CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Florida State football survived and opened Atlantic Coast Conference play with a victory in a 31-29 nailbiter against Boston College.

The No. 3 Seminoles (3-0, 1-0 ACC) led by as many as 21 points late in the third quarter but saw the Eagles (1-2, 0-1) come storming back.

It wasn't until just over a minute left in the first half that FSU took its first lead of the game and despite holding a three-touchdown lead, a late facemask penalty on a third down stop by the Eagles bailed the Seminoles out and helped them escape with the victory.

The game was played in strong winds that gusted up to 35 mph, remnants from Hurricane Lee.

Here are our grades for the game.

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Offense: B

Jordan Travis had a good day, finishing with 15 of 24 passing for 212 yards and two scores. He did not turn the ball over or put it in harm's way.

However, after going ahead by three touchdowns with 11:20 left in the third quarter, the FSU offense was unable to get anything going. Travis was 5 for 8 passing for 22 yards, with a long of 21 in that span.

Travis sustained an injury just before the half and missed one snap.

The rushing offense also fell apart in the fourth quarter when the Seminoles needed to ice the game. Lawrance Toafili and Trey Benson combined to run seven times for 18 yards. Travis added a run of 11 yards and Keon Coleman had one rush for two yards.

For the game, FSU finished with 34 rushes for 126 yards, averaging just 3.7 yards per carry against a team that allowed 264 rushing yards and 6.8 yards per carry to FCS-level Holy Cross in a narrow 31-28 victory at home the week prior.

"There's a few things that we have to give them credit for what they were playing, trying to fit a few guys in the box," Norvell said postgame about the run game. "But ultimately, I thought we had some opportunities. We have to make sure we capitalize on those. We'll get a better sense of it after we get a chance to watch it."

Toafili had a critical fumble on a catch which led to a scoop and score from BC to cut the lead down to nine points early in the fourth quarter.

Rodney Hill led the team with five rushes for 42 yards.

Defense: D+

The simple fact is the FSU defense could not get off the field on "money downs" against Boston College. The Eagles were 8-for-19 on third downs and were 4-for-5 on fourth down conversions.

Starting quarterback Thomas Castellanos completed a 28-yard pass to Ryan O’Keefe on a third and 20 following a penalty and a sack. While the Eagles did not score on their final drive due to the defense stepping up, it showed the struggles FSU had all game on the big downs.

Castellanos added a seven-yard touchdown run on a fourth and two and a 14-yard scramble on another third and 10 backed up from his own 5.

"We just have to get off the field on third down," FSU linebacker DJ Lundy said. "The defense has to get off the field on third down. We did not get off the field on third down enough today. We have to be better at doing that."

Lundy had an interception in the third quarter and capped it off with his own touchdown, running it in as a fullback.

On the final BC drive, Renardo Green and Tatum Bethune combined for the first sack of the game for FSU. A sack by Kalen DeLoach helped seal the game.

But the negatives outweighed the positives for the defense in this one as Castellanos finished with 20 of 33 passing for 305 yards and a touchdown, adding 16 rushes for 95 yards and a score.

More: FSU quarterback Jordan Travis returns after first-half injury vs. Boston College

Special teams: B+

In challenging conditions with high winds, Ryan Fitzgerald connected on his only field goal attempt from 30 yards out and hit all four of his extra points. The kickoffs generally went for touchbacks.

Alex Mastramanno had a solid day with four punts for 178 yards, averaging 44.5 yards per boot.

But the one special teams' play that stood out was Benson not being able to field a squib kick and allowing Boston College to recover it deep into FSU territory.

"It was a good plan by them and a good, a good time and a good scheme to what they did" Norvell said of the squib kick. "We had our hands team out there, we knew there was going to be space and I told Trey to just secure the ball and get on it.

"Unfortunately it took another hop whenever he was going down. We just have to be better at executing."

Ultimately the play did not hurt FSU as the defense held Boston College to a turnover on downs.

Coaching: B-

Ultimately, the players go out there and have to make the plays. The coaching staff can only do so much to prepare the team.

During practices, it seemed like the Seminoles were ready and not going to overlook an inferior opponent.

However, FSU ultimately did not play the kind of game they needed to. The offense was solid and out-gained BC 457-340. Special teams needed to be coached up better to execute the squib kick.

But it's the defense that needs to step up after allowing Castellanos to have a big day. FSU has another tough test next week against Clemson.

Norvell, who calls the plays for FSU, had the Seminoles pass twice for incompletions on the second-to-last drive, stopping the clock and allowing BC to hold onto its timeouts.

Travis fired an incomplete pass to Jaheim Bell on first down and one to Johnny Wilson on third down. Toafili had a rush for seven yards in between.

On the final drive, FSU opted for three run calls and kept the ball out of Travis' hands to milk the clock.

The Seminoles had 12 rushes for 17 yards in the fourth quarter, held the ball for nine minutes to the Eagles' six, but were outscored 13-0.

Overall: C+

A win is a win and in December if the Seminoles go undefeated, that's all this game will be remembered as.

But the Seminoles have more work to do to be elite and not overlook opponents with another major test on the docket.

Despite the superior talent of FSU compared to most of its opponents, the margin of error is not quite as high as Georgia or Michigan, two teams still ranked ahead of FSU.

"I go to Florida State. Everyone is going to give us their best. Everybody," Hill said.

Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football report card: Grading Seminoles after Boston College win