SMU freshman RB Derrick McFall ran for half of the Mustangs’ six touchdowns in yesterday’s 45-13 win. (Barry Chin/Boston Globe photo)

Yet again, the Eagles finished the first half yesterday against their opponent behind in the score, but at a somewhat respectable level. And, yet again, BC fell further behind in the second half, ultimately to be “trampled,” to use the term in the Boston Globe, by SMU, 45-13. 

The Mustangs entered the game with a 7-3 record and as 10 1/2-point favorites. They took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter and expanded it to 17-0 in the second quarter. BC QB Grayson James passed for only three yards in the opening quarter and fumbled twice, leading Coach Bill O’Brien to replace him with former starter Dylan Lonergan.

Within the last 1:11 of the first half, the Eagles’ Luca Lombardo made two field goals (the second following a pass interception) to cut the score to 17-6. (Lombardo remains perfect for the year in field goals, making 14-of-14. What a difference from recent past seasons!)

The Mustangs tacked on two more touchdowns in the third quarter on long touchdown passes to lead 31-6 and pushed it to 38-6 early in the final quarter. The Eagles scored their only touchdown with 8:59 left in the game on a five-yard Lonergan pass to RB Jordan McDonald. SMU closed out the scoring with a 48-yard TD run (photo above).

BC ran 85 offensive plays in the game, the most in any game this season, including the opening 66-10 win over FCS Fordham. The Eagles gained 390 yards in total, 284 passing and 106 on the ground. SMU ran 19 fewer plays overall, but gained 574 yards, including 352 passing, the most total yards of any BC opponent so far this year. The Mustangs averaged 7.2 yards per run, compared to 2.7 yards for the Eagles, and 18.5 yard per pass completion, compared to 9.8 for BC. The Eagles had 25 first downs, three more than SMU, and possessed the ball for just under six minutes more than the Mustangs.

In a definite change from other games this year, the Eagles were called for only four penalties for 25 yards, while SMU had 13 penalties for 155 yards. BC, however, was only 2-of-15 on third down conversions.

BC QB Lonergan was 25-of-37 for 232 yards passing, with one TD and one interception. WR Lewis Bond had nine receptions for 94 yards and WR Reed Harris caught six passes for 86 yards.

Highlights (11:33)

BC falls to 1-9 for the year, 0-6 in the ACC. Today’s Boston Globe game article described this season as one in which “the action has gone from promising to perplexing to truly appalling.”

Next opponent is #14 Georgia Tech (8-1) on Saturday, November 15. Kickoff for BC’s final home game is 12:30 pm PT.

BC defense celebrates one of many stops against Notre Dame Saturday.

Underdogs to Notre Dame by 28 1/2 points, BC was the biggest longshot on the slate of college football games last Saturday. The #12 Fighting Irish (6-2) were expected to dominate the 1-7 Eagles.

Most bettors and fans must have become very nervous, and some of them very excited, as the game preceded. Both teams were scoreless in the opening quarter. At halftime, Notre Dame held only a five-point lead, 12-7. Three-and-a-half minutes into the second half, BC cut the lead to 12-10. I imagined fans across the country looking at reports of other scores on their scoreboards and saying, “Wow! Look at the Notre Dame score.”

Going into the final period, following a Fighting Irish touchdown and missed extra point (one of two for ND), the Eagles were only one score down, 18-10. But the game-clincher was about to occur.

Just under four minutes into the final quarter, on the 13th play of a drive that had begun in the third quarter and with BC 3rd and seven on the Notre Dame 23-yard line, Eagles QB Grayson James’s pass was intercepted on the four-yard line and returned to the six. 

On the next play, ND’s Jeremiyah Love, arguably the best running back in college football, swept to the left side and outraced all pursuers 94 yards for a touchdown. This time, the Irish kicker made the extra point, and Notre Dame took a 25-10 lead.

BC made one more threat during the game, moving from their 41 to the Notre Dame 21 with 4:48 left in the game. A succession of penalties on BC and a sack followed, however, pushing them back to the ND 46. On fourth-and-32(!), James’s pass was intercepted.

Stopping the Irish’s next drive, BC got the ball back, but on their one-yard line with less than two minutes remaining in the game. James’s pass was intercepted at the 22-yard line. Notre Dame ran two plays, losing four yards, and then took a knee to run out the clock. 

(Here’s video of BC team entering the stadium. Near end of video, you can hear “boo’s” from the crowd. I was sitting on the “visitor side” surrounded by many Notre Dame fans.)

In one respect, BC dominated the game, running 78 plays to Notre Dame’s 55. Once again, however, the opponent was more effective. The Irish gained 458 yards, including 299 passing, while the Eagles gained 281.

BC continued to be ineffective running the ball, gaining only a dozen net yards. Yes, 12 yards total, on 33 attempts. BC’s longest run of the day was six yards. Notre Dame wasn’t great on the ground either. Their total of 159 yards rushing included Love’s 94-yarder. They gained only 65 yards on their other 28 attempts.

BC had 21 first downs, Notre Dame 22.

Dylan Lonergan, who had started the first few games this season, started this one as well, but played only the first three series. He was five-of-eight for 29 yards and was intercepted to end his final drive. James ended the game having gone 25-of-37 for 240 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He was sacked six times, accumulating -21 yards rushing in 13 “attempts.”

WR Lewis Bond led the receivers with 92 yards on eight receptions. WR Jaedn Skeet also had eight catches for 73 yards and Jeremiah Franklin had seven catches for 46 yards. The sole touchdown reception was by WR Reed Harris on a 25-yard pass from James.

Highlights (13:25)

BC falls to 1-8. Next game is Saturday, November 8, against SMU. Kickoff is 9 am PT.

Avian cardinals fly, but the football Cardinals ran over the Eagles Saturday, gaining 317 yards on the ground in their 38-24 win Saturday. (Timothy D. Easley/Associated Press)

BC beat the spread. By a good amount actually.

Underdogs to the tune of 25 1/2 points, the Eagles lost to #19 Louisville Saturday 38-24. It was BC’s seventh straight loss this season.

The Eagles even held two early leads, 3-0 and 10-7, but long runs by the Cardinals and six second-half BC turnovers resulted in yet another opponent gaining more than 500 yards total offense.

BC opened the game with a 15-play drive culminating in a 38-yard field goal by Luca Lombardo. (Lombardo has made 11 of 11 field goal attempts this season, one of only two FBS kickers not to have missed in that many attempts.) Louisville then needed only three plays, including a 73-yard run, and less than two minutes to score its first touchdown. 

The Eagles had the ball for almost 24 minutes in the first half and ran 50 offensive plays, compared to 21 for the Cardinals, but Louisville was much more efficient. The Cardinals added two more touchdowns in the half, on “drives” of five plays for 56 yards and one play of a 62-yard run. That’s three drives of only nine plays in total for three touchdowns.

The pattern repeated in the second half. BC was able to score two touchdowns, but allowed 17 points to the Cardinals, who had three more scoring “drives” totaling 11 plays, including a 67-yard touchdown run to close out the scoring.

BC quarterback was again Grayson James, who was 23-of-46 passing for 244 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Eagles catching TD passes were tight ends Kaelan Chudzinski and Jeremiah Franklin and WR Lewis Bond. BC ran for only 116 net yards, including 26 by James.

Louisville rushed for 317 yards on 31 attempts, a double-digit average. They passed for 187 yards for 504 yards in total.

Highlights (11:48)

The Eagles fall to 1-7, 0-5 in the ACC. #12 Notre Dame comes to Alumni Stadium Saturday, November 1. Kickoff is 12:30 pm PT.