5). QB Quinton Porter - Despite effectively spotting the Seminoles a 14-point lead with two early interceptions, the senior signal-caller bounced back and led the Eagles on three scoring drives in the first half. He made a nice adjustment on a 14-yard touchdown pass to William Blackmon and he completed several key third-down passes to his deep corps of wide receivers. Had he not gone down to an ankle injury in the third quarter, the entire game might have been different. Nonetheless Porter earns the nod for his resilience in the face of two early interceptions.
4). CB Jazzmen Williams - Aside from an early jump-ball touchdown pass against DeJuan Tribble, Florida State did not do much to exploit their wide receivers' height advantage over BC's cornerbacks. Williams had a teriffic game, as QB Drew Weatherford rarely threw to his side. He had one near interception on a deep ball and came up with a huge sack/forced fumble in the second quarter that gave the Eagles great field position, even though they couldn't take advantage of it. Williams and Tribble- despite the early TD over him- both had very solid games against FSU's receivers.
3). RB Andre Callender - Despite his counterpart L.V. Whitworth getting in the end zone, Callender had a better yards-per-carry average and had four receptions for 28 yards. He showed his shiftiness in the first half, finding holes and making defenders miss. He got only 13 carries versus Whitworth's 23 but he made the most of them. He will need to have an even bigger game against Clemson this weekend.
2). DT B.J. Raji - Anytime a defense can hold an offense with the athletes of Florida State's to 13 rushing yards on 19 carries, the guys clogging up the middle are doing their job. Raji had 1.5 solo tackles-for-losses, and according to bceagles.com he had eight assists on tackles-for-losses. Eight. He is only a true sophomore who flew under the radar during his recruitment, and his starting is a product of DT Justin Bell going down for the year. It will be hard for Mr. Bell to supplant Raji as he has become a force along the defensive line.
1). DE Mathias Kiwanuka - Big players make big plays, and Kiwanuka made a number of huge plays on Saturday night. None bigger, you could argue, than his hustle play late in the third quarter to jar the ball loose from FSU RB Lorenzo Booker at the one-yard line. Kiwanuka followed the play from 35 yards upfield and caused a turnover as the loose ball glanced off the end-zone pilon for a touchback. He also made a great bull-rush on third down for his first sack of the year; on the previous play he recorded his first TFL. He and Raji had identical lines with 1.5 solo and 8 assisted tackles-for-loss. Someone in the press box remarked that it was time for him to make his money. I'd say he did just that on Saturday night, despite the end result.