RB Turbo Richard outraces all on 71-yard touchdown run. (Barry Chin/Boston Globe staff)

On their opponent’s five-yard line, 19 seconds remaining, and down by four points, the Eagles faced the opportunity yesterday to redirect a star-crossed early season and win their first game against a FBS-level opponent. QB Dylan Lonergan had led BC on a seven-play 70-yard drive and had just thrown a pass that had been dropped at the goalline.

The chance was lost when Lonergan’s next throw was intercepted and the Cal Bears celebrated a 28-24 victory. The Cal win cemented a Bay Area sweep, as it followed BC’s 30-20 loss two weeks earlier at Stanford.

BC entered the game as the favorite and took a 7-0 lead with a 12-play, 84-yard opening drive, ending with Lonergan running for the last seven yards. Just over a minute later, following a BC interception, RB Turbo Richard ran 27 yards for a second score and 14-0 lead. Cal scored near the end of the quarter to cut the lead to 14-7.

The Eagles gained 113 yards in the opening quarter, 48 on the ground. Richard averaged just under 10 yards a carry on four rushes, including his touchdown run.

In previous games, BC scored a disproportionate number of points in the second quarter, indeed all but six of their total points, and lacked offense in the other quarters. Yesterday, the second quarter was their nadir. 

Possessing the ball for only five minutes, 20 seconds, BC gained only 46 yards in the second quarter, 15 on the ground. Cal scored another touchdown to tie the game at 14, but BC’s Luca Lombardo kicked a 52-yard field goal near the end of the half to put the Eagles in the lead, 17-14, at the half.

Neither team scored in the third quarter and BC nearly equaled their ineffective offense in the second quarter, gaining only 54 yards in the period, 29 through the air.

Both offenses lit up in the final quarter, with a combined total of 291 yards offense. The Eagles ran 17 plays for 162 yards, including 90 on the ground. Featured was a 71-yard run by Richard for a touchdown (photo at top) that quickly followed a Cal short touchdown play, brought about by the Bears’ interception of Lonergan, and gave BC a 24-21 lead early in the quarter.

The Bears responded with a nine-play 88-yard drive, climaxed by a 51-yard touchdown pass to Cal’s tight end, that put Cal ahead 28-24. And thus the stage was set for the the disappointing denouement for BC fans described in the opening of this post.

The Eagles fall to 1-3, 0-2 in conference play.

“I haven’t been able to get it done in this program, to this point, of these guys learning how not to lose before they can learn how to win,” Coach Bill O’Brien said.

Both offenses were pretty equal statistically, with BC gaining 375 yards total and Cal 372. The Eagles were much more balanced than in previous games, with 178 net yards rushing and 197 yards passing.

Cal had a significant edge in time of possession, more than 10 minutes longer than BC. That was also evident in the number of plays, as the Bears ran 71 plays, compared to 58 for the Eagles.

BC accumulated 15 penalties for 109 yards.

Lonergan was 21 of 37 passing for 197 yards, no touchdowns, and with two costly interceptions, one that led to a two-yard Cal touchdown and the other preventing a potential BC victory. Turbo Richard led BC runners with 171 yards on 15 carries, for two touchdowns. He also caught four passes for 19 yards.

WR Lewis Bond led receivers with seven receptions for 77 yards. WR Reed Harris also had four receptions for 54 yards.

Highlights (8:19)

Next up for the Eagles is a visit to 2-2 Pitt on Saturday, October 4. Kickoff is 9 am PT.

This was BC’s offensive unit at Stanford. They were on the field once and for less than four minutes in the final quarter.

“That was bad.”

It’s in quotes because it was the lede to a LA Times article about UCLA football’s disappointing performance this past weekend. After Saturday’s BC-Stanford game, it seemed an appropriate introduction to this report as well.

The unofficial Tree mascot and the official logo.

Favored by two touchdowns, the Eagles gave up two field goals to the Cardinal in the first quarter, then scored 17 straight points by the middle of the second quarter, including a 51-yard field goal by Luca Lombardo, to lead 17-6. They then allowed two Stanford touchdowns in 18 seconds within the last couple of minutes of the quarter before kicking a field goal as time expired to tie the game 20-20 at the half.

Exciting stuff. The second half was anything but exciting for BC fans. The Eagles did not score again. Stanford scored in each quarter to take a 30-20 victory. BC’s performance was ineffective in the second half, and likely historically so in the final quarter.

The Eagles ran 21 plays in the third quarter for only 59 yards, allowing Stanford to gain 86 yards. In the final quarter, BC had only one possession, for a mere three minutes, 47 seconds. Total BC offense in the fourth quarter was six plays for 10 yards. (I’d be surprised if that was not a team record for futility.) The Eagles’ defense couldn’t get the Cardinal off the field. Stanford had the ball for 11 minutes, 10 seconds, running 19 plays for 81 yards.

