Linebacker Vinny DePalma finishes his BC career holding Fenway Bowl trophy aloft.

Well, that was refreshing . . . and unexpected.

In Fenway Park, in the rain, BC defeated SMU 23-14 today to win the Wasabi Fenway Bowl. The Mustangs, ranked #17 in the Associated Press top 25, came into the game 10 1/2-point favorites. And the victory was not because of some sudden, fluke play. The Eagles outgained SMU, which had averaged 40 points a game winning 11 of 13, and held the Mustangs scoreless in the second half.

Quarterback Thomas Castellanos was the star for BC, as he had been in most Eagle victories this season. He rushed for 156 yards in 21 carries, losing only one yard in the game, and scored two touchdowns. The conditions made passing difficult for both teams. Castellanos was 11-of-18 for 102 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception.

Castellanos finished his debut season at BC with 3,361 yards total offense in 13 games, third in BC history behind Matt Ryan in 2007 (14 games) and Doug Flutie in 1984 (12 games). He gained 2,248 yards passing and 1,113 rushing.

The Eagles scored first, converting an SMU fumble on their opening drive forced by defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku and recovered by DE Neto Okpala into a 45-yard field goal by Liam Connor, his longest ever.

The Mustangs went ahead 7-3 in the second quarter, but BC responded with a 10-play, 77-yard drive for a touchdown, scoring on a six-yard run by Kye Robichaux. SMU essentially closed out the first half with their own 10-play drive to take the lead 14-10.

SMU had the clear statistical edge in the first half. They ran 40 plays for 192 yards, while BC managed only 26 plays for 122 yards. The Mustangs were 15-22 passing for 122 yards, while the Eagles attempted only 7 passes, completing 3 for 6 yards.

The third quarter was essentially even and scoreless. SMU gained 85 yards total offense, BC 69 yards.

The Eagles won the game in the final quarter. While scoring two touchdowns and gaining 173 yards total offense, BC held the Mustangs to 32 yards, 10 of them passing. (Connor missed the final point-after.) The Eagles had the ball for 9:46 and SMU for only 5:14. The game ended with BC on the SMU 7, Castellanos taking two kneeldowns to run out the clock.

Castellanos was named the game’s offensive MVP and linebacker Kam Arnold won the defensive MVP award. Arnold led the team with six tackles — four solo and two for a loss. Five other Eagles had five tackles apiece.

Highlights (3:09)

BC finished the season with a 7-6 record and their first bowl game victory since 2016, a 30-16 win over Maryland in the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit.

Somewhat ironically, BC and SMU play again next season. SMU, Cal Berkeley, and Stanford join the ACC. Schedules will be announced in late January.

With the early kickoff time (8 am PT), the emphasis of the chapter gamewatch moved more to breakfast. San Diego Eagles gathered at The Bar at The Grill at The Lodge at Torrey Pines. Below is the group.

L-R: Lissa Tsu ’00, daughter, Brian Tsu ’00, Bill McDonald ’68 standing in rear, Dave Cubeta ’07 and kids and wife Christa, Joe Mahler ’74 P’07 standing, Caitlin Mahler ’07 CGSOM’17, and Eileen Mahler.

Running back Kye Robichaux powers into the endzone.

The threat was there all day, but it took until only 1:58 remained on the clock for lightning to force a delay in yesterday’s BC-Holy Cross game. The threat posed by the Crusaders was also there all day. As the players went to their locker rooms, Holy Cross had the ball on their 25 yard line, down only 31-28.

When play resumed two hours and 13 minutes later, Crusader quarterback Matthew Sluka immediately ripped off a 35-yard run to move into Eagle territory. Three plays later, BC defensive end Neto Okpala knocked the ball from Sluka’s hands and it was recovered by linebacker Vinny DePalma on the BC 33. QB Thomas Castellanos took three kneeldowns to run out the last 1:10 and the Eagles had their first win of the season.

(We invited local grads of Holy Cross to join us for the gamewatch and they responded in earnest. There was more purple than maroon-and-gold in attendance. See below for photo and more.)

This was the 84th meeting between the two teams, the longest rivalry in BC football history. Starting in 1896, the teams played almost annually until 1986 after BC became a member of the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Holy Cross went to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Since then, the two teams have only met in 2018, with BC winning 62-14. A game scheduled for 2020 was canceled because of Covid.

BC leads in the series overall, 50-31-3. At least that’s BC’s version. There are a few games, at least, “in dispute.”

The Crusaders came into the game yesterday on a roll, ranked #5 in FCS and without a regular season loss since Harvard in 2021. Holy Cross was undefeated in the regular season last year and lost only to #1 and eventual FCS national champion South Dakota State in the championship quarterfinals.

The Eagles began the game strong, going 85 yards in 14 plays and scoring on a three-yard rush by Kye Robichaux. On another long, time-consuming drive, Holy Cross came back with 15 plays covering 75 yards to tie the score at seven, the touchdown being the first play of the second quarter. One drive by each team in the first quarter.

BC opened its play in the second quarter going 91 yards in 14 plays, topped off by a 14-yard TD run by Ryan O’Keefe. After stopping Holy Cross on the only non-scoring possession by either team in the first half, the Eagles had another nine-play drive for a touchdown, highlighted by Castellanos’s 47-yard pass to Jaden Williams to the Holy Cross six. The touchdown came on a two-yard pass from Castellanos to TE George Takacs, with 1:23 remaining.

