Bill O’Brien’s British Columbia Renaissance Ahead of Schedule | Matt Vautour

What should have pleased Boston College fans most after Monday’s 28-13 victory over Florida State — and there were plenty to choose from — came with two minutes left in the game.

With a 15-point lead and no timeout remaining for the Seminoles, the Eagles simply took a knee to wait out the clock at the FSU 10-yard line.

Most college football teams, especially the weaker ones, would try to score points and extend their lead.

While the rest of the country may have been surprised by the result, BC behaved like a team that expected to win and had no need to run up the score.

The Eagles didn’t win by accident or in unusual weather conditions. In new coach Bill O’Brien’s first game at the helm, BC went to Tallahassee and simply beat one of the top programs in the sport, notching its biggest win in a long time.

The sentiment across the country was, “What is wrong with Florida State?”

And with good reason. The Seminoles, who are suing to leave the ACC because the league isn’t good enough, have lost their first two games to unranked conference opponents. They’re eating crow with egg on their face.

But that doesn’t diminish the significance of Monday’s victory for Boston College.

It was a big deal. A road win over a top-10 team is valuable for any program at any point in its evolution. But for BC, the timing couldn’t be more perfect, as Boston College tries to resurrect its once-proud program after a long run of mediocrity. They haven’t won eight games or finished above .500 in the ACC since 2009.

In Chestnut Hill, beating Florida State will trigger tickets to be sold for September home games against Duquesne, Michigan State and Western Kentucky.

• Where to buy the cheapest tickets, best seats for BC vs. Duquesne

A win at Florida should put the spotlight on some of the top-10 recruits the state produces every year. But more importantly, in the Eagles’ locker room, it will bolster the players’ confidence in their coach’s methods. Hope and faith are great, but Boston College now has the evidence to back them up.

The Eagles’ offensive line, always a pillar of BC’s strong play, dominated a Florida State defense that was expected to be one of the best in the country.

But BC ran against it at will. The Eagles were never better than late in the third quarter. FSU had just cut the deficit to 21-13. But BC responded with a 60-yard touchdown drive, all on the ground, to regain momentum.

“They were on a roll out there. You have to have an answer to the offense,” O’Brien said. “Our guys did a good job. We ran the ball a little bit, and the offensive line really came together in that offense.”

BC now has a chance for a big year, as the schedule is well-set. They won’t face Miami or Clemson – although the Tigers may not be as good as expected after being crushed by Georgia. SMU and Virginia Tech, which were trendy dark horses, have also looked uncertain so far.

BC was fortunate that O’Brien was available when Jeff Hafley jumped ship in February. O’Brien, who did an admirable job at Penn State before leaving for the NFL, could have been a candidate at Michigan State, Indiana or Arizona had he been available in November. But all of those positions were already filled when O’Brien left the Patriots as part of the franchise cutting ties with Bill Belichick.

O’Brien’s combination of résumé and New England roots made him exactly the kind of candidate BC was looking for. But even the most optimistic Boston College administrators couldn’t have expected such a quick win.

All of which leaves O’Brien with a new challenge: ensuring his players capitalize on the win while keeping things in perspective.

“To come here against a team that really needed to win, it’s a hell of a statement for BC,” he said. “But it’s just one win. Just one. We have to understand that. We have to be able to handle success as well as we handled adversity tonight. But we’re on the right track, that’s for sure.”

Follow MassLive Sports Columnist Matt Vautour on Twitter at @MattVautour424.