackle the quarterback before he threw that pass before half-time.”

That play -- when Winston eluded multiple Eagles defenders and heaved a 55-yard TD as time expired -- was “a microcosm” of the game and illustrated the slim margin of error the Eagles are working with as they attempt to rebuild their program, said Addazio.

Make that play, bring Winston down, and the game is tied 17-all at the half with BC starting with the ball after the break. Who knows what would’ve happened then?

But the Eagles couldn’t make the play and the Seminoles did.

“When you summarize that game, did we take a step forward?” the coach asked rhetorically. “We didn’t from a win-loss standpoint, but our play definitely ratcheted up. In terms of development of the program, we needed to grow from Week 3 to Week 4, and we absolutely did that.”

Addazio also defended the play calling on the Eagles’ final offensive possession in the first half, a three-and-out on three running plays that gained just 3 yards and took only 59 seconds.

“The reality of the situation was we had been very effective in running the football with a controlled play-action game. And our thought was to see if we could puncture the runs,” he said. “The last thing we wanted to do, they’re so good in the secondary, was give them an opportunity to pick us or get three-and-out really quick because you incomplete the passes. And now there’s so much time for them to bring the ball down the field.

“You say that’s conservative? Yeah. We’re trying to manage the football game. You gotta do what you do best. And we almost were successful with that. We were one second away from that and that’s when [FSU hit] the miraculous Hail Mary throw. So I really feel very strongly that was absolutely the right thing to do in that game, in those circumstances.”

Ultimately, the Eagles (2-2, 1-1 in the ACC) are on a two-game losing streak heading into their Week 5 matchup with Army (2-3) on Saturday in Chestnut Hill (1 p.m. on ESPN3).

“Not being philosophical about it, that’s where we are,” Addazio said. “Has there been great improvement? Yes. Is there a good footprint laid? Yes. Were really positive things accomplished in that game plan? Yes. But we need to win the game.

“To win the game was really simple: We needed to make less mistakes on both sides of the ball.”

Addazio said that after such a physical game, he and the staff decided to give the players some time off before getting back on the field. They watched the game tape on Sunday and then had a day off Monday, meaning Tuesday will be the first day of on-field work to prepare for an Army team that runs the option offense to perfection, currently averaging 325.4 rushing yards a game, second in the country.

“I was still completely exhausted yesterday,” the coach said. “I know how much went into that game. Not only the preparation but the intensity of the actual game. I felt that coaches and players really unloaded on that game, so I thought it was in our best interest to handle it this way.”

Abdesmad out

The Eagles will have to find a way to stop the Black Knights’ potent rushing attack without one of their best defensive linemen.

While Addazio was still waiting for a full report on defensive tackle Mehdi Abdesmad, who had to leave the game against FSU in the third quarter with a left leg injury, he said the junior will miss the Army game.

“He had an injury to his lower leg, and I think that’s still in the process of being researched by the medical people, I don’t think the final outcome is there yet,” he said. “But he certainly is not playing this weekend. At this point I can assure you that.”

The coach called Abdesmad “arguably one of our very best defensive linemen,” and said “make no mistake, that was a really heavy price to pay for us.”

The 6-foot-7, 278-pound Abdesmad had three tackles and a sack in Saturday’s game. Addazio said he didn’t know who will replace Abdesmad, mentioning Dominic Appiah, Jaryd Rudolph, Connor Wujciak and freshman Truman Gutapfel as possibilities.

“The rest of the guys will rotate through,” he said. “A whole bunch of guys. We’ll have to roll ‘em all. ... By the time this thing’s said and done, we’re gonna need ‘em all.”

Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.

Anyone who’s been on Twitter for even a few minutes knows how much of a distraction it can be.

Now imagine you’re a high-profile student-athlete on Twitter, and anyone with a Twitter handle and Internet access can tell you exactly what they think of your latest performance, good or bad, in 140-character chunks.

Of course, Twitter is a two-way street -- giving a struggling athlete a place to vent after a tough loss. But that isn’t always a good thing, and sometimes often athletes come to regret things they post online.

That’s one reason Boston College coach Steve Donahue has implemented a no-tweet policy for his Eagles while they’re in season.

“We’ve talked about it quite a bit, from Twitter and Instagram and Vine,” Donahue said Thursday at the Coaches vs. Cancer event at TD Garden.

“You’re hip,” host and ESPN Insider Jeff Goodman quipped.

“Yeah, I’ve got a 17-year-old at home,” Donahue said, drawing laughs from the crowd.

“I don’t think it’s something that we’d all agree on, probably, but for our team I sat down our older guys and mentioned that I think we need to control it,” he said. “You can do something at this point in your life that can really affect you.

“And I think it’s my responsibility to try to help them with that, so that after an emotional loss they don’t tweet something that they regret. So our rule is that Oct. 1, they’re done with that ‘til the end of the season.”

Donahue doesn’t make players delete their accounts or anything that severe.

“They can be on it, they can read it, they can’t put ‘em out themselves,” he said.

When the other six coaches on the stage were asked if they have similar policies for social media, BU’s Joe Jones piped up immediately.

“Ours is the first day of school,” Jones said.

“Really? I’m gonna tell my guys that, they think I’m bad,” Donahue joked. “At least they can chat with their friends across the country before [the tweet ban starts Oct. 1].”

Holy Cross’ Milan Brown said the Crusaders don’t really have a policy, counting on players to use common sense. Harvard’s Tommy Amaker said the Crimson don’t have a ban, but they try to teach student-athletes the possible side effects of social media.

“We just have one rule in our program: Don’t do anything detrimental to yourself and to the program,” Amaker said.

New Celtics coach Brad Stevens weighed in, too.

“We tried to flip it a little bit,” he said, “where we talked about do nothing detrimental to the program, make sure you’re representing yourself well, understand that you can ruin your reputation in one act and also understand that when you type something it can be taken in a lot of different ways.

“Because as we all know, 93 percent of communication is nonverbal and that takes that 93 percent of it out of it. We try to say use it to be a vehicle to promote positive things that you’re interested in.”

Stevens pointed to Ronald Nored, his former Butler player and current Celtics assistant, as an example of using Twitter in a positive way.