A kickoff out of bounds and a BC personal foul brought the Crusaders to the 50-yard line. In three plays and 37 seconds, Holy Cross scored a touchdown — an eight-yard run by QB Sluka to cut the score to 21-14 BC.

That left 46 seconds in the half. Helped immensely by two pass interference penalties and one roughing the passer penalty by Holy Cross, the Eagles moved to the HC 19, where Liam Connor kicked a 37-yard field goal to make the halftime score 24-14.

In a disappointing repeat from BC’s opening game, its opponent began the second half with a quick and easy drive. Holy Cross took five plays and two minutes, 17 seconds to score, ending with an eight-yard run by QB Sluka to cut the score to 24-21.

A scoreless third quarter ended with BC at the Holy Cross five. The fourth quarter began with a five-yard TD pass from Castellanos to Jeremiah Franklin. Score 31-21 BC.

For the next seven-and-a-half minutes, the Crusaders marched 75 yards, finishing with a 15-yard run up the middle for the touchdown and a 31-28 game with 7:26 left.

Getting the ball back at their 25, the Eagles made two first downs, including a conversion on fourth down, to bring the ball to the Holy Cross 49. On fourth-and-four at the 43 and 2:03 remaining, BC chose to punt. The Crusaders were at their 25 when the lightning came.

According to the Boston Globe this morning, most BC fans left the stands during the delay, but a large group of Holy Cross students stayed behind the end zone seats and “partied in the rain.” When BC quarterback Castellanos came on the field after the delay, he said, according to the Globe, “I was like ‘Where did all our fans go?’ It was crazy. All I seen was purple.”

Castellanos, after replacing first game starter Emmett Morehead in the opener, played the entire game and played well. He was 17-of-23 for 201 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran 16 times for a net 69 yards. (At the same time, Castellanos was, on at least one occasion, “undisciplined.” Running toward the first down marker on the sideline in the third quarter, he pointed a finger at the approaching Holy Cross defender and then ran out of bounds short of the first down. He not only failed to get the first down, he drew a penalty that pushed BC back 15 yards and forced a punt soon thereafter.) Robichaux was BC’s leading rusher with 19 carries for 91 yards and a touchdown.

HC quarterback Sluka was the game’s leading rusher, gaining 131 yards net on 19 carries.

The stats, as was the game, were pretty even. The Eagles had 403 yards offense on 68 plays, while the Crusaders gained 394 yards in 54 plays. Both teams were penalized often. BC, for the second game in a row, had 10 penalties, for 109 yards this game. Holy Cross had 11 penalties for 99 yards. Both teams were perfect in the red zone: Holy Cross 4-4, BC 5-5.

Here are highlights (11:48).

The Eagles meet undefeated and highly ranked Florida State next Saturday in their ACC opener. It’s the “Red Bandana” game. Game is in Alumni Stadium. Kickoff 9 am PT.

College ‘kin’
San Diego Crusaders and Eagles at the gamewatch yesterday. Even some grads from the “early years,” the sixties, when Boston College and Holy Cross were enthusiastic rivals. Even “blended” families, where granddad went to Holy Cross, daughter went to Cal, married a BC grad, and their son, a BC student, was at the game.

Zay Flowers gathers in one of his team-leading eight receptions against Maine.

A win is a win, of course. For the Eagles to get their first victory of the season yesterday, however, following two losses, was disappointing to the many who had anticipated something of a break-through successful season for BC this year.

That the first win was achieved in a game in which the Eagles displayed many of the same deficiencies that contributed to the opening losses to Rutgers and Virginia Tech was also frustrating to many fans. And that the first win came against Maine, an FCS team that had previously lost to Colgate and had been crushed by New Mexico, 41-0, did not inspire hopes for the season’s renewal.

That said, the Eagles won by three touchdowns, 38-17, and quarterback Phil Jurkovec had impressive stats. Jurkovec was 25 of 37 for 320 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions. His long completion was 53 yards. He was also sacked three times and faced consistent pressure, as had happened extensively in the first two games.

Leading BC receiver senior Zay Flowers had eight catches again Maine for 89 yards and one touchdown, opening scoring by the Eagles on a 51-yard reception and run. His three-game total is 22 receptions for 295 yards.

Entering the game ranked last among FBS teams in rushing, BC managed to get triple digits against the Black Bears, rushing for 111. Redshirt junior Pat Garwo III, who ran for more than 1,000 yards last season, led the team yesterday with 78 yards on 17 carries, scoring two touchdowns. Garwo, leading rusher for the Eagles this season, had gained only 40 yards rushing total in the two earlier games.

Maine actually had two more offensive plays than BC, 72-70, and gained 378 yards total overall, 289 yards through the air.

Highlights of BC-Maine.

(During the first two weeks of the season, I was on a trip to Michigan and Boston/Cape Cod and didn’t have the capability to post reports on the first two games. Maybe not the heart, either. I attended the Rutgers game, as did Lissa and Brian Tsu, both ’00, as well as Lori and Joe ’74 Mahler. I don’t see much point to provide summaries and highlights of the Rutgers and Virginia Tech games. Better, I think, to relegate them to the bad memories bin.)

Next week, the Eagles go to Tallahassee to play Florida State (3-0). The Seminoles had a close win over Louisville in their opener, an easy win over Duquesne, and edged LSU yesterday, 24-23. Game time is 5 pm our time.