Boise St. rallies past Florida St. 36-31 behind freshman QB

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Hank Bachmeier tossed a third-quarter TD pass and Robert Mahone had a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth and Boise State rallied from an 18-point deficit to knock off Florida State 36-31 on Saturday.

In a game moved from Jacksonville to Tallahassee with an earlier start time due to Hurricane Dorian, Florida State squandered a 31-13 lead and lost its season opener for the third straight time.

Bachmeier, a true freshman, was pounded early by Florida State's defensive front for five sacks and eight hurries. But he threw for 407 yards as Boise State defeated a Power 5 team for the sixth time since the 2014 season. It was the most passing yards by a Boise State first-time starting quarterback.

And Bachmeier delivered on third downs, completing 8 of 12 passes for 136 yards. All eight completions resulted in first downs.

James Blackman had three touchdown passes in the first half as Florida State took a 24-6 lead with 10:53 left. Blackman finished completing 23 of 33 passes for 327 yards but the Seminoles were scoreless after halftime.

His third touchdown pass, a 58-yard toss to Keyshawn Helton, put the Seminoles up 31-13 with 4:07 left in the second quarter.

Bachmeier connected with Khalil Shakir on an 11-yard touchdown, Eric Sachse had three second-half field goals and Mahone then put the Broncos ahead with his plunge with 12:44 to go.

The Broncos were 8 of 8 in the red zone but settled for field goals, especially early. Sachse connected on field goals of 36, 36, 41, 26 and 30.

THE TAKEAWAY

Boise State: The Broncos scored the final 23 points of the game and the defense limited the Seminoles to just 99 rushing yards on 28 carries.

Florida State: The Seminoles couldn't sustain the first-half energy and managed just 68 yards in the second half.

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