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.

Transfer quarterback Dylan Lonergan makes debut for Eagles. Photo by Meg Kelly.

The Eagles entered yesterday’s season-opening game against Fordham favored by almost 40 points and exceeded most expectations with a 66-10 victory. Overall, BC scored its most points since 2015 and gained 555 yards total offense.

“I wouldn’t say it proves much,” said wide receiver Lewis Bond, who led the team with 11 receptions for 138 yards, “but it was a good win.”

It was the BC debut of several players, particularly quarterback Dylan Lonergan, a transfer from Alabama. Lonergan was 26 of 34 passing for 268 yards and four touchdowns, no interceptions. He was very much a pocket quarterback, attempting only four rushes for a negative three yards.

With backup QB Grayson James, starter in several games last season, adding 190 yards through the air on five-for-five passing in the fourth quarter, BC was dominantly a passing team yesterday. Overall, the team rushed 39 times for 97 yards, an average of 2.5 yards per attempt.

“We definitely don’t want to be three yards and a cloud of dust,” Coach Bill O’Brien said. “We don’t want to get into 15-play drives. That’s really not who we are. We’ll do that if we have to, but we really believe in chunk plays.”

Fordham similarly sought offense through the air, attempting the same number of passes as the Eagles (39), but gaining only 152 yards and no touchdowns. They ran 27 times, gaining only a net total of 16 yards.

Punting was often inconsistent last season. Yale transfer Shamus Florio punted four times yesterday for an average of 47 yards and had a long punt of 63 yards.

Wide receiver Jaedn Skeete was the only Eagle to score two touchdowns. Others scoring on touchdown passes were Dawson Pough, Reed Harris, and Jordan McDonald. Turbo Richard, Bo MacCormack III, and Alex Broome each scored a rushing touchdown. Senior linebacker Daveon Crouch scored on a 28-yard pass interception. Luca Lombardo kicked a 48-yard field goal.

Here are highlights (11:06).

The Eagles travel to East Lansing, Mich., next Saturday to meet Big 10 Michigan State. Game time is 4:30 pm PT. The Spartans were 23-6 winners yesterday over Western Michigan. Last year, BC rallied for a 23-19 win over Michigan State in Alumni Stadium.