“I just told the team, ‘We’re all in it together. There’s no finger pointing,’” Coach Bill O’Brien said. “The coaches—we were terrible tonight. We’ve got to coach better. Starts with us, starts with me.”

Stanford scored 21 points following three BC turnovers. BC fumbled twice, including one by Turbo Richard as he tried to score a touchdown, the second time he has done so this season. BC quarterback Dylan Lonergan, who had played very well in the first two games, was at least good this game, but threw his first pass interception of the season and it was returned for a Stanford touchdown. Overall, Lonergan was 30 of 44 passing for 333 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked twice.

Overall, the Eagles gained 389 yards total offense, accruing 19 first downs. (Twelve of those first downs and 274 of those yards came in the second quarter.) BC gained only 56 yards on the ground in the game. Stanford had 399 yards total offense, with 15 first downs, but were much more balanced, with 186 yards passing and 213 yards rushing. BC scored two touchdowns in four chances in the red zone, while the Cardinal were a perfect four-for-four.

Reed Harris led all BC receivers with 141 yards on seven receptions. Lewis Bond also had seven receptions, for 47 yards, and Jeremiah Franklin gained 41 yards on six receptions. RB Turbo Richard gained 55 of BC’s 56 net yards rushing and added 83 yards in pass receptions for 138 all-purpose yards. 

Highlights (8:57)

The Eagles have a bye week this week. Enjoy the time off, Eagles fans!

Next game is September 26. Cal Berkeley, undefeated and playing at San Diego State Saturday, travels to Chestnut Hill to play BC. Kickoff is 12:30 pm PT. 

(Sorry for the delay in posting. Two 500-mile drives in four days aren’t as easy as they used to be.)

New Eagle quarterback Dylan Lonergan had another excellent game at Michigan State yesterday.

It may seem a bit unreasonable to say that the game yesterday between Boston College and Michigan State, which started with fumbles by each team in the opening four minutes, was well-played. Overall, however, two well-matched teams played into double-overtime, with the Spartans pleasing the home crowd with a 42-40 win.

And it may also be a stretch to consider a BC fumble in the first four minutes to have a significant impact, but, as the game wore on, it seemed to grow in importance. 

Receiving the opening kickoff, the Eagles quickly went three-and-out and punted to Michigan State. The Spartan returner fumbled during the return and BC took over on the MSU 39. Four plays later, sophomore quarterback Dylan Lonergan completed a pass to RB Turbo Richard, who fumbled into the endzone for a Michigan State touchback.

The Spartans then conducted an 11-play nearly six-minute drive to score the game’s first touchdown on an 11-yard touchdown reception.

Each team had the ball for 14 plays in the first quarter and time of possession differed by only two seconds. BC outgained MSU 120 yards to 74 yards, but failed to score.

The Eagles busted open in the second quarter, scoring three touchdowns, allowing MSU one. BC ran 22 offensive plays, more than double that of the Spartans, outgaining MSU 139 yards to 39. The Eagles led, 21-14, at the half.

In the first half, BC gained 259 yards overall, compared to 47 by MSU, and got 15 first downs, more than doubling the Spartans’ seven. Lonergan was 18-of-22 for 217 yards and three touchdowns. He threw to eight different receivers and completed nine passes of 10 yards or more.

“At the end of the day, coming out with the loss is really all that matters,” Lonergan said. “The win is all that we were going for. The numbers come down to the people around me and how well of a job they did to help me out.”

A different second half. The Spartans ran 36 plays for 217 yards, while BC gained 143 yards in 24 plays. MSU had the ball for almost six minutes longer than the Eagles and regulation ended in a 24-24 tie.

BC and Michigan State each scored touchdowns in their first possessions in overtime. The Eagles scored another in their second possession, but their mandatory two-point conversion failed on an incomplete Lonergan pass. The Spartans then scored and were successful on the two-point conversion.

Highlights (3:01)

BC ran 70 plays overall, gaining 457 yards, compared to 64 plays for MSU, gaining 360 yards. The Eagles had 25 first downs, Spartans 21.

Lonergan was 34-of-45 passing for 390 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. Lewis Bond again led the Eagles in receptions, with 11 catches for 90 yards. Jeremiah Franklin had eight receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown. Turbo Richard, Jaedn Skeete, and Reed Harris also had TD receptions.

Luca Lombardo was two-for-two on field goals, from 37 and 38 yards.

The Eagles gained only 67 yards rushing, on 25 carries. Turbo Richard had 55 of those yards and the lone BC rushing touchdown.

BC Coach Bill O’Brien said the running game needed improvement.

“We’re not going to be able to throw the ball 55 to 60 times a game,” O’Brien said. “I don’t think that’s a recipe for winning, so we’ve got to figure it out.”

The Eagles fall to 1-1 for the season. Next game is Saturday, September 13, against Stanford in Palo Alto. Kickoff is 7:30 pm PT.