There were lamentations, cries and moans of despair, and, finally, a sense of resignation too early that hopes for a winning football season had died.

At least that’s what happened at the local gamewatch.

I suspect it happened something like that for many in Alumni Stadium yesterday, watching #18 Wake Forest throttle the Eagles, 41-10. BC finished the regular season 6-6, 2-6 in ACC play.

Coach Jeff Hafley had spoken after the previous week’s loss to Florida State and during the week prior to yesterday’s game that the Eagles had to start games with more energy. They didn’t do so yesterday. And, with BC failing to make a first down in the second half, it could be argued the Eagles never got started.

It should be noted that there were reports in the media last week that 15 BC players were showing symptoms of the flu. None of them tested positive for COVID-19. The Boston Globe reported post-game that 32 players, including QB Phil Jurkovec, had shown flu symptoms and that 10 did not play yesterday. It also reported that Hafley believed some players’ execution of plays had been influenced by their conditions.

The Demon Deacons took a 14-0 lead with touchdowns drives in two of their first four possessions. Their second touchdown drive took only three plays, ending with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Wake QB Sam Hartman.

BC, or perhaps better said Jurkovec, responded on its next possession. Jurkovec rushed for 28 yards and later 10 yards before throwing a 15-yard touchdown to TE Trae Barry to make the score 14-7.

The teams traded field goals to make the score 17-10 before Wake added a touchdown with 10 seconds left in the half. Teams went to the locker rooms with the Deacons ahead 24-10.

For the first half, BC gained 157 yards rushing, exceeding Wake’s 67 yards on the ground. Passing (passing?), Jurkovec was three of seven for 19 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Wake’s Hartman was 16 of 25 for 186 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.

After receiving the second half kickoff. the Eagles started off with an incomplete pass. Natch. Then came the most exciting play of the day for BC fans . . . and it didn’t count.

Speedster WR Zay Flowers took the ball on a double reverse and then weaved his way through Wake Forest defenders for 73 yards and a touchdown. Flag. A very questionable call against Jurkovec for an alleged illegal blindside block right as Flowers ran to the right. No touchdown. Fifteen-yard penalty.

The rest of the second half took five hours . . . it seemed. Remember, no first downs for BC. Wake Forest scored another 17 points. Whatever.

The Eagles had a total offense of 182 yards, less than half of Wake’s 413. Wake also more than doubled the number of plays, 86, to BC’s 41.

One thing I remember flu doing, to me anyway, was draining your energy. That second half, particularly, showed what seemed to be a de-energized BC team.

Highlights:

UPDATE: Shout-out to sophomore RB Patrick Garwo. His 65 yards rushing on 11 carries yesterday brought his season total to 1,045 yards. He is the 19th BC player ever to rush for 1,000 yards or more in a season.

The Eagles, and their fans, now await learning to what bowl game BC will be assigned.

We’ll be looking at Hockey Beanpot and possible NCAA tournament appearances for other potential gamewatches. Note, BC will begin to defend its NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship in late winter.

The Eagles dug themselves a 26-3 hole against Florida State yesterday with disjointed, sluggish play in the first 38 minutes of the game. Somehow the switch was flipped after the Seminoles scored their final points on the opening drive of the second half, but BC’s 20 straight points within 20 minutes were not enough. Final: Florida State 26, BC 23.

Statistics for the first half were not available in the post-game packet, but the Eagles were bad. Total offense for the half was fewer than 100 yards. The Seminoles scored every way possible — touchdown, point after, field goal, and safety — to go up 19-3. Receiving the second half kickoff, Florida State took seven plays to cover 75 yards and to score.

“We started off slow and flat,” BC quarterback Phil Jurkovec said in the Boston Globe. “I’m not sure exactly why. We just didn’t have energy.” The Globe also quoted BC coach Jeff Hafley: “Trust me, I’m definitely still very angry about losing this game, but our guys fought back. We just need to start faster.”

