Running back Evan Dickens pulls in a 43-yard touchdown pass from QB Mason McKenzie in 25-16 loss yesterday to SMU. (BC Athletics photo)

The 2026 Eagles football team has been consistently inconsistent. Or has it been inconsistently consistent? Whatever.

In the Dallas rain yesterday, with a reported 35-45 players affected by the flu, BC took a 10-6 lead over three-touchdown favorite SMU in the first quarter. They then moved the ball, dropped the ball, committed 11 penalties, stopped the Mustangs, let the Mustangs gallop, and stumbled to a 25-16 loss. 

The Eagles scored on both of their possessions in the first quarter to lead 10-6 and then did not score until their final possession of the game to cut a SMU 25-10 lead to the final 25-16 score. On their seven possessions in between, BC ended four of them with punts, one on a fumble, and two on downs. The Mustangs scored a touchdown in each quarter, failing on three point-after attempts.

BC is now 2-10 in road games in the two-plus seasons Bill O’Brien has been coach.

Trevor Hass, Boston Globe correspondent who covers BC football, reported in his article yesterday that the Eagles are “outscoring opponents, 40-9, in the first quarter, but the opposition has a 108-55 edge the rest of the game. The Eagles have made a habit of growing weaker as the game progresses and giving up pivotal plays.”

Overall, BC gained more than 100 yards more than SMU. The Eagles ran 65 plays for 322 yards, while the Mustangs ran 62 plays for 218 yards.

SMU entered the game as the national leader in passing offense, but gained only 160 yards on 20-of-30 passing. The Eagles gained 208 yards through the air. Neither team threw an interception. BC had 11 penalties for 95 yards in the game.

As has been consistent(!?) this season for BC, QB Mason McKenzie dominated offensive production. He was 20-of-32 passing yesterday for 208 yards and two touchdowns. He also led the team in rushing with 74 net yards gained on 21 attempts. The only other BC running backs of note were Bo MacCormack III with 6 carries for 10 yards and Evan Dickens with 5 carries for 22 yards.

Dickens also led the team in pass receiving yardage with 45 yards on 3 receptions, one for a 43-yard touchdown shown in the photo at the top of the post. Javarius Green had 5 receptions for 37 yards, Jaedn Skeete 4 catches for 34 yards, and TE Danny Edgehille 2 receptions for 26 yards and a touchdown.

Luca Lombardo scored BC’s first points in the game with a successful 52-yard field goal.

There was a series of plays by both teams bracketing the end of the third quarter and beginning of the final period that were unusual, significant, and exciting. Down 19-10 in the third quarter, BC moved from their 25 to their 44. Facing 4th-and-6, the Eagles turned it over on downs on an incomplete pass. 

A holding penalty on SMU’s first play made it 1st-and-20. A 1-yard run and another holding penalty made it 2nd-and-29. An incomplete pass and another holding penalty made it 2nd-and-39. A 9-yard loss made it 3rd-and-48 from SMU’s 18. A 2-yard loss made it 4th-and-50.(!) The Mustangs punted from their 16. I can’t remember seeing any other team in that kind of predicament. 

BC returned the punt to the BC 44, where that whole mess by SMU had started. The Eagles, however, were going to have their own special mess.

Starting off with a false start penalty, BC was 1st-and-15 at their 39. Six plays brought them to the SMU 31 early in the 4th period. Pass interference against SMU put the Eagles on the SMU 17. At 3rd-and-1 on on the SMU 8, McKenzie rushed up the middle and was marked just short of the first down.

The triptych below tells the story of the next play. At 4th-and-1, McKenzie took the snap in shotgun formation and threw a pass to TE Cameron Kossman, a redshirt-freshman transfer from Florida. Kossman was very open and appeared to have a clear path to the endzone when the ball was in the air. The pass wasn’t perfect, maybe a little short, but certainly seemed catchable. Dropped passes have been a common malady for BC receivers this season and Kossman caught that malady, just as some teammates caught the flu, failing to catch the pass. Hope the freshman gets the opportunity to make it up numerous times for the Eagles.

Here are game highlights (12:06).

The Eagles fall to 2-3 for the season, 0-2 in the ACC. On October 17, they meet Pitt, undefeated at present, at Alumni Field on Homecoming Weekend.

You got next week off Eagles fans. Have fun! Men’s hockey plays Alaska Friday.

Geared up for the nor’easter. (Ken McGagh for The Boston Globe)

The weather was tough on both teams yesterday at Alumni Stadium. Virginia Tech and BC faced rain and gusting wind from an uncommon September nor’easter. Passes were harder to throw and catch, the ball was harder to hold, but what the Eagles let slip away was the game.

BC opened the 4th quarter in the midst of a 9-play, 67-yard drive that culminated in a 2-yard touchdown run by QB Mason McKenzie to extend the Eagles’ lead to 14-6. With 11:09 remaining in the game, BC then allowed the Hokies to drive 80 yards in 10 plays and tie the score at 14.