With practice getting underway and the Oct. 1 deadline approaching, a couple of Eagles took to Twitter over the weekend to say their social media good-byes:

No more twitter until the end of the season #socialmediawithdrawals

— Drew Jacobs (@DJacobs32) September 29, 2013

Last tweet till the season is over! Gotta have focus and tunnel vision to achieve our goals! Be back on twitter when it's over #WeAreBC

NEWTON, Mass. -- Whenever he’s asked about the young players he shares the running back meeting room with this season, Andre Williams can’t help but smile.

The senior clearly likes what he’s seen so far from Tyler Rouse and Myles Willis.

“I really like the two freshman running backs,” Williams said in an interview in the run-up to Saturday’s Florida State game. “Myles has really pretty feet. I think that in the coming years, he’s going to end up being a force.”

And while his contributions in BC’s 48-34 loss to the No. 8 Seminoles falls short of earning him the label of a force, Willis certainly made his presence known.

The Conyers, Ga., native finished with just three carries for 6 yards but added three catches for 65 yards, including a 52-yard catch-and-run for a TD, and two kick returns for 89 yards, including a 71-yarder to set up a scoring chance just after the half.

Asked after the game about the 5-foot-9, 187-pounder’s impact, Williams laughed.

“Myles is a really great kid,” the senior said. “He’s got sweet feet and he’s fast. So he really gave us a little boost when he got that wheel route for the touchdown.”

On first-and-10 from the BC 48, Florida State leading 38-20, Willis lined up behind fullback Jake Sinkovec in the backfield. Quarterback Chase Rettig faked the handoff, Willis running right and up the BC sideline as Rettig drew the defense’s attention to the left side of the field.

“All week in practice we ran that play and everybody told me it was going to be wide open,” Willis said. “So when we ran the play I was surprised that I was cool, I was numb. I ran through and made the fake, got outside and when the ball was in the air, I didn’t feel any extra emotions. I just knew to catch the ball and go score.

“I was prepared for it, I knew it was going to happen, so there was a play to be made.”

The freshman made the play, coolly bringing in Rettig’s pass, then beating Seminoles senior Lamarcus Joyner to the pylon for the score.

“That guy loves football and he’s really got juice,” coach Steve Addazio said of Willis. “He brings me up. He’s got that look in his eye. I’ve seen that look in guys before. He’s a competitive guy, he loves football and he’s got talent. And I think that’s certainly a bright spot that you’re seeing starting to emerge through special teams and into the offense.”

Emerging was actually almost an issue for Willis on Saturday, as the green kick returner found himself itching to bring back every ball kicked to him -- even when he was standing in the end zone.

On one kick, fellow returner David Dudeck actually got in front of Willis before he could take it out of the paint and reminded him to take a knee.

“He was telling me, ‘Don’t be selfish,’” Willis said of Dudeck’s intervention. “That’s what he kept telling me. When you’re back there, you want to go, you want to make an impact. But field position is the most important thing. I can’t be selfish and then the next thing you know we’re at the 15 with a long field.”

When Willis got a chance to make a return to kick off the third quarter, catching the kick from Roberto Aguayo at about the BC 5-yard line, he didn’t waste it. He broke one tackle and found a hole up the right side, streaming through the mass of would-be tacklers and entering a footrace for the end zone with Joyner.

The FSU defensive back won that race, pushing Willis out of bounds after he’d sprinted 71 yards.

“I knew things like that could really shift momentum,” Willis said. “I knew if there was a play to be made, I’ve got to step up and make it, the blocks were there and it was a great play.”

Unfortunately for BC, the offense wasn’t able to convert the great field position into a touchdown, instead settling for a 24-yard Nate Freese field goal.

But, Williams said, Willis’ explosive plays sent a clear message.

“Now we know that he’s a weapon back there,” he said.

The freshman said scoring his first career touchdown in a BC loss was bittersweet.

“Today I had to give more than I ever have, definitely didn’t have to give that much in high school,” he said. “So to have that production and be able to come out and make some plays and give all you’ve got and still come out with a loss, it really hurts.”

While he knows there’s a lot of work to be done, the true freshman already has come a long way. And based on his contributions Saturday and the opinions his teammates and coaches shared about him, the future seems bright.

Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.

NEWTON, Mass. -- Steve Addazio left no doubt about it: As far as he’s concerned, there are no moral victories in football.

You either win the game, or you don’t.

Silver linings are for outsiders, for fans and media to analyze and debate.

The coach delivered that message in the BC locker room after the Eagles lost 48-34 to No. 8 Florida State. His players heard him loud and clear.

“It always sucks to lose, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing,” defensive end Kasim Edebali said. “I think we learned a lot today. Learned that we’ll fight through adversity, and that’s going to be really important for this football team in the next couple weeks. They hit that play before halftime and we came out and kept fighting.”

The Eagles didn’t lay down after halftime, after a would-be intermission tie turned into a seven-point deficit when FSU QB Jameis Winston just barely got a play off with a miraculous escape act and delivered a 55-yard TD after time expired.

BC’s offense scored 17 points in the second half, matching the total they put up on their first three drives of the game. But the Seminoles were too explosive and the lead proved insurmountable.

“We were right there,” QB Chase Rettig said. “There were a lot of good things to take from this game moving forward, but no moral victories obviously. We’ve just got to move forward and continue to work harder than we did and I’m sure we’ll see some success down the road.”

Rettig threw for a career-high four TDs against the vaunted Noles D, which had allowed an average of only 8.3 points a game coming in. But the senior also turned the ball over twice, including one for a score when he felt pressure and tried to hit Alex Amidon before the wideout was ready.

“There are a couple plays obviously in every game that can determine the outcome,” Rettig said. “We made a lot of them today, but against a team like that you really have to be perfect.”

The Eagles were far from perfect, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t do anything impressive.

BC’s 34 points are the most the school has ever scored in the series with Florida State, and is eight more than the Seminoles had allowed in their first three games combined. When BC scored on its opening drive, the 7-0 lead represented the first time FSU had trailed in a game since the second quarter of the second game (against Nevada). FSU had allowed only seven points in the first quarter all season until BC put up 14 on Saturday.

Andre Williams carried the ball 28 times for 149 yards, the most Florida State has allowed to a single ball carrier since 2010.

“I thought there were times that we had them backing up on the ropes,” senior right tackle Ian White said, “and we had to take advantage of it and get the knockout blow, but we didn’t do it.”