Following the Florida State score to open the second half, BC’s next three possessions were drives of 46, 90, and 50 yards to score three touchdowns. A two-point point-after failed on the last score.

The Eagles even got the ball back with eight minutes remaining, down by three. A 14-play drive brought them to the FSU 37, but a pass interception gave the ball back to the Seminoles, who were able to run out the final 1:42.

BC ended with 318 yards total offense, 170 rushing and 148 through the air. Jurkovec was 10 of 24 passing with one touchdown and one interception. WR Zay Flowers had three catches for 92 yards and a touchdown. RB Patrick Garwo gained 71 yards on 24 carries, while Jurkovec added 59 yards on the ground.

Florida State had 365 yards total offense, 251 of them passing.

Highlights:

The Eagles fell to 6-5 for the season, 2-5 in conference play. They meet Wake Forest (9-2) (6-1) in the regular season finale Saturday, November 27, in Alumni Stadium at 9 am PT.

Previous win by the Eagles wasn’t a fluke!

Quarterback Phil Jurkovec continued BC’s comeback from a tepid start in conference play by accounting for five touchdowns (two passing, three running) in yesterday’s 41-30 comeback win over Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga. Jurkovec, who had missed six games and most of a seventh this year with a hand injury, had returned to lead the Eagles to its first ACC victory over Virginia Tech, 17-3, on Friday, October 5. BC had gone 0-4 in conference play before his return.

The Eagles remain low in the ACC Atlantic Division, tied with Syracuse at the bottom with 2-4 conference records. But BC is 6-4 overall and thereby qualifies for a post-season bowl game. The final two games of the season, against Florida State and #12/13 Wake Forest, both in Alumni Stadium, will determine which bowl.

The game against Georgia Tech started off gangbusters. Receiving the opening kickoff, the Eagles went 75 yards in five plays, capped off by a 48-yard touchdown pass from Jurkovec to WR Zay Flowers. The Yellow Jackets didn’t even need a drive to respond. Tech’s Jahmyr Gibbs returned the BC kickoff 98 yards to tie the score. Two touchdowns in the first 2:14.

Georgia Tech scored two touchdowns after long drives to take a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter. BC’s offensive explosiveness (so absent in the first five ACC games) then made its appearance, as the Eagles scored three touchdowns in brief drives (four, four, and five plays) to go into halftime ahead 28-21. The first score came on a 38-yard pass to Flowers, and Jurkovec scored the other two on eight- and four-yard runs.

The third quarter, which so often before had been BC’s time of despair, was quiet this time. Georgia Tech had the only score, a field goal to cut the lead to 28-24. BC started the fourth quarter scoring with a field goal, but the Yellow Jackets countered with a touchdown. Tech then missed the extra point to stay behind, 31-30.

Jurkovec added his final touchdown with a 31-yard run to make the score 38-30. On the ensuring Georgia Tech drive, with the Yellow Jackets facing fourth-down and 14 yards to gain, BC’s Marcus Valdez sacked the Tech quarterback, who fumbled. The ball was recovered by BC’s J.T. Thompson, who advanced it to the GT 18. A 27-yard field goal by Connor Lytton closed out the scoring at 41-30.

The Eagles gained 505 yards in total offense, exceeding 500 yards for the first time in conference play this year. Jurkovec was particularly efficient passing, going 13 of 20 for 310 yards, averaging 28.3 yards per completion. Five BC receivers had longer pass receptions than any Georgia Tech player.

Jurkovec was also BC’s second leadng rusher, averaging 8.9 yards per carry in gaining 71 yards. RB Patrick Garwo was the workhouse on the ground, carrying the ball 20 times for 104 yards. Overall, the Eagles ran for 195 yards.

Georgia Tech gained a total of 213 yards on the ground, but only 130 yards passing, despite completing 18 passes.

Here are highlights.

BC (6-4) (2-4) meets the Florida State Seminoles (4-6) (3-4) in Alumni Stadium on Saturday, November 20, at 9 am PT.