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 lost its season opener for the third straight time.

Bachmeier, a true freshman, was pounded early by Florida State’s defensive front but 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.

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 held 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 a pair of field goals and Mahone then put the Broncos ahead with his plunge with 12:44 to go.