The Seminoles’ 21-point second-quarter rally, which included two 50-plus-yard TD throws by Winston, not only got them off the ropes but put the Eagles on their heels. And by the time they regained their footing, too many points had been scored for them to draw even on the scorecards.

Football is a zero-sum game: You either win or you lose.

But there always are shades of gray if you look hard enough at the scoreboard.

The Eagles weren’t trying to hang with the Seminoles on Saturday at Alumni Stadium. They were trying to beat them.

“You come out of that game and you don’t feel good at all because it’s all about winning,” Addazio said. “That’s all that matters is winning. But you feel like you’ve got the foundation in place of a team that’s going to battle and be tough. We have to have a great day tomorrow and we have to come back next week with the same effort and the same intensity.

“I don’t think anybody walked out of that stadium feeling like their team didn’t fight, feeling like they didn’t compete. I don’t think that’s the case.”

The Eagles failed to get the win. But that doesn’t mean they got nothing from the effort.

“We have a coaching staff that told us, ‘We’re going to take the timeouts, we’re going to keep fighting till the very end,’” linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis said. “It makes me feel good going forward for the rest of our schedule that this is the type of team that we’re becoming. We’re really finding out who we are.”

Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.

NEWTON, Mass. -- If Boston College were to have any chance of upsetting No. 8 Florida State on Saturday, coach Steve Addazio knew they needed to slow the game down.

The Seminoles’ offense was too good, with too many weapons, for the Eagles to win a shootout. To have a shot at the upset, BC needed to turn it into a physical, knock-down, drag-out affair.

And through the end of the first quarter, the home team was successful beyond its fans’ wildest dreams. The Eagles were dominating on both lines of scrimmage, getting great push on offense and breaking into the backfield on defense.

“I talked to you earlier in the week and I said every play works if you execute,” BC right tackle and co-captain Ian White said. “If you look at the first half, we executed our plays and ran the ball physically like we wanted to do. We had the game where we wanted it.”

The defense forced FSU to go three-and-out on its first possession, Kevin Pierre-Louis knocking down a Jameis Winston pass at the line of scrimmage, Spenser Rositano breaking up another pass and Kaleb Ramsey sacking Winston on third-and-10.

Then it was the offense’s turn.

Andre Williams & Co. took great advantage of their first possession, methodically running the ball down the field with power formations often including three tight ends and a fullback. And when they got to the doorstep, with a third-and-2 at the FSU 6-yard line, offensive coordinator Ryan Day dialed up play-action.

Chase Rettig faked the handoff to Williams, then looked for fullback Jake Sinkovec in the right flat. Sinkovec was covered, so Rettig looked back across the field and found tight end C.J. Parsons in the left side of the end zone for a touchdown.

But the Eagles weren’t able to sustain their physical dominance beyond the first quarter, which ended with them up 14-3. Late in the second quarter, the tide turned when FSU scored two touchdowns in the last 1:49.

The big plays, including a 56-yard TD pass from Winston to Rashad Greene and a 55-yard TD pass from Winston to Kenny Shaw, doomed the Eagles.

Asked what he would take away from the 48-34 loss, Addazio was blunt.

“That’s what’s so important in this message: I told them, ‘Don’t walk out of here with a smile on your face, thinking you got some moral victory. Because you didn’t. We lost the game,'" he said. “Bottle the feeling of what it takes to win, with the effort and the intensity and with laying it all on the line and with no guarantee that success is going to follow it. Bottle that, and you’ll win your share of games. That’s what we need to hang on to.

“Don’t let people tell you, ‘Oh boy, you played Florida State nose up.’ Who cares? We didn’t come out there to play them nose up. I heard that crap early in the media. People asking me about, ‘What are you gonna do to keep it close?’ I had all I could do not to explode. What do you think, you coach or play to keep it close? What are you talking about here? You play to win.

“We played that game physically enough to win it. We let up too many big plays and that cost us a football game. And it didn’t have to happen. I don’t care who the heck we played.”

Offense hits high

While it will probably get lost some in the end result, the BC offense had its biggest output of the season on Saturday.

“I thought we executed a great game plan offensively,” Addazio said. “We played a really outstanding team. We played one of the best defenses in the country and we had probably our, really, best offensive day in terms of the whole nine yards.”

The Eagles finished with 397 yards of total offense, 200 yards rushing and 197 passing. A couple of BC players set personal marks in the loss.

Williams had 28 carries for 149 yards, going more than 2,000 rushing yards for his career. His 2,067 yards is good for 13th all-time in BC history.

His quarterback also set a mark, Rettig establishing a career high with four touchdown passes. The senior finished 18-for-28 for 197 yards and the four TDs. He also had two interceptions, including a pass intended for Alex Amidon that instead ended up in the arms of P.J. Williams for a 20-yard pick-six.

Rettig hit C.J. Parsons for 6- and 17-yard TDs -- the first two of Parsons’ career -- both times throwing back across the formation to find the tight end. He also hit fullback Jake Sinkovec for a 3-yard score and found Myles Willis running free up the BC sideline for a 52-yard TD.

The TD catch was the first of Willis’ career. The true freshman finished with three catches for 65 yards, three carries for 6 yards and two kick returns for 89 yards, including a 71-yard return to set up a field goal.

Abdesmad injured

Junior defensive tackle Mehdi Abdesmad suffered a left leg injury early in the third quarter and left the game. He didn’t return, replaced on the line by Brian Mihalik.

“That might be one of the worst things, to see one of your teammates have to leave the field because he’s hurt,” defensive end Kasim Edebali said. “Mehdi just looked at us and said, ‘Let’s go, do this.’ That was another boost. That just got my heart fired up. I had to play for him, everybody had to play for him. We’re the BC defense, that’s what we’re about.”

Prior to the injury, Abdesmad had three tackles and a sack. He also very nearly prevented Winston’s miraculous, 55-yard touchdown as time expired in the first half, just missing the quarterback on a free rush up the middle.

Addazio said he didn’t have an update on Abdesmad after the game but said he was concerned and that losing the 6-foot-7, 278-pounder would be a major hit to the defense.

Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.

NEWTON, Mass. -- Many things go into deciding the outcome of a college football game.

There are carefully crafted game plans going in and in-game adjustments once the rubber hits the turf. There are things the teams can control (effort, execution) and things they can’t (bad bounces, questionable calls by officials).

And sometimes, there are just miraculous plays made by tremendous players.

