Javarius Green signals TD on this pass in the second quarter of yesterday’s 34-15 loss to Cincinnati. The TV analysts agreed, but the referee said “incomplete.” Maybe not decisive, but certainly an important opportunity lost.
Boston College’s win streak ended Saturday in its 34-15 loss to the Cincinnati Bearcats.
That “streak” was one game long. BC ended its 2025 season with a 34-12 win over Syracuse, which had been preceded by 10 consecutive losses. The loss yesterday was much like most of the losses last year — a combination of a weak offensive line, questionable play calling, and bad luck. The Eagles ran more offensive plays than the Bearcats and gained more yards, including 138 more yards passing. Their principal deficit came in the most important category: points.
The 2026 Eagles are quite different from the previous group, which had led to some hope that their fortunes would be brighter. Coach Bill O’Brien had brought in 26 transfers as well as 25 freshmen, essentially replacing half the team. Foremost among the new players was Mason MacKensie, quarterback last season at Saginaw Valley State College, a Division 2 school. Mackenzie had been player of the year in his conference.
There were also significant changes in the BC coaching staff, including a new defensive coordinator. And O’Brien announced he, not an offensive coordinator, would be calling offensive plays.
The new personnel and coaches may make these Eagles click as a team. It just has not happened yet.
There were a series of plays in the second quarter yesterday that, if not decisive in determining the outcome, were very significant in influencing that outcome.
With the Bearcats ahead 3-0 on a field goal on their opening drive, the Eagles appeared to stop Cincinnati on their 39-yard line. With 10:37 remaining in the second quarter, on 4th-down-and-5, the Bearcats faked the punt and threw an eight-yard pass to the punter for a first down. They quickly moved into BC territory and six plays later scored on a six-yard touchdown pass to push the lead to 10-0.
After an exchange of punts, BC got the ball again on their 27-yard line with 3:36 to play in the first half. They then began a 13-play drive. At times facing yardages of 1st-and-15, 2d-and-17, 3rd-and-15, MacKenzie completed three passes and ran twice to bring BC to the Cincinnati 36-yard line. A BC penalty and incomplete passes resulted in a 3rd-and-15 at the 32.
After going back to pass on the next play, MacKenzie ran instead to his left and ran for 15 yards, out of bounds at the Cincinnati 17-yard line, and a first down. After an incomplete pass into the endzone, Mackenzie threw a pass to tight end Danny Edgehill, which is the photo at the top of this post.
Edgehill caught the pass and, just prior to crossing the goal line, had the ball knocked out of his hands. The ball fell into the end zone, where Edgehill fell on it. Well, was it a touchdown? BC players raised their arms waiting for a decision. The referee signaled “incomplete pass.”
Looking at replays, the TV announcers said they thought it had been complete and a subsequent fumble had been recovered by BC for a touchdown. The telecast then interviewed Fox rules analyst Dean Blandino.
“This should be a catch, fumble, recovery in the end zone for a touchdown,” Blandino said.
According to the review official, it was not. The referee announced that the call on the field stood and it was third down for BC. The response from the TV announcer? “I absolutely, completely disagree.”
After another unsuccessful pass attempt into the end zone, the reliable BC placekicker Luca Lombardo, who made 16 field goals out of 17 attempts last season, came in for a 35-yard field goal attempt. He missed. Multiple opportunities for points missed.
The Eagles ran 34 plays for 138 yards in the first half, with the Bearcats gaining 139 yards on 27 plays. BC had the ball for three minutes more than Cincinnati. But zero points for BC and 10 for Cincinnati.
In another unfortunate repetition of last year’s performances, the opponent opened the second half with two drives for touchdowns bracketing a six-play Eagles drive that ended with a fumble and ballooning the lead to 24-0.
BC’s first touchdown came with two minutes remaining in the third quarter. Running back Evan Dickens ended a seven-play, 75-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown run. Mackenzie added the two-point conversion to make the score 24-8.
The fourth quarter saw Cincinnati add a field goal and, following the interception of a Mackenzie pass on the BC 38-yard line, their final touchdown. With less than two minutes remaining in the game, the Eagles moved 82 yards in three plays, including a MacKenzie pass for 32 yards, to score the game’s final points on a 23-yard MacKenzie touchdown pass to wide receiver Johnathan Montague Jr.
For the full game, the Eagles ran 73 plays for 388 yards total offense, compared to 61 plays for 339 yards for the Bearcats. BC gained 24 first downs, to 17 for Cincinnati. Eagles lost a fumble and had one pass intercepted, Bearcats none of either. Cincinnati was able to score 14 points off turnovers, BC zero. Each team had seven penalties.
Yet again a somewhat unusual BC statistic repeated itself, as QB MacKenzie was the team’s leading rusher, gaining a net 78 yards on 20 carries. Dickens added another 47 yards on 11 carries.
Passing, MacKenzie was 18-of-35 for 223 yards for one touchdown and with one interception. He was sacked four times, compared to one BC sack of the Bearcats’ QB. Nine Eagles caught a pass, led by Javarius Green with six receptions for 74, followed by Brady Clough with four catches for 31 yards.
Here are game highlights (18:59).
Following the game, O’Brien took responsibility for what he said were coaching errors. Various shortcomings, he said, “are all things that we work hard at. It didn’t translate to the field, so that’s on me. That’s not good coaching, and we have to figure out how to coach it better because we see it done right in practice.”
In an article in The Boston Globe that appeared Saturday morning, the paper reported on O’Brien’s unhappiness with the current state of college football roster building. When he announced his first recruiting class in December 2024, the paper said, O’Brien had a different vision.
“In an ideal world, the Eagles would approach recruiting the way the Houston Texans and New England Patriots did when he was in the NFL. He saw high school recruiting as the draft, the transfer portal as free agency, and BC as a program rooted in recruiting and development.
“’We’re not going to be swapping 30 guys out and bringing 30 guys in,’ O’Brien said that December. ‘That’s not who we are. We’re going to develop the guys we have in our program, build a culture with those guys, and then try to [fill] where we have some needs.
“’We’ll see if it works. We have a strong belief in it and we’re going to make it work.’”
Short week for the Eagles, as they open at home Friday against Rutgers, who lost convincingly to UMass 37-21 last Thursday, the Minutemen ending a 48-year losing streak to Power Conference teams. The game is the annual Red Bandana game, honoring on the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon the memory of Welles Crowther ’99, who lost his life while assisting others in the World Trade Center to safety.
Gamewatch will be Friday, September 11 at 4:30 pm at The Corner Drafthouse, 495 Laurel St., San Diego.