Following a punt by BC on their next possession, Virginia Tech needed just one play to take the lead. RB Jeffrey Overton, Jr., burst through the BC line and outran BC defenders 76 yards to score the touchdown and give VaTech a 21-14 lead.

The Eagles still had just under five minutes to score again, but, except for a 13-yard run by McKenzie for a first down, BC was unable to advance the ball and punted with 3:25 left. The Hokies were then able to move from their 21-yard line to the BC 37 and run out the clock with three kneel-downs.

The game’s first half displayed the impacts of steady rain and strong wind gusts. The combined total offense of both teams was 117 yards and each team punted 5 times. The first score came with 20 seconds left in the half when VaTech kicked a 45-yard field goal.

The Eagles’ punt after their first possession in the second half was returned 50 yards by the Hokies to the BC 10. BC was able to hold VaTech to a 22-yard field goal and a 6-0 lead. The subsequent BC possession featured a 45-yard run by McKenzie who also scored the touchdown from the VaTech five for BC’s first score and a 7-6 lead folllowing the successful PAT.

That’s where it stood before the dynamic events of the final quarter.

BC’s offense essentially was Mason McKenzie. The Eagles ran 61 offensive plays. McKenzie either ran or passed on 49 of them, just over 80 percent. He was 11 of 23 passing for 111 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He ran 26 times for a net 138 yards and two touchdowns. BC’s running backs ran 11 times for a total of 13 yards and there was one team rushing attempt.

Four Eagle receivers each had two pass receptions and three others each had one reception.

BC’s total offense was 261 yards, 150 on the ground and 111 through the air. VaTech gained 370 yards on 77 plays, 223 rushing. VaTech’s Overton ran for 209 yards on 25 attempts, including the 76-yard TD run to win the game. The VaTech quarterback made only 3 rushing attempts for -3 yards.

The Eagles were only successful on 2 of 13 third-down conversions. The Hokies weren’t much better at 4 of 15.

Somewhat surprisingly considering the weather, BC fumbled only twice and recovered both. The Hokies lost one fumble.

Highlights (8:14)

This was the conference opener for both teams. BC is 2-2, 0-1 in the ACC. The Eagles next play Saturday, October 3, in Dallas against SMU. Kickoff is 10 am PT.

“What can you say?” (AP photo/Mary Schwalm)

In six possessions during yesterday’s game with BC, the Black Bears of Maine gained 253 yards, scoring two touchdowns and a field goal for a total of 16 points. During the same time period, the Eagles had the ball for eight possessions, gaining 229 yards and scoring six points on two field goals.

Good thing BC already had 16 points when all that started. The previous paragraph described the final three quarters of the Eagles’ middling 22-16 win over Maine.

Evan Dickens on his touchdown run. (Photo by Meg Kelly)

The game started with the Eagles favored by 35+ points over the 1-2 Black Bears, who had previously lost to Merrimack and by 52 points to Appalachian State. BC opened the scoring on its second possession with a 39-yard touchdown run by RB Evan Dickens. They added a safety on Maine’s following possession and then a 31-yard touchdown by WR Johnathan Montague Jr. on a pass from QB Mason McKenzie to end the quarter up 16-0.

On two possessions in the first quarter, each with the ball in the red zone, the Eagles faced 4th-and-1. Eschewing field goals, they attempted runs and failed to make first down in both cases.

With 10:19 left in the game, Maine was down 10-22 and had the ball at their 20. Ten plays later, they were 3rd-and-6 at the BC 7-yard line. On the next play, Maine scored on a touchdown pass. With the point-after attempt unsuccessful, it was still only a one-score difference.

Starting at their 16 with 4:31 remaining in the game, a combination of runs by QB McKenzie and RB Dickens and two complete passes by McKenzie brought BC to the Maine 40 with 1:20 left. As he did in the previous game against Rutgers, McKenzie did three kneel-downs to run out the clock.

Overall, both teams made 18 first downs. The Eagles ran 60 plays for 359 yards total offense, compared to Maine’s 66 plays for 270 yards. BC gained 186 yards on the ground, Maine 69. Maine threw for 201 yards, BC for 173.

For the first time this season, QB McKenzie was not BC’s leading rusher. RB Dickens led the team with 102 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown. McKenzie was second, with 53 yards on 15 carries. McKenzie was 14-for-21 passing for 173 yards, one touchdown and with two interceptions. WR Montague was the leading receiver, catching 5 for 72 yards and a TD.

Highlights (9:31)

(Just noting some oddities about common opponents. After losing to UMass 21-37 and then BC, Rutgers hosted #12 Southern California yesterday in their Big 10 matchup. The Trojans snuck out of Piscataway with a 42-35 win, allowing the Scarlet Knights 460 yards in total offense. Headline in LA Times article today about game was “Not Exactly Coasting.” UMass, by the way, after losing 16 straight games since moving to the FBS, is 3-0 this season. Is BC the best football team in Massachusetts? Don’t ask the Minutemen.)

Eagles meet the Virginia Tech Hokies in Alumni Stadium Saturday. Kickoff is 9 am PT. VaTech is 3-0, with victories over VMI, Old Dominion, and Maryland.