Unfortunately for the Eagles, Jameis Winston is a tremendous player. And he made a truly miraculous (Eagles fans, read: disastrous) play to put No. 8 Florida State on top for good Saturday afternoon.

“It was devastating giving up that big play before the half,” BC coach Steve Addazio said after the 48-34 loss. “We had that kid on the ground.”

The BC offense, playing it safe, went three-and-out in its final possession of the first half, giving FSU the ball at its own 40 with no timeouts and 50 seconds to go 'til halftime. Winston was sacked on the first play, losing nine yards when Kasim Edebali came around the right end of the line and brought him to the ground.

Devonta Freeman picked up 14 yards on the next play, but the clock was ticking down. Eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two.

It didn’t seem like Winston would be able to get another play off, but somehow he managed to get his offense set and took the shotgun snap with the clock at 1.

Immediately, the pocket collapsed around him. Mehdi Abdesmad came flying up the middle, but Winston saw him and expertly side-stepped the 6-foot-7, 278-pounder.

Backup linebacker Mike Strizak came around the left side and reached for the QB, but Winston slipped him with a shove of his right arm and stepped up and to the right to find space. His eyes darted downfield and found Kenny Shaw running up the right sideline, with a step on Spenser Rositano.

Winston stepped into a throw from the 41, letting it fly just before absorbing a big blow from linebacker Steven Daniels.

Shaw leaped to make the catch over Rositano’s outstretched arms, falling to the ground just inside the right pylon. Florida State’s sideline went berserk, and the air completely went out of an Alumni Stadium crowd that had been hoping for an upset after a two-touchdown first quarter for the hosts established an 11-point lead going into the second quarter.

“It is upsetting, but we’re in a football game and we’re playing a fast, athletic team that hits big plays,” Edebali said. “When that happens, all you gotta do is come back to the sideline or come back to the locker room, make the proper corrections and keep playing. If you get influenced by that, you shouldn’t be playing football. You gotta forget, you gotta keep playing, and you gotta keep staying motivated.”

Some teams would quit when hit with that kind of body blow, coming a second away from going into the locker room tied with an overwhelming favorite only to see a superior athlete make a spectacular play to give his team a seven-point lead.

To their credit, the Eagles didn’t quit.

Myles Willis returned the opening kickoff of the second half 71 yards, leading to a field goal. When Florida State responded with another scoring drive and then another, the Eagles kept fighting even though the results they were hoping for refused to surface.

“I thought our team played with a lot of pride, a lot of toughness and made plays,” Addazio said. “But I also told them that there’s no moral victories in football. And while I’m proud of their effort -- and I really am proud of their effort -- I want them to absorb that feeling of what it takes to compete with a top-eight team in the country.

“That’s what it’s supposed to be. That’s how you play. That what goes into major college football and winning. ... Feel that, bottle that and understand that and move that forward and then those wins will come.”

Florida State ended up with 489 yards of total offense, Winston providing 67 yards on the ground and 330 yards and four touchdowns through the air. Though BC sacked him four times, the redshirt freshman took care of the ball for the most part (his one interception coming on a deflection) and the Seminoles finished plus-one in takeaways.

“He’s an athletic kid. He makes good decisions. He’s fast,” Edebali said of Winston. “But that couldn’t change our game plan. We still tried to pressure him a lot, and we did that. But he got away a couple times, broke a couple tackles and hit the big plays. We’ve gotta make sure as a defense that can’t happen.”

Chase Rettig tried to rally the BC offense, but the senior’s four passing TDs (a career high) were offset by two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown, and the Eagles were never able to get closer than 24-20 in the second half.

There were a lot of things the Eagles didn’t do and a lot of things the Seminoles did do. Ultimately, a careful observer could point to many different plays as the tipping point.

But Winston’s great escape and rocket of a TD throw to Shaw -- the QB, in a veteran move, told reporters afterward his wideout made the play happen -- is sure to stand out.

“It was kinda painful to see,” said linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis, on the sideline for the play, “because I saw the guys just hustling, grinding and trying to bring him down, and he just used his athleticism on that play and he was able to capitalize on that mistake by us.”

Winston made the play, and FSU delivered the knockout blow.

Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.

NEWTON, Mass. -- Boston College put up a fight but was clearly out of its weight class as it lost 48-34 to visiting No. 8 Florida State at Alumni Stadium on Saturday.

How it happened: BC started strong, using a 14-point first quarter to take an 11-point lead over FSU. But the wheels came off right before the half, as the Seminoles scored two touchdowns in the final two minutes, including a 55-yard TD from Jameis Winston to Kenny Shaw as time expired.

The visitors never trailed again.

The letdown meant the Eagles wasted a 28-carry, 149-yard effort by Andre Williams.

What it means: The Eagles fall to 2-2 with the loss, 1-1 in the ACC. Florida State improves to 4-0, 2-0 in the ACC, and has won eight straight conference games dating to last season.

BC has lost five straight games against top 10 teams and 11 straight against Top 25 teams.

Up next: BC will host the Army Black Knights on Saturday at 1 p.m. Last season, Army won at home 34-31 after quarterback Trent Steelman ran for a 29-yard TD with 45 seconds left.

It was one of only two wins for Army in 2012.

Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.

It might be football season, but thanks to an NCAA rule change, Steve Donahue and his college basketball coaching brethren can start working on the hardwood earlier than ever before.

The new rule states college hoops teams now can start practice 42 days before their first game, which for Boston College is Nov. 8. That means Donahue could get his Eagles on the court as soon as Friday.

There's plenty of work to be done before the season tips off at Providence.

ESPN Insider recently ranked the toughest nonconference schedules in college hoops for the 2013-14 season. BC came in at No. 4 in that exercise.

"This one shocked me, and I had to take a second look," ESPN Insider Jeff Goodman wrote. "However, there aren't a lot of cupcakes on the 13-game nonleague slate."

BC will play at Auburn, Harvard, Providence, Purdue and USC, and faces off with UConn, UMass and VCU on neutral courts.

After he heard the highlights of the Eagles' nonconference schedule at the Coaches vs. Cancer Tip-off Breakfast on Thursday morning to promote the Nov. 10 tripleheader at TD Garden -- with BC taking on UMass, BU taking on Northeastern and Harvard taking on Holy Cross -- new Celtics coach (and former Butler coach) Brad Stevens had to weigh in.

