Running back Kye Robichaux (5) is taken down by a herd of Mustangs yesterday in Dallas. Photo by Vladimir Cherry

Following a fourth-quarter drive yesterday that brought the Eagles within three of ACC leader SMU, 31-28, BC forced the Mustangs to punt and had the ball on their 20 with 3:59 remaining in the game. They moved the ball to their 32 and faced third-and-nine.

Quarterback Grayson James, who had been named starter by Coach Bill O’Brien, replacing Thomas Castellanos, was then sacked by SMU for a nine-yard loss. Another sack on fourth down for a 10-yard loss gave the ball back to the Mustangs on the BC 13 with 1:11 to go.

Perhaps still miffed by their unexpected loss to BC in the 2023 Fenway Bowl, SMU eschewed the polite method of running out the clock with kneel-downs. On fourth-and-two at the BC five, the Mustangs threw a pass and tacked on a touchdown to make the final score, 38-28.

At 8-1 and 5-0 in the ACC prior to the game, SMU was a two-touchdown-plus favorite over BC and started the game looking like it. The Mustangs went out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, running 23 plays for 148 yards, while the Eagles could mount only 11 plays for 31 yards.

BC got back on track in the second quarter, however, running 25 plays for 153 yards and scoring two touchdowns. They had possession for more than 10 minutes of the quarter. SMU was more efficient, gaining 133 yards on only 13 plays, and adding 10 points to their score. The first half ended with SMU up, 20-14.

Receiving the second half kickoff, the Eagles went on an eight-play, 83-yard drive, ending with a 20-yard run for a touchdown by QB James to take the lead 21-20. The Mustangs came right back with a quick-striking drive of six plays in less than two minutes, ending with a 38-yard touchdown pass and two-point conversion to take a seven-point lead, 28-21.

BC gave SMU the ball back quickly, punting after only three plays and the Mustangs took 10 plays to set up a 38-yard field goal and 31-21 lead. After punts by both teams to open the final quarter, the Eagles began a 74-yard drive in which they had only one third down. The drive culminated in six consecutive rushing plays, five of them by RB Kye Robichaux, to cover the final 34 yards and a touchdown by Robichaux to make the score 31-28.

Cue the disappointing conclusion.

BC ran a total of 75 plays in the game, with 23 first downs, gaining 417 yards, 180 of them on the ground. They allowed SMU 438 yards on 65 plays.

“I don’t really think we stopped them at all,” coach O’Brien said. “They probably stopped themselves. I felt like we needed 40 points to win the game. I was right about that.”

James was 18-of-32 passing for 237 yards, one touchdown, one interception. The new quarterback situation is not temporary, at least as it regards the season starter Castellanos. He has entered the transfer portal, so James is the intended starting quarterback for the remainder of the season.

Robichaux was leading rusher for the Eagles, gaining 90 yards on 21 carries and scoring two touchdowns. Junior Jordan McDonald added 63 yards on 11 carries. Three wide receivers led the team in pass receptions, each with four catches. Redshirt freshman Reed Harris led with 78 yards, followed by junior Jeremiah Franklin with 42 yards and grad student Kamari Morales with 34 yards and one touchdown reception.

Highlights (14:40)

The Eagles have a 5-5 record, 2-4 in conference play. Their final two games on the regular schedule are at home. They play North Carolina on Saturday, November 23. Start time is 9 am PT.

Junior running back Jordan McDonald ran for 133 yards in the win over Syracuse yesterday.

Much as they had done against Virginia and Louisville, the Eagles jumped out to a multiple touchdown lead over Syracuse in the first half of their game yesterday. Syracuse, as had Virginia and Louisville, came back to tie and then take a 21-14 lead in the third quarter. Oh no, not that again.

And, indeed, it was not that again. With backup quarterback Grayson James stepping in for Thomas Castellanos early in the third quarter, the Eagles fought back. They scored three touchdowns in successive possessions, as well as a safety, and held off a comeback attempt by the Orange to win 37-31.

“I think it was probably the first time in a while, I would say all the way back to the beginning of the season, where we played a complete game,” said BC coach Bill O’Brien.

While each BC quarterback threw a touchdown pass, the Eagles offense was mostly on the ground. Of BC’s 378 yards total offense, 313 were by rushing, a season high. Senior running back Kye Robichaux ran 28 times for 198 yards and two touchdowns. Junior Jordan McDonald rushed for 134 yards on 15 carries and scored a touchdown. Both Robichaux and McDonald had runs of 41 yards.

BC had only four yards passing in the first half, with Castellanos completing two passes out of seven attempts, and throwing an interception. He was sacked twice. James was five-of-six in the second half for 51 yards, no interceptions, no sacks.

Receiving touchdown passes were redshirt junior WR Lewis Bond and junior tight end Jeremiah Franklin.

In terms of offense, Syracuse was almost a mirror image of the Eagles. Syracuse QB Kyle McCord threw 48 passes, completing 31 for 392 yards and two touchdowns. He threw no interceptions, but was sacked four times. Syracuse runners had 25 carries for only 39 net yards.

Highlights (9:55)

The Eagles ended a three-game losing streak with the win and improve to 5-4 (2-3). Next game is against SMU in Dallas, Saturday, November 16, at 12:30 pm PT.