QB Dennis Grosel was sacked three times by the Cardinals. USA TODAY photo

Have to acknowledge that my headline is a variation of the headline used on today’s Boston Globe article about BC’s 28-14 desultory loss to Louisville yesterday. Either I couldn’t do better or didn’t have the enthusiasm to try.

After pasting three cupcake opponents and then beating SEC Missouri in an exciting overtime game to start the season 4-0, the Eagles were seemingly on the verge of getting into the top 25. They then went into Death Valley against a weakened Clemson team and lost. Ditto against N.C. State. Yesterday’s loss brings BC to 0-3 in conference play.

The Eagles’ defense forced four turnovers by the Cardinals — two fumbles and two interceptions. BC had three turnovers — two interceptions and a fumble — of their own, however.

It was the BC offense, though, that was offensive. The Eagles gained fewer than 150 yards either running or passing for a total of 266 yards offense. QB Dennis Grosel was 17 of 32 passing for 141 yards, averaging 4.4 yards per attempt. BC averaged 3.5 yards per rushing attempt, gaining a total of 125 yards. Leading rusher Patrick Garwo gained 86 yards on 15 carries.

Louisville had 331 yards rushing on 47 carries, with QB Malik Cunningham running 16 times for 133 yards and three touchdowns. RB Trevion Cooley ran 13 times for 116 yards. The Cardinals passed for only 107 yards total.

The Eagles opened the scoring with an eight-play, 63-yard drive on their second possession. RB Alec Sinkfield finished it with an 11-yard touchdown run. They also closed to within a touchdown in the fourth quarter, taking advantage of a Louisville fumble at their 30-yard line. Grosel passed to WR Jaelen Gill for a six-yard touchdown.

The Cardinals answered right back with an eight-play, 75-yard drive for a touchdown. BC’s last possession ended with a Grosel fumble at the BC 40 that allowed Louisville to run out the clock.

“Highlights.”

 (I failed to put up a post about the N.C. State game on October 16, which the Eagles lost 33-7. I was in Alumni Stadium for the game with a group of classmates and friends. We left late in the third quarter when the score reached 31-7 and it began to rain steadily. On Sunday, I didn’t bother to read coverage of the game in the Boston Globe or anywhere else and began a multi-day tour of the Cape visiting friends. Sorry for the omission, but it was beyond me.)

The Eagles (4-3) (0-3) go to upstate New York to meet Syracuse Saturday, October 30, at 12:30 pm PT. The Orange (4-4) (1-3) beat Virginia Tech yesterday for their first ACC win.

Patrick Garwo celebrates his and BC’s lone touchdown.

It was not certain that BC’s late drive deep into Clemson territory would result in victory. But the Eagles could have won and should have won. Instead it was another frustrating loss to the Tigers yesterday, 19-13.

With 49 seconds remaining in the game, down by six points, BC was on the Clemson 11. BC quarterback Dennis Grosel had thrown five straight complete passes to bring the team from its own 36 and the Eagles looked poised to win. An incomplete pass was followed by Grosel’s fumble of the shotgun snap from center. Grosel attempted tp pick up the ball rather than fall on it and Clemson recovered. Two kneel-downs and the Tigers escaped with the win.

Screenshot of BC’s final play.

BC’s final play was their third. and obviously most costly, turnover of the game. Grosel passes were intercepted twice. The Eagles lost possession of the ball a total of four times, but had recovered three.

They were also penalized 10 times, including three penalties in succession on their penultimate drive of the game. Having moved from their 25 to the Clemson 32, BC was called for ineligible receiver down field on an incomplete pass. The Eagles then committed two successive false starts to move back to the Clemson 47. On fourth and nine on the Clemson 31, Grosel’s pass to Zay Flowers was marked a yard short and Clemson took over.

Yesterday was BC’s third consecutive visit to Memorial Stadium, “Death Valley.” They played last night before 79,159 fans, easily the most in the last two seasons. The Tigers’ victory was their 31st straight in such friendly surroundings.