"Most of these guys need to fire the guys that are scheduling their games," he joked. "Just an FYI. Steve, I don't know about that schedule. I thought you were gonna keep going, Steve. I was like, 'Goll-y, what are you doing?'"

Donahue was asked about his team's stiff nonleague slate.

"I believe a team with an overall losing record can make the NCAA tournament now," he said. "Now that sounds crazy, but with these mega-conferences now ... "

Donahue believes some of the beefed-up conferences will be so brutal that a strong nonconference performance might be enough to boost a team with a so-so conference record into the postseason.

"When a 9-7 Boise State from the Mountain West makes the NCAA tournament and an 11-7 Virginia from the ACC doesn't, I think in my position, I gotta wake up," Donahue said. "And that's what we did. We analyzed really our schedule. ... I don't want to be 12-1 [in the nonconference] with an RPI in triple digits and then have to win 13 games in the ACC."

And then there's the entertainment factor, which can't be dismissed.

"The other reason for me is I want to attract as many teams as we can that will excite our fan base," the BC coach said.

It's not like the rest of the Eagles' schedule is getting any easier, as Goodman noted Thursday morning.

"You've got [to be], I think, finally maybe going into the year feeling comfortable with what you have in terms of talent and depth," Goodman, the event emcee, said. "And now the ACC rewards you by adding Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame. Three perennial top-25 programs."

"Louisville next year," Donahue added.

"Louisville next year," Goodman agreed, as the audience laughed, "but we won't get ahead of ourselves."

"It's in my mind, trust me," Donahue said, drawing more laughs.

"I thought you guys take it one day at a time, one game at a time?" Goodman joked.

"I try," Donahue said.

It's just that in college basketball these days, it's not always possible to focus on only the here and now. After all, there's a lot to look forward to.

Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.

NEWTON, Mass. -- Through three weeks, Andre Williams leads the ACC in rushing yards (118.67) and attempts (25) per game.

The yardage total might be skewed by the 204-yard performance against Wake Forest in Week 2, but the attempt average is real.

Williams is Boston College’s workhorse. If anyone suffered doubts as to whether Steve Addazio believes in a power run game, all they’d need to do is check the box score from BC’s first three games to be cured of them. Here are Williams’ carry totals: 23, 35, 17.

Only Virginia Tech’s Trey Edmunds has more carries than Williams in the ACC, and he’s played four games to Williams’ three.

Coming off his least productive game of the season, the 17-carry, 38-yard outing against USC, Williams figures to be a big part of the Eagles’ game plan against No. 8 Florida State on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN2).

ESPN Boston caught up with Williams after practice on Monday:

First of all, how are you feeling coming off the bye week?

Andre Williams: I feel great. It was good to have a little bit of a rest to just get our bearings and get as many people back as we can for Florida State this week.

What did the week off do for you as a team?

AW: It just really gave us an extra week to prepare. There’s so much film out there; you can only watch so much film, but with an extra week you can really get into your film study, really just game plan properly and make sure that you’ve done everything possible that you can to prepare for the game.

Did you spend any extra time reviewing the USC game?

AW: Yeah, we definitely looked at the USC game and saw where our errors were. And it really just helped us look at who we are as a team and what we’re good at. We really just were trying to harp on getting better at the things we do well.

So what were you working on last week?

AW: As a team, just being able to execute better. Leaders being able to find ways to energize the team. Momentum is a huge part of college football and we just talked about being able to fight the tide and make your own momentum. So when it is third down and you’re away, you’re not in your own stadium, and the crowd is really playing against you, how do you get in the mindset that, you know, we’re gonna make this first down? We really just gotta get better at executing.

Do you think playing at USC in your first road game will help down the road?

AW: I think it was a great opportunity. Obviously we didn’t come away with the outcome we wanted, but I think we definitely learned from it. Being in a huge stadium like that, the stadium wasn’t even full but it was still so loud sometimes it was hard to hear what Chase [Rettig] was saying even when I was right next to him. It’s a different environment when you’re in some place and the people around you don’t want you there. They don’t want you to succeed, and that’s when you really have to bow up as a team and understand that if you’re trying to get things done, the only people that are gonna help you are the people right next to you.

Did the loss at USC dampen the mood of the team?

AW: It’s only the third game of the season, and I don’t think any one game really defines your season. And it’s hard to win a game, so we just had to go back to work last week and get ready to win the next one.

Did you get a chance to watch any of the Florida State game?

AW: I watched a lot of games on Saturday, but I didn’t catch their game, though. I just have been watching tape; I saw their games against Pitt and against Nevada.

What are your impressions of the Seminoles?

AW: They’re a good team. They have some good players. Their defense is a little bit different than it has been in years past. But it’s the same type of guys, and it’s my fourth year out here and I’m sure I know what to expect on Saturday.

The Seminoles put up 54 points last week; does that put extra pressure on the BC offense this week?

AW: I don’t think it necessarily means anything to us that they put 50 points up on other people because we’re a different team. I think we have a dominant, aggressive defense and we’re going to be able to pressure them in ways other teams don’t. And on offense the emphasis is really being able to control the clock and run the football.

So do you expect to get the ball a lot and try to grind it out against this team?

AW: Yeah. I mean, I’m not a coach, but the way I see it, it’s gonna be on the offense to be able to control the clock and keep the defense off the field. To keep their team deflated and make sure we control the momentum of the game. That’s gonna be a big component to the victory.

FSU is tied for third nationally in scoring defense, allowing only 8.7 points per game. Do you think this offense can score on the Noles?

AW: Absolutely. Football is football, and everybody has guys that can excel on a certain part of the field. They have a good defense, but like I said, I’ve played this team before, I’ve played these players before and we’ve had success in the past and I think that we’re an even better team this year, so I think we can have even more success.

As it stands now, BC faces top-10 teams in two of the next three weeks. Is that daunting?

AW: I think it’s exciting. That’s the whole reason I came to BC, was to play in the ACC. I think this is one of the best conferences in the country and I’m excited when there’s talent across the field. That’s what competition is about. If you’re playing somebody that you know doesn’t really have a good chance against you, it doesn’t motivate you. There’s no real fire. And most of the time, your talent can bring you home against teams like that. But when you have to work and execute and compete at a high level, it really says something about you as a team and as an athlete.

So would it mean more to you to beat a top 10 team like this?

