BC quarterback Thomas Castellanos ran for four touchdowns against Army. Michael Dwyer/Associated Press

The complaint so far this season was that BC football started slow. Their start yesterday against Army West Point wasn’t fast, but it was better than that of the opponent.

With steady and occasionally heavy rain making both teams one-dimensional, the Eagles relied on the legs of QB Thomas Castellanos to take a half-time lead, survive a third-quarter surge by the Black Knights, and, after losing the lead in the fourth quarter, go on a 12-play 62-yard drive ending with a one-yard rush for a Castellanos touchdown with 25 seconds left and a 27-24 win.

Castellanos became the first BC quarterback to score four touchdowns on the ground and the first Eagle to score four rushing touchdowns since running back A.J. Dillon in 2017.

The Eagles scored first on a 20-yard run by Castellanos and, after an Army West Point field goal, scored a second TD on a four-yard rush by Castellanos to lead at halftime, 13-3. Kicker Liam Connor missed the PAT after the initial touchdown.

In the first half, BC had 13 first downs to Army’s 3 and 37 plays for 168 yards to Army’s 19 plays for 78 yards.

BC once again allowed its opponent to score on the initial drive of the second half. Army West Point got a great start with a 53-yard kickoff return bringing the ball to the BC 37. Six straight rushing plays brought the Black Knights to the endzone and cut the BC lead to 13-10.

The teams then traded touchdowns to enter the final quarter with BC in the lead 20-17.

Army West Point continued a 7-play, 61-yard drive to take the lead 24-20 with 11:43 to go. After BC punted on the next possession, Army appeared to score a touchdown on a 50-yard pass. The play was nullified after review determined the Army quarterback had been beyond the line of scrimmage when he threw the forward pass. Army punted.

The Eagles took possession with 5:34 remaining. Running 12 consecutive running plays, BC covered 62 yards, with the final play a one-yard rush by Castellanos for the touchdown. With the extra point, BC led 27-24 with 25 seconds remaining.

Army’s final series ended three plays later when BC recovered an Army fumble and then ran out the clock.

Overall, the Eagles gained 372 yards offense, 299 on the ground. Army West Point was held to 161 yards rushing and 266 yards total.

Castellanos finished with 142 net yards on 31 carries, leading rusher in the game for either team. RB Patrick Garwo contributed mightily with 111 yards on 14 carries. Castellanos was four-for-nine passing for 73 yards with one interception.

With this performance adding to his season totals, Castellanos ranks first in rushing among FBS quarterbacks overall and 26th among all players.

Highlights

BC improves its record to 3-3 halfway through the season. After a bye week, the Eagles play at Georgia Tech on Saturday, October 21, time TBD.

Defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku had five tackles and a sack against Virginia.

The intended effort, again, was to play fast from the beginning of the game. That’s been repeated throughout the season, but not yet achieved. In yesterday’s game against Virginia, BC continued the string, falling behind to the winless Cavaliers, 21-7, in the first half.

Halftime must have been refreshing for the Eagles. BC dominated the third quarter and then won its first ACC game of the season, edging Virginia, 27-24, with a 42-yard field goal by Liam Connor with just over two minutes left.

In certainly one of their best quarters this season, the Eagles ran 23 plays for 176 yards in the third quarter, possessing the ball for 10 minutes, 45 seconds. They limited the Cavaliers to eight plays, 12 yards, and zero points. More importantly, BC scored two touchdowns and a field goal to take the lead, 24-21. Quarterback Thomas Castellanos was three-of-five passing, for 40 yards and two touchdowns in the quarter. He also ran six times for 43 yards.

The Eagles rushed for 136 yards in the third quarter, just about two-thirds of their game total 203 yards rushing.

BC bettered the Cavaliers statistically again in the final quarter, though not as distinctively as in the third. After Virginia recovered a BC fumble on the BC39, they tied the score with a 44-yard field goal. On BC’s next possession, they went on an 11-play drive, using just under five minutes on the clock, and Connor hit another 42-yard field goal.

The Cavaliers got the ball back with 2:11 on the clock. BC held them on downs and ran out the clock for the win.

The stats for BC in the opening quarter were ghastly. The Eagles ran 13 plays for 33 yards offense. The second quarter was a little better, but BC allowed Virginia to gain 171 yards in that quarter. The insult came on the final play of the quarter, when Virginia connected on a 36-yard Hail Mary pass to the end zone to go up 21-7.