Overall, the game featured only two touchdowns and six field goals, four of them by Clemson. Halfway through the opening quarter, Clemson scored its touchdown on a 59-yard run by Kobe Pace, who had 128 yards for the game. The subsequent BC possession was a 10-play, 70-yard drive culminating in a 22-yard field goal by Connor Lytton.

After the Tigers added two field goals in the second quarter for their biggest lead, 13-3, the Eagles went on a 15-play, 58-yard drive for another Lytton field goal to close out the half at 13-6.

BC had only 50 yards offense in the first half to 123 for Clemson. No shoot out. BC’s leading running back, Patrick Garwo, had one carry for zero yards.

To open the second half, however, the Eagles went 75 yards in four plays, featuring passes of 39 and 33 yards, with Garwo running in from the three for BC’s lone touchdown and tying the score. The teams then exchanged stalled drives until the Tigers hit a 35-yard field goal to go up 16-13 at the end of the quarter. BC had the ball for less than five minutes in the quarter.

On Clemson’s second drive of the final quarter, the Tigers added a 42-yard field goal to make the score 19-13. Then BC’s final two ultimately unsuccessful possessions began.

The Eagles ended the game with 358 yards total offense, 311 of them through the air. Grosel was 23 of 40 passing, with two interceptions. After a goose egg and single carry in the first half, Garwo ran 11 times for 57 yards in the second. Clemson had 438 yards, 231 on the ground.

Video highlights of the game.

BC (4-1) has a bye week coming up, letting us stew about missed opportunities for an extra week. They play North Carolina State at home on Saturday, October 16.

Pat Garwo (24) finishes his 67-yard run for BC’s first score.

It didn’t start off well for the Eagles yesterday, playing Missouri for the first time. Returning the opening kickoff to their 28, the Tigers went on a 10-play, 72-yard drive, with QB Connor Bazelak completing 8 of 8 passes, to take a quick 7-0 lead.

Brandon Sebastian (10) runs off the field after his interception in overtime secures the BC win.

It ended much better for the Eagles, though not without significant nervousness among BC fans beforehand. The teams had gone to overtime after Missouri, starting at its 25 with 25 seconds remaining, and the Eagles ahead 34-31, was able to get into position for a successful 56-yard field goal. BC had the ball first in overtime and scored a touchdown in five plays. Missouri opted to go for it all on its first play and DB Brandon Sebastian intercepted the pass in the end zone to secure a 41-34 victory.

The Eagles open the season 4-0 for the first time since 2007.

With the teams tied at 17 at the half, BC dominated the third quarter to take a 27-17 lead. The Eagles started the second half with a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. On Missouri’s second play following the touchdown, BC’s DB Josh DeBerry intercepted a Tiger pass attempt. Sixteen plays later, Eagles kicker Connor Lytton kicked a 31-yard field goal. BC had 28 plays for 135 yards in the quarter compared to Missouri’s 4 plays for 17 yards and the Eagles held the ball for 13 minutes, 42 seconds of the 15-minute period.

The Tigers simply flipped the story in the final quarter. While time of possession was far less skewed than in the third period, the Tigers scored 17 points to the Eagles’ 7 and BC’s lead was gone.

The game, as the score would indicate, featured lots of offense, as both teams combined for 841 yards. The difference was in how each team got those yards. The Eagles rushed 49 times, more than double the attempts by Missouri, and gained 275 yards rushing, more than tripling the Tigers’ 88 yards on the ground. Mizzou threw 42 times, completing 30 for 303 yards. BC QB Dennis Grosel was 18 of 29 passing for 175 yards.

Star running back for the Eagles was redshirt sophomore Pat Garwo, who ran for 175 yards in 25 carries, including a 67-yard run to score BC’s first touchdown. Leading receiver for the Eagles was Zay Flowers, with 8 catches for 62 yards, 50 of them gained after the catch.

Here are highlights.

BC (4-0) travels to Death Valley to play Clemson Saturday. The contest against the perennial powerhouse lost a lot of its luster with the Tigers losing to North Carolina State in overtime yesterday to fall to 2-2. The Eagles play N.C. State at home on October 16.

Game time Saturday is 4:30 pm PT.