AW: I think it means more to beat FSU than it would to say beat Villanova or Wake Forest. A win is a win, but this is a top-10 team. That’s just gonna boost your morale, boost your confidence and it’s just … if we can pull out a win like this, there’s no reason that we shouldn’t meet our goal of getting to a bowl game because if we can beat FSU, we can beat anybody on the schedule.

Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.

NEWTON, Mass. -- It’s easy to get lost in the week-to-week scrum that is a college football season.

There are so many games, each one with so many storylines, that it’s easy to lose perspective. And when that happens, all of a sudden every game is in contention for the title of “The. Biggest. Game. Ever.”

Each week’s game is the biggest test, never mind that at the time the previous weekend’s game was also the biggest test.

So with that in mind, just what would it mean if Boston College (2-1, 1-0 ACC) can knock off No. 8 Florida State (3-0, 1-0 ACC) on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN2) in Chestnut Hill?

For Steve Addazio’s rebuilding program, quite a bit.

The Eagles have lost their past 10 matchups with ranked teams, with their most recent triumph over a Top 25 team coming Nov. 15, 2008, over (coincidentally) No. 20 Florida State. The Eagles haven’t beaten a team ranked in the Top 10 since Oct. 25, 2007, when they beat No. 8 Virginia Tech.

BC has lost four straight, and 17 of its past 20, games against Top 10 teams dating back to 1994.

If Addazio and the Eagles are able to beat the Seminoles (or, in two weeks, No. 3 Clemson) it would be a huge boost to the program.

“I think it means more to beat FSU than it would to beat Villanova or Wake Forest,” senior back Andre Williams said. “A win is a win, but this is a Top 10 team. That’s just going to boost your morale, boost your confidence and it’s just ... if we can pull out a win like this, there’s no reason that we shouldn’t meet our goal of getting to a bowl game because if we can beat FSU we can beat anybody on the schedule.”

The Eagles aren’t being unrealistic. They know where they stand, coming off a 2-10 season in 2012 and a 35-7 loss at USC in Week 3.

“Obviously it’s tough,” Kasim Edebali said. “Losing is always tough. But the coaches talk to us, the players talk to each other, you can’t put your head down. You’ve got to keep working, keep your head up and get better.”

The fifth-year senior co-captain said the Eagles are looking forward to this weekend’s game.

“First and foremost, we’re just excited,” Edebali said. “It’s a perfect opportunity. You’ve got a Top 10 team coming to your house, it can’t get any better than that.”

Ian White, the other co-captain, said he thinks the bye week the Eagles enjoyed in Week 4 helped.

“It’s a great thing,” he said. “It’s an extra week to prepare, an extra week to watch film and see their tendencies and for the coaches to get the very best game plan that they can together for us and for us to learn that game plan and give us that little bit of extra time to see what we like and what works. It gives us a little bit better opportunity to win the game.”

As a former assistant at Florida, Addazio is very familiar with Florida State from the in-state rivals’ yearly matchups. He said after practice Monday that this might just be the best FSU team he’s seen since he was at Florida.

“I’ve seen defense like this but maybe the offense wasn’t quite like this, but now [it’s] the whole package,” he said. “I think this is the most talented whole package that I’ve seen.”

Coming into the matchup, Florida State is first in the ACC in scoring average (52.3 PPG) and total offense (547.3 YPG), and first in points allowed (8.7 PPG) and second in total defense (allowing 251.0 yards per game). Meanwhile, BC is last in the ACC in scoring average (18.3 PPG) and total offense (303.0 YPG), seventh in points allowed (19.7 PPG) and 11th in total defense (374.0 YPG).

“Obviously we’ve got to play at a high level here at home and we’ve got to continue to improve,” Addazio said. “We’ve got to play with a better rate of execution. That’s what we’re working on right now. We’re really working on our execution, limiting mistakes and being crisp.

“Obviously we’re not looking to speed this game up, we’re really looking to slow this game down.”

To do that, the Eagles may lean heavily on Williams. In three games so far this season, Williams has carried the ball 23, 35 and 17 times. Coming into Saturday, the 6-foot, 228-pounder ranks first in the ACC in rushing yards (356), yards per game (118.67) and attempts per game (25.0).

If Williams can produce more on the ground against FSU than he did against USC (17 carries for just 38 yards), the Eagles may be able to control the clock and limit the chances for the explosive Seminoles offense and redshirt freshman quarterback Jameis Winston.

Quarterback Chase Rettig wasn’t interested in talking about what a win over FSU would mean. He’s just worried about getting one.

“The big thing is just executing and your guys doing the right thing,” he said. “That’s my job right now. I’m just trying to get us in the best play for each situation against their defense and try to have some success.”

For his part, Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said all the right things in his weekly ACC conference call. He praised the Eagles’ tenacity and called Alumni Stadium a tough place to play.

“Any time you have to play in this league on the road it's very tough, and we're going to have to bring our A-game, be ready to play,” Fisher said. “I know they will. They've had an off week and two weeks to prepare. We'll definitely have to bring our A-game to play, and it should be one heck of a ballgame.”

Linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis, BC’s leading tackler with 28 stops (good for eighth in the ACC), tried to put the matchup in perspective.

“We understand that they’re a good team,” the senior said. “But they’re very beatable. They’re guys just like us, they’re practicing like we do, they’re working just like us. They’re regular guys out there, they’re not some powerhouse that no one can touch.

“And we’re going to bring it to them on Saturday.”

Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.

NEWTON, Mass. -- They used to laugh at him.

Josh Keyes had so much adrenaline on the football field, he didn’t know what to do with it all.

“He just had so much energy, we used to call him the Tasmanian Devil,” fellow linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis said after practice Wednesday. “Because he’s flying around but he’s in all the wrong spots.”

Now a junior, Keyes is no longer a whirling dervish.

“Now he’s flying around and he’s in the right spots, making plays,” Pierre-Louis said. “I’m really proud of him.”

As the Eagles prepare to host No. 8 Florida State on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN2), Keyes leads the team and is tied for 10th in the ACC in sacks with 2.5.

The 6-foot-2, 216-pound backup strongside linebacker had appeared in 19 games his first two seasons, totaling 28 tackles. With help from defensive coordinator Don Brown and Pierre-Louis, whom Keyes calls a mentor, he’s begun to harness some of his energy and convert it into plays on the field.

