Bo MacCormack III dives in to score BC’s only touchdown in yesterday’s 41-7 loss to Notre Dame. (TV screenshot)

Yesterday’s game between BC and Notre Dame had the biggest pregame spread among all the FBS contests. The Irish were favored by 29 1/2 points.

Notre Dame beat the spread. At halftime. Leading 31-0 at the break, the Irish added 10 points in the second half, while the Eagles scored a single touchdown, to finish with a 41-7 ND wipeout.

Could it possibly have been worse than the 47-2 loss to Duke two weeks earlier? In a few respects, yes. 

BC at least scored a touchdown yesterday, while scoring only 2 points against Duke on the return of a botched point-after attempt by the Blue Devils. But yesterday, the Eagles could gain only 136 yards in total offense, while allowing the Irish to gain 500 yards. Against Duke, BC gained 213 yards and allowed 382 yards.

In building its 31-point lead in the opening half, Notre Dame gained 287 yards and allowed the Eagles only 46 yards. BC “drives” in the 1st half ended punt, punt, punt, punt, fumble, punt, on downs.

The Eagles’ sole touchdown followed an interception by K.P. Price on Notre Dame’s first play of the second half. Starting at the ND 27-yard line, RB Bo MacCormack III carried the ball 3 consecutive times to score. He gained only 2 additional yards in the game.

There was not really an “ebb and flow” to the game. Notre Dame dominated throughout. They punted once in each half and went to their backup quarterback for most of the 4th quarter. The game ended with the Irish on the BC 18-yard line.

The 34-point margin of the Notre Dame victory was the 3rd-largest in the history of the BC-ND series.

BC quarterback Mason McKenzie was 8-of-21 passing for 51 yards, with 1 interception. ND quarterback C.J. Carr was 20-of-28 passing for 217 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 1 interception.

RB Mekhi Dodd led the Eagles in rushing with 45 yards on 6 carries. McKenzie carried the ball 14 times for a net 10 yards. He was sacked 3 times.

The Eagles were called 4 times for penalties, while the Irish got 9 flags.

Highlights (2:29)

BC falls to 4-6, 2-4 in the conference. Next game is final game at home. In the annual Jay Magillis Memorial Senior Day Game, BC plays Syracuse.

The BC Mac Attack. QB Mason McKenzie hands off to RB Bo MacCormack III in yesterday’s game against Florida State University. (BC Athletics photo)

After BC’s embarrassing 47-2 defeat to Duke the previous week, Eagles fans were understandably concerned about how their team would respond yesterday against Florida State.

Based on BC’s performance in the game’s first quarter, it looked as if they would respond with vigor and purpose. The Eagles took the opening kickoff and marched down the field on 13 plays to score the opening touchdown. Following a Seminoles punt, BC added a 48-yard field goal and the teams ended the opening quarter with the Eagles up, 10-0.

It was a dominating start by BC. The Eagles possessed the ball for just over 12 minutes, ran 22 plays for 87 yards, making 6 1st downs and going 4-of-6 on 3rd down conversions. The Seminoles ran 8 plays for 23 yards and had 0 yards passing, with 1 1st down.

The domination, however, didn’t last. As has been characteristic of BC games this season, the opponent overcame successes by the Eagles and Florida State went on to defeat BC 31-24.

Florida State flipped the game in the second quarter, They scored their first touchdown within the first minute of the quarter and added two more to take a 21-17 lead into halftime. Both teams moved the ball during the quarter, but the Seminoles were more effective in scoring. 

The game was tied at 24 early in the final quarter. The Eagles then couldn’t stop Florida State as the Seminoles completed a 14-play, 90-yard drive that took 8 minutes 16 seconds off the clock and brought the score to 31-24. With just over 2 minutes left, BC advanced the ball past midfield, but gave up the ball on downs with an incomplete pass on 4th-and-15. Florida State took knees to finish the game.

The headline for this post was inspired by The Boston Globe‘s description of the Eagles’ finish as they “crumbled in crunch time.”

Florida State, which ended a 12-game losing streak in away games, ended up gaining 380 yards compared to 320 for BC. Both teams were pretty balanced, with the Seminoles running for 202 yards and passing for 178 and the Eagles gaining 148 on the ground and 172 through the air.

Florida State was 5-for-5 in the Red Zone, scoring 4 touchdowns and a field goal. BC was 2-of-2 with 2 TDs.

RB Bo MacCormack III was BC’s leading rusher, gaining 105 yards on 16 carries and scoring a touchdown. QB Mason McKenzie ran for 38 yards and was 15-of-27 passing for 166 yards and 2 touchdowns with 1 interception.

Nine different BC players caught passes, including McKenzie. Javarius Green and Nedrick Bolden Jr. each caught a touchdown pass.

Highlights (9:23) (Check at the 6:40 mark for a trick play BC used to score a touchdown. Entertaining, at least.)

BC falls to 4-5, 2-4 in the ACC. Next opponent is Notre Dame, in South Bend. The Irish defeated #1-ranked Miami yesterday.

It’s worth noting that in 1993, the Eagles went out to Indiana to play Notre Dame the week after the Irish had defeated then #1 Florida State and took over the top spot in the national rankings. As time ran out, BC kicker David Gordon hit a 41-yard field goal to defeat Notre Dame 41-39. It was the only loss that season for the Irish, who finished ranked #2.

Go Eagles!

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.