Running back Evan Dickens pulls in a 43-yard touchdown pass from QB Mason McKenzie in 25-16 loss yesterday to SMU. (BC Athletics photo)
The 2026 Eagles football team has been consistently inconsistent. Or has it been inconsistently consistent? Whatever.
In the Dallas rain yesterday, with a reported 35-45 players affected by the flu, BC took a 10-6 lead over three-touchdown favorite SMU in the first quarter. They then moved the ball, dropped the ball, committed 11 penalties, stopped the Mustangs, let the Mustangs gallop, and stumbled to a 25-16 loss.
The Eagles scored on both of their possessions in the first quarter to lead 10-6 and then did not score until their final possession of the game to cut a SMU 25-10 lead to the final 25-16 score. On their seven possessions in between, BC ended four of them with punts, one on a fumble, and two on downs. The Mustangs scored a touchdown in each quarter, failing on three point-after attempts.
BC is now 2-10 in road games in the two-plus seasons Bill O’Brien has been coach.
Trevor Hass, Boston Globe correspondent who covers BC football, reported in his article yesterday that the Eagles are “outscoring opponents, 40-9, in the first quarter, but the opposition has a 108-55 edge the rest of the game. The Eagles have made a habit of growing weaker as the game progresses and giving up pivotal plays.”
Overall, BC gained more than 100 yards more than SMU. The Eagles ran 65 plays for 322 yards, while the Mustangs ran 62 plays for 218 yards.
SMU entered the game as the national leader in passing offense, but gained only 160 yards on 20-of-30 passing. The Eagles gained 208 yards through the air. Neither team threw an interception. BC had 11 penalties for 95 yards in the game.
As has been consistent(!?) this season for BC, QB Mason McKenzie dominated offensive production. He was 20-of-32 passing yesterday for 208 yards and two touchdowns. He also led the team in rushing with 74 net yards gained on 21 attempts. The only other BC running backs of note were Bo MacCormack III with 6 carries for 10 yards and Evan Dickens with 5 carries for 22 yards.
Dickens also led the team in pass receiving yardage with 45 yards on 3 receptions, one for a 43-yard touchdown shown in the photo at the top of the post. Javarius Green had 5 receptions for 37 yards, Jaedn Skeete 4 catches for 34 yards, and TE Danny Edgehille 2 receptions for 26 yards and a touchdown.
Luca Lombardo scored BC’s first points in the game with a successful 52-yard field goal.
There was a series of plays by both teams bracketing the end of the third quarter and beginning of the final period that were unusual, significant, and exciting. Down 19-10 in the third quarter, BC moved from their 25 to their 44. Facing 4th-and-6, the Eagles turned it over on downs on an incomplete pass.
A holding penalty on SMU’s first play made it 1st-and-20. A 1-yard run and another holding penalty made it 2nd-and-29. An incomplete pass and another holding penalty made it 2nd-and-39. A 9-yard loss made it 3rd-and-48 from SMU’s 18. A 2-yard loss made it 4th-and-50.(!) The Mustangs punted from their 16. I can’t remember seeing any other team in that kind of predicament.
BC returned the punt to the BC 44, where that whole mess by SMU had started. The Eagles, however, were going to have their own special mess.
Starting off with a false start penalty, BC was 1st-and-15 at their 39. Six plays brought them to the SMU 31 early in the 4th period. Pass interference against SMU put the Eagles on the SMU 17. At 3rd-and-1 on on the SMU 8, McKenzie rushed up the middle and was marked just short of the first down.
The triptych below tells the story of the next play. At 4th-and-1, McKenzie took the snap in shotgun formation and threw a pass to TE Cameron Kossman, a redshirt-freshman transfer from Florida. Kossman was very open and appeared to have a clear path to the endzone when the ball was in the air. The pass wasn’t perfect, maybe a little short, but certainly seemed catchable. Dropped passes have been a common malady for BC receivers this season and Kossman caught that malady, just as some teammates caught the flu, failing to catch the pass. Hope the freshman gets the opportunity to make it up numerous times for the Eagles.
Here are game highlights (12:06).
The Eagles fall to 2-3 for the season, 0-2 in the ACC. On October 17, they meet Pitt, undefeated at present, at Alumni Field on Homecoming Weekend.
You got next week off Eagles fans. Have fun! Men’s hockey plays Alaska Friday.