BC Quarterback Mason McKenzie pressured by Duke defense, as he was most of game yesterday, in Duke 47-2 wipeout. (Ben McKeown/Associated Press)

Following BC’s stellar defeat of Georgia Tech October 24, Coach Bill O’Brien said, “The team you saw in the second half, to me, that’s our football team.” That team had scored 37 points, rushing for 277 yards, in the second half on its way to a 49-27 comeback win.

That was not our football team yesterday. Not even close.

Facing the Duke Blue Devils in Durham, N.C., BC scored only two points and that was on the return of a botched point-after-attempt by Duke following its second touchdown. (That play accounted for 100 “miscellaneous yards” in the game stats.) Inept play, errors, penalties added up to what the Boston Globe described as “by far their worst performance this season” and a 47-2 shellacking.

Was it because the Eagles were playing Devils on Halloween? I have to hope something supernatural was involved.

BC’s possessions during the game ended with, in order: a punt, punt, on downs, punt, punt, punt, punt, fumble, on downs, fumble, on downs, and on downs. The Eagles were 2 of 13 on 3rd-down conversions and 0 of 4 on 4th down conversions. They reached the red zone once.

And the penalties. So many of BC’s few positive offensive plays were nullified by penalties and Duke benefited as well, making 7 first downs by penalty. BC was called 11 times for penalties in the first half alone. The Globe reported them, in order: face mask, pass interference, holding, pass interference, unsportsmanlike conduct, illegal touching, unsportsmanlike conduct, holding, roughing the passer, offside, and illegal formation.

BC had 4 additional penalties in the second half for a total of 15 for the game and 129 yards. The total of yards penalized was greater than yards gained rushing by the Eagles (78) and just below the total they gained passing (135).

QB Mason McKenzie was 9-of-17 passing for 87 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. He was sacked 4 times. The Duke quarterback was not sacked. Backup BC quarterbacks appeared in the final quarter. Femi Babaloa was 3-of-5 for 49 yards, including a 36-yard completion. Grayson Wilson was 2-of-5 for -1 yard. Both backups were sacked once.

Duke, of course, took advantage of BC’s woeful play. Their final score was their second highest of the season, exceeding only their 62 points against FCS William & Mary. (Interestingly, Duke lost 25-28 to Georgia Tech, the team blasted by the Eagles the previous week.)

The Blue Devils scored in each period, with 4 touchdowns in the 1st half, 2 TDs in the 3rd period, and 2 field goals in the 4th. They punted twice.

Highlights (8:53)

BC falls to 4-4 overall, 2-3 in the ACC. Next opponent is Florida State on November 7, gametime 9 am PT.

QB Mason McKenzie, lower right, shushes Georgia Tech fans after he scored on a 15-yard touchdown run in BC’s 49-27 victory yesterday over Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga. (TV screen capture)

Actually the Eagles didn’t really “ramble” yesterday in dispatching Georgia Tech, 49-27. Rather than wander about, they ran with purpose, accumulating 399 yards and scoring 5 touchdowns on the ground.

It was the most points scored by BC against an ACC opponent since 2019. 

“The team you saw in the second half, to me, that’s our football team,” said coach Bill O’Brien. All but a very few BC fans would be happy with that. The Eagles scored 37 points in the second half, rushing for 277 yards in the half. 

QB Mason McKenzie ran for 2 touchdowns and passed for another, while RB Bo MacCormick III rushed for 3 touchdowns. Charlie Comella scored on a 4th quarter pick-6 and Luca Lombardo added a field goal and 3 points after.

As has been its wont this season, BC allowed the opponent yesterday to score first . . . and second. Georgia Tech opened the game with an 8-play drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown pass. After BC missed a 48-yard field goal attempt, the Yellow Jackets responded with a 9-play drive and a successful field goal to lead 10-0 at the end of the opening quarter.

A McKenzie 25-yard TD pass to WR Nedrick Bolden Jr. put the Eagles on the board early in the second quarter. MacCormack added a touchdown on a 7-yard run to put BC ahead 12-10. Both PAT attempts had failed.

Georgia Tech added a 20-yard field goal as the first half ended to go ahead 13-12. 

Halftime adjustments by the Eagles seemed to have an effect on the team’s performance. BC scored two touchdowns in the 3rd quarter (with another PAT missed) and blanked the Yellow Jackets to enter the final period ahead 25-13.

The final period could have been a typical score for previous entire BC games this year as the Eagles nearly doubled their score total with 24 additional points and held Georgia Tech to 14. After an early Lombardo field goal, McKenzie scored on a 15-yard TD run, Comella returned an interception 47 yards for a TD, and MacCormack closed out the scoring with a 19-yard TD run.

Comella’s interception and return was particularly exciting as he paused to allow his defensive teammates to form a blocking team and weaved through the Yellow Jackets to lunge into the endzone. His score made it 42-20 with 8:10 left. The teams traded touchdowns in the remaining time to make the final 49-27.

