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DJ Uiagalelei is already a nightmare for the state of Florida
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DJ Uiagalelei is already a nightmare for the state of Florida

Where’s Charlie Ward when you need him.

The DJ Uiagalelei era at Florida State is already in crisis mode after just two games, following a disastrous performance in Monday night’s home game against underdog Boston College, trailing by 17 points.

Uiagalelei completed just 21 of 42 passes for 272 yards with one touchdown pass and one interception in the 28-13 loss, dropping the No. 10 Seminoles to 0-2.

Florida State fans began chanting, “We want Brock,” for backup quarterback Brock Glenn before halftime after the Eagles scored to take a 21-6 lead early in the third quarter.

DJ Uiagalelei had a tough night against Boston College. AP

Seminoles coach Mike Norvell declined to say whether he would consider benching Uiagalelei on Monday or whether he would make a change for the team’s Sept. 14 home game against Memphis.

“We struggled offensively and there’s a lot of reasons for that,” Norvell said, without singling out his struggling quarterback. “Obviously everything we do, we’ve got to push and get better and that’s what we’re going to focus on. We’re going to focus on pushing to get better and putting our guys in the best position to succeed and that’s what we’re going to focus on.”

DJ Uiagalelei and Florida State are 0-2 to start the season. Getty Images

Uiagalelei came to Tallahassee hoping to take over the reins of a team that went 13-1 last season and might have been in contention for a national title had quarterback Jordan Travis not been injured.

Florida State is Uiagalelei’s third school after an uninspiring stint at Clemson that saw him replaced as the team’s starting quarterback and a solid, but unspectacular, 2023 season at Oregon State.

It appears the third time is not the charm for Uiagalelei as Florida State appears to be turning its first attempt into its biggest disappointment of the season.

Uiagalelei completed a mediocre 19 of 27 passes for 193 yards with zero touchdown passes in the surprise season opener against Georgia Tech, but completed just 50 percent of his passes Monday night.

The redshirt senior led Florida State to just two field goal drives in the first half and Florida State did not score in the final 20:19 after cutting the deficit to 21-13.

He also made two particularly brutal throws.

DJ Uiagalelei has just one touchdown pass in two games. AP

Late in the first half, trailing 14-3, he missed an open receiver that should have been an easy touchdown, and the Seminoles settled for a field goal.

Early in the third quarter, on fourth-and-5 at Florida State’s 47-yard line, Uiagalelei threw an interception with Seminole nowhere to go, setting up a Boston College touchdown that gave the Eagles a 15-point lead.

This season, Uiagalelei has thrown for 465 yards with that one touchdown pass.

Despite Uiagalelei’s poor performance, his coach was very supportive of the team’s performance.

Somehow this pass did not result in a touchdown. @MusikFan4Life/X

“For us, it’s just unfortunate how this season started,” Norvell said. “Tonight, I clearly didn’t prepare the team to go out there and respond.”