“The defense is playing very well, we’re playing as a team,” Keyes said. “We’re getting after the ball and everything. So it’s going pretty well.”

Playing running back and corner in Chatham Central High School in upstate New York, Keyes was named New York State Class C Player of the Year after rushing for 1,721 yards and 21 touchdowns and making 79 tackles and four interceptions as a senior. He looked at BC, Connecticut, Syracuse and Temple in the recruiting process.

“I was looking at Syracuse because I’m from upstate New York, but BC was always my top school,” he said.

Keyes said he fell in love with the campus on his official visit, and he hasn’t looked back since committing.

He admitted that switching positions was tough at first.

“I played a pretty physical role as a running back, so coming in and playing safety wasn’t really a challenge because I have a bigger body for a safety and I can hit and everything,” he said. “The first few days of linebacker were pretty tough, but after that it was fine. I put on some weight over the summer and now it’s fine.”

BC coach Steve Addazio has been impressed by the flashes Keyes has shown so far this season.

“He’s an explosive guy, like KPL,” he said. “Those two guys are really explosive and you notice those are guys that can make plays for us. They can close the distance really quickly, that’s why you can get them involved in blitzes that can sack the quarterback. They have that ability. Call it quick-twitch. They hit a pass-rush move and they can beat you inside really quick.

“I think he’s very suited to play where he’s playing. I think he’s more suited to play there than in the back end because he’s a physical guy and he’s got that explosiveness. I think he’s in a perfect spot for him, as a nickel, as a SAM [strongside linebacker]. Those kind of guys that are hybrid guys, who can cover but can also come off the edge.”

Pierre-Louis, the starter at the SAM position, sees a lot of progress from his backup.

“He’s grown a lot. He’s come a long way, honestly,” he said. “Pretty much I just told him to slow down. And once he started slowing down, he started making plays out there. I keep telling him every day, if he’s able to control his body he’ll be the best player on the team, hands down.

“And I mean that from the bottom of my heart. If he was able to slow down, keep the game where he needs it to be, he’s so athletic. Most athletic guy on the team. He just doesn’t know what to do with it.”

Middle linebacker Steele Divitto called Keyes “a dynamic player.”

“He’s a great athlete and he competes his tail off,” he said. “Football means a lot to him too. He’s always willing to throw it on the line, and that’s something you really want.”

Addazio and Brown have installed an aggressive philosophy on defense, bringing pressure from all levels including the linebacker corps. After hitting a low of six sacks in 2012, change was certainly needed.

Through three games, the Eagles already have eight sacks. Keyes has more than a quarter of that total in a limited role.

“[He’s] making plays,” Addazio said. “Now, he makes mistakes too and it’s experience. But you can put him in a situation and he can make a play. He’s made plays for us. I’d like to get [Pierre-Louis and Keyes] both on the field, to be honest with you.”

Keyes has been having fun harassing quarterbacks.

“I love rushing the passer,” he said. “Speed is one of my things. When I rush the passer, it’s a great feeling. It’s something that I can do well and I really enjoy it.”

Chances are that if Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston sees Keyes sprinting around the end of the line on Saturday, a blur of maroon and gold, he won’t be laughing.

Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.

NEWTON, Mass. -- In a way, Florida State’s redshirt freshman sensation reminds Steve Addazio of a player he used to coach.

A very famous player, one who until the end of NFL training camp was attempting to latch on with the New England Patriots.

“He’s big, strong, he can run and he can throw it,” Addazio said of FSU QB Jameis Winston. “He’s a real dual-threat guy. You’ve got to tackle that guy. That guy will break tackles and keep the chains moving and then give ’em another loaded set of downs.

“It’s hard to get off the field against a guy like that. I remember at Florida we had [Tim] Tebow, it was hard to get off the field for defenses with Tebow. He could find a way on third-and-4 to move the chains and then you get another set of downs.”

Though his career is still in its infancy, Winston could do worse than be compared to Tebow, a Heisman winner and two-time national champion at Florida under Urban Meyer.

Addazio was on Meyer’s staff with the Gators, and since taking over at BC has often been asked about his former signal-caller. On Monday, though, the comparison came unprompted.

Winston, a 6-foot-4, 228-pound Alabama native, had an incredible collegiate debut as FSU demolished Pitt 41-13 in the season opener, Winston completing 25 of 27 passes for 356 yards and four touchdowns and adding eight carries for 25 yards and another touchdown.

And while he hasn’t been quite as dominant in his past two starts, it’s safe to say Winston has hit the ground running (and throwing) as he takes over for EJ Manuel, a first-round pick in the 2013 NFL draft by the Buffalo Bills.

So when the eighth-ranked Seminoles take the field in Alumni Stadium on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN2), the Eagles will be focused on containing the redshirt freshman.

“He’s a strong, fast kid,” junior linebacker Josh Keyes said. “He’s only a freshman, though, so if we get in his face and get on him he might be able to hold off a little bit and make some mistakes and we might be able to get some picks or some sacks.”

Kasim Edebali doesn’t care what year Winston is in. He just wants to make things hard on him this weekend.

“You’ve got to prepare for everybody the same,” the fifth-year senior co-captain said. “You can’t say ‘Oh, he’s a freshman, he’s a senior’ and all that. It’s just really important that we see his strengths and try to see his weaknesses and try to get after him.

“We’re going to keep playing aggressive, we’re not going to play any softer. So we’ve just got to get after him.”

After his first three games, Winston ranks first in the ACC in passer rating (210.39), completion percentage (78.1) and yards per attempt (11.2), second in passing touchdowns (eight), tied for third with just one interception and fourth in passing yards per game (239.3). With Winston under center and Devonta Freeman, James Wilder and Karlos Williams all running the ball effectively, the Seminoles rank first in the ACC in scoring average (52.3 PPG) and total offense (547.3 yards per game).

“They’re very productive on offense,” Addazio said. “You get a lot of productivity, that quarterback is playing at a high level. And he’s playing at a high level. They’re rolling in here with a lot of confidence, ranked No. 8 in the country. It’ll be a great challenge for us. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”

Add everything up, and one can’t help but be impressed by Winston’s performance to date. Addazio clearly is.

“Extremely,” he said. “I’m telling you, the guy is a really good football player. He throws it, he sees it, he can break tackles, he’s a competitor, he seems completely unfazed by whatever stage he’s on. I’m very impressed by him.”

Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.

NEWTON, Mass. -- Though they’ve played only a fourth of their 2013 schedule, members of the Boston College football team were glad to have a bye this past week. They flew home from Southern California, licked their wounds from the 35-7 beatdown that dropped their record to 2-1 and began to prep for the next test.

With No. 8 Florida State coming to Chestnut Hill (3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, ABC/ESPN2), it’ll be a big one.

“It’s huge to get our legs back,” co-captain Ian White said after practice in Alumni Stadium on Monday. “It’s just three weeks into the season but it’s still nice -- [after] coming through camp and into the first three weeks -- to get our legs back, feel fresh, get out here and bounce around a little bit.

“We got to work on all the mistakes we made in the USC game and find our weaknesses and work on them. It was a good work week. We came out and played hard, played fast all week and I think we got a lot better.”

Fellow captain Kasim Edebali echoed that sentiment, saying he thought the game week got off to “a great start” with the session Monday.

“The bye week was definitely helpful,” the fifth-year senior said. “The young guys could get better during that week, the older guys could recover their body a little bit. So we’re just fresh. We’ve got a good motor going on.”

Without a game to play, BC coach Steve Addazio said he spent a lot of time in front of the TV on Saturday, flipping back and forth among multiple matchups. Then he watched some of the coaches’ copy, to get more detail.

“We’re anxious to get playing,” he said. “You have a bye week, you try to capitalize on the bye week but you miss playing. You watch everyone else play and you’re anxious to get back at it.”

While the Eagles did use the off week to work on themselves some, stressing fundamentals and cleaning up mistakes in execution, they looked ahead too.

“I wanted to get a big jump on Florida State, so that I could back off this week,” Addazio said. “As this week goes by, I want to back off because I want to make this a very physical football game. So I felt like we need to get a lot of our work done early so that we can prepare for a real physical game. We’ve got to make it a physical game.”

Addazio said the bye week has allowed the Eagles to be a day ahead of where they’d usually be in their prep, and he was pleased with the work his team put in Monday.

“I thought we had a really good day today on defense and offense,” he said. “I thought the kids came out today really sharp and hard. And that has to happen. But make no mistake about the fact that we have to play at the highest level that we’ve played at. We have to do that.

“What I mean by that is we can’t make a bunch of mistakes. [The mistakes] just show up really awkwardly against really talented teams. Where sometimes you don’t see them against some of the matchup teams, but teams like this expose it really quickly.”

The Seminoles (3-0, 1-0 ACC) hammered FCS foe Bethune-Cookman 54-6 on Saturday, flexing their muscles a bit as they prepare for ACC play to commence in earnest with the trip to Chestnut Hill.

Led by redshirt freshman sensation Jameis Winston at QB, the Noles are averaging 52.3 points per game, good for first in the ACC and fifth nationally. They are allowing only 8.7 points per game, first in the ACC and tied for third nationally.

“It’ll be a great challenge for us and our kids are looking forward to it,” Addazio said. “We’ve got a great attitude. We had a great bye week, very physical. We’re anxious to get going.”

Injury report
Addazio said that defensive lineman Nick Lifka and fullback Jake Sinkovec are both making progress in their recovery from injury.

“Those are two good guys,” he said. “Sinkovec will be ready to go this week. I think Lifka might still be one week away but almost ready to roll, which is great.”

The time off also helped backup strongside linebacker Josh Keyes recover from an injury suffered in the USC game, a muscle spasm in his neck.

“The bye week allowed us to shut him down a little bit and get him ready,” Addazio said, “because had we had to turn that thing back around that would’ve been hard.”

Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.

His team banged up, the momentum of a 2-0 start blunted by a 35-7 loss to USC in Los Angeles this past weekend, Boston College coach Steve Addazio said this bye week couldn’t have come at a better time for the Eagles.

“We're disappointed,” Addazio said Wednesday, according to a transcript of his weekly ACC conference call with reporters. “We felt like we could have played better for sure, and our focus right now in the bye week is to concentrate on fundamentals, concentrate on really being exact in our execution and really fitting exactly to our personnel the best that we can, maximizing ourselves on both sides of the ball.

“We're getting ready to play a great Florida State team that's very, very talented and will be a great challenge for us. But certainly those challenges are what drive you.”

BC (2-1, 1-0 ACC) struggled on both sides of the ball against the Trojans, giving up 521 yards of total offense while mustering only 184. With only 7 points against USC, BC’s scoring average fell from 24 points per game after Week 2 to 18.3 PPG, which is good for 106th nationally.

“We didn't really have a great opportunity to get going offensively,” Addazio said. “We had some moments, but we really only had 21 snaps in the first half, and our average starting position for the game was around the 21-yard line, so it was quite a bit of the long field.

“On defense we struggled getting off the field and didn't feel like we played great as a team, complementing each other, but there were moments there that you saw some more of the progress. But when you play a good team, you have to play much more consistently and execute at a much higher level against a very, very talented team, especially on the road in California.”

The Eagles weren’t able to do that, and now that they have picked through the USC game film their job is to find a way to turn negatives into positives in the future.

With the first of two open dates this season on Saturday, Addazio and the Eagles can spend extra time preparing for their next opponent, No. 8 Florida State. The 2-0 Seminoles host FCS foe Bethune-Cookman at Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday (6 p.m. ET).

The Eagles’ plan for the week is designed to give the team a head start on prepping for the Seminoles’ visit.

“We started today,” Addazio said Wednesday. “We'll be working tomorrow, and then Friday is like a game-week Tuesday for us. We wanted to have a really good, physical, hard-nosed, first-second down, full-padded, go-get-it deal on Friday, so that puts us one day up.”

And while he said the Eagles will have an added focus on fundamentals this week, Addazio made it clear they won’t only be working on themselves.

“We're working on Florida State,” Addazio said, “but what we're paying attention to is our fundamentals and our execution level in practice, and really getting a higher level of attention to detail in practice because I am just a big believer that what you see on that practice field is ultimately what you'll see on Saturday.

“When you play really talented teams, the mistakes that you make get magnified, and they get hidden sometimes when a team is a matchup team. But when a team has got great talent, those same mistakes, they come at you like gangbusters. We've got to eliminate those errors, whether they be mental or whether they be physical. We've got to play at a much higher level of execution because the margin for error is very, very small.”

Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.