For the game, Castellanos was 16 of 26 for 183 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. For only the second time this season, he was not also BC’s leading rusher. RB Patrick Garwo III gained 87 net yards on 23 carries and scored a touchdown. Castellanos ran for 78 yards on 16 carries. WR Lewis Bond was BC’s leading receiver with seven catches for 104 yards and a touchdown.

The Eagles committed only five penalties yesterday, but had four turnovers: two passes intercepted and two fumbles lost. BC sacked the Virginia quarterback five times.

WR Ryan O’Keefe was injured colliding with a Virginia player early in the fourth quarter. He remained laying on the field for about 10 minutes being treated by medical personnel before being removed on a stretcher. BC reported he had been taken to Massachusetts General Hospital for tests on a neck injury and observation. It noted midday Sunday that he had been discharged and had returned to the BC campus.

Highlights (11:52)

The Eagles’ record improved to 2-3 overall, 1-2 in the ACC. They remain tied with Clemson in the ACC standings. :) BC’s other win this year was over Holy Cross, which lost to Harvard Saturday.

The Eagles play Army next Saturday at West Point. Game time is 9 am PT.

QB Thomas Castellanos runs 39 yards for a touchdown against Louisville.

It’s somewhat difficult to refer to the BC unit that played against Louisville’s offense yesterday as a “defense.” The Cardinals had the ball six times in the first half. They scored six touchdowns.

Louisville also continued a BC 2023 football season tradition by becoming the fourth opponent in succession to score after receiving the second half kickoff. They didn’t waste any time, either. On the first play after a fair catch put the ball on the 25, running back Jawhar Jordon took a short pass from QB Jack Plummer and ran 75 yards for the Birds’ seventh touchdown in seven possessions.

The Eagles showed signs of offense occasionally. With less than six minutes left in the second quarter, Louisville held a 28-0 lead. BC then scored on a 39-yard run by QB Thomas Castellanos and on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Castellanos to Ryan O’Keefe. After each touchdown, however, the Eagles had to give the ball back to the Cardinals, who also scored two touchdowns. No closing of the scoring gap.

Each team scored two touchdowns and two PATs — 28 points in total — in the last 5:47 of the first half. The last, by Louisville, was especially embarrassing for the Eagles. With the ball on the 25 because of a touchback and only 32 seconds on the clock, Louisville lined up in a formation that implied they would run out the clock with a kneel-down.

They didn’t kneel down. Jordan ran for 42 yards to the BC 33. After a one-yard run, Cardinal QB Plummer threw a 42-yard touchdown pass. BC got the ball back at their 37 on the kickoff with two seconds left. They did the kneel-down.

Louisville led 42-14. The Cardinals gained 371 yards in the half, compared to 199 yards for BC.

As noted, the Cardinals jumped out to a 49-14 lead on their first play of the third quarter. After that, BC won the quarter statistically. They had the ball for nine minutes, 13 seconds, and ran 25 plays compared to eight for Louisville. The Cardinals actually had to punt twice, with their first punt coming 4:58 into the second half.

Louisville, however, scored two touchdowns in the third quarter and BC scored one, on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Castellanos to Lewis Bond. The Cardinals extended their lead to 56-21.

The Eagles opened the final quarter with a touchdown in the first minute, with Castellano passing 11 yards to Bond in the endzone. BC had the ball for only two minutes, 32 seconds, in the quarter and the game ended with a 56-28 Louisville win.

The Cardinals gained 582 yards total offense, 388 yards through the air. They averaged 9.4 yards per play. BC gained 427 yards total, 295 passing. For the first time this year, the Eagles’s penalties were in the single-digit category, but they still committed seven, three more than Louisville.

Louisville quarterback Plummer had a good game. He was 18 of 21 passing for 388 yards and five touchdowns, no interceptions. BC’s Castellanos again led the team in rushing as well as passing, running 10 times for a net 49 yards and going 17 of 33 for 265 yards and three touchdowns.

The Cardinals advanced to 4-0 for the season, 2-0 in conference play. BC fell to 1-3, 0-2 in the ACC. The Eagles have the same conference record as Clemson. :)

The headline in The Boston Globe was “Boston College takes big step backward with embarrassing blowout loss to Louisville.” In the article, beleaguered BC coach Jeff Hafley said, “I haven’t seen us play like that since we’ve been here. I wish I had an answer. Clearly, I’ve got to find one, but I do not have a great one right now.”

Highlights (7:13)

BC plays Virginia next Saturday. Kickoff at 11 am PT.