At left, Charlie Comella intercepts a GaTech pass and, at right, lunges into the endzone. (TV screen captures)

Both McKenzie and MacCormack ended the game with more yards gained rushing than the entire Georgia Tech team. McKenzie ran for 170 yards on 16 carries (10.6 yards average) and MacCormack ran for 155 yards on 20 carries. The Yellow Jackets had 101 yards rushing.

McKenzie was 9-for-17 passing for 101 yards, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions. BC’s combined offense was 500 yards, while GaTech gained 360 yards total. The Eagles were 6-for-7 in Red Zone chances, scoring 5 touchdowns and a field goal.

Highlights (11:40)

The Eagles moved to a winning 4-3 record, 2-2 in the ACC. They’re tied for 4th in the conference. 

Next opponent is Duke, at Durham, N.C. Gametime is 9 am PT. Duke is 5-2, with losses to North Carolina and Georgia Tech.

“Ramblin’ wreck” is the Georgia Tech fight song and the name of its mechanical mascot, a 1930 Ford Model A Sport Coupe. The opening line of the song is “I’m a ramblin’ wreck from Georgia Tech and a helluva engineer.”

KP Price celebrates one of his 10 tackles during BC’s 27-21 win over Pitt last Saturday.

With BC leading Pitt 27-21 late in the 4th quarter and on an extended drive toward the Panthers’ goal, perhaps to ice the game, Eagles QB Mason McKenzie’s pass was intercepted inside the Pitt 10. The Panthers had 2:12 left to try to score a touchdown and win the game.

From their 8-yard line, Pitt moved to a first down at the 20. With 1:40 left, the Pitt QB launched a long pass down the middle. It was over the Pitt receiver’s head and the ball settled into the arms of BC defensive back Charlie Comella at BC’s 33-yard line.

The Eagles made two first downs on runs by McKenzie and with 1:10 left, at the Pitt 47, McKenzie made three kneel-downs and ended the game. It was the third time in six games that BC was able to end games with kneel-downs.

The finish was delicious revenge by the Eagles, who lost 48-7 to the Panthers last season. The Boston Globe had described that game as a “new low” for the 2025 team.

The exciting and satisfying ending this year was not at all foretold by the game’s beginning. On the game’s first play, Pitt threw a long pass that was caught at the BC 33 and carried into the endzone for a 75-yard touchdown. Pitt 7, BC 0.

On the Eagles’ first possession, BC went backward, punting from the Eagles’ 20 on 4th and 15. The punt was blocked and the ball went out of the endzone for a 2-point safety. Pitt 9, BC 0.

Receiving the BC kickoff, Pitt then completed a 11-play, 55-yard drive to the BC 10, kicking a 28-yard field goal. Pitt 12, BC 0.

The Eagles finally got on the scoreboard near the end of the 1st period, as Bo MacCormack III made a 1-yard TD run to conclude a 14-play, 75 yard drive. They then took a 14-12 lead late in the 2nd quarter on a 7-play 54-yard drive following the interception of a Pitt pass by DB K.P. Price. The touchdown came on a McKenzie 11-yard pass to WR Javarius Green.

BC started the 2nd half in gangbuster fashion, not a typical occurrence this season. On their second play of the half, WR Landon Wright caught a McKenzie pass at the Pitt 35 and took it to the house for a 69-yard touchdown.

The Panthers scored two field goals in the third quarter to make the score BC 21, Pitt 18 as the 4th quarter began.

The Eagles had the ball at their 24 when the 4th quarter began. On their third play, Wright caught a McKenzie pass at the Pitt 13, carrying it to the 1-yard line, on a 53-yard pass play. RB Evan Dickens brought the ball in to make the score 27-18. The PAT was missed.

The Panthers added a 38-yard field goal to make the score 27-21, which, despite the exciting action described at the the beginning of this account, was the final score.

As the score implies, the game was pretty even. BC ran 68 plays for 398 yards, Pitt 64 plays for 392 yards. The Eagles outgained the Panthers, 295 to 193, through the air, while Pitt gained 199 yards rushing, compared to BC’s 103 yards.

The Eagles were 8-of-13 on third down conversions, while the Panthers were only 2-of-10. Pitt was a perfect 3-of-3 on red zone scores, but were limited to field goals. BC was 3-of-5 with 3 touchdowns. The Panthers were called for 13 penalties for 133 yards, the Eagles 7 penalties for 47 yards.

Pitt punted only once, BC just twice.

BC QB McKenzie was 17-of-28 passing, for 295 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 2 interceptions. He was sacked twice.

Once again, but unusual this season, McKenzie was not the leading BC rusher. Dickens and MacCormack were the leading runners, with 57 and 35 yards respectively. They each scored a touchdown.

Wright was the yardage leader among BC receivers, with 122 yards and a touchdown on 2 receptions. Green led the team in receptions with 5 receptions for 60 yards and a touchdown. Eight players made pass receptions. 

Game highlights (10:26)

BC evened its record to 3-3 overall and got its first ACC win to make its conference record 1-2.

The Eagles have the chance to get a winning record in their meeting Saturday in Atlanta, Ga., against ACC foe Georgia Tech. Game time is 12:30 pm PT.