Boston College scored the only touchdown in the game against Duke yesterday, which belies the offensive power shown by the Eagles in the 9-7 loss. The low score said much more about BC’s defense, which held the Blue Devils to three field goals, all in the first half; held Duke scoreless on first-and-goal from the one in the second half; limited the Dukies to only 73 yards total offense in the second half; and held Duke to a total of 33 yards rushing for the game.

Troy Flutie

With BC down 6-0 in the second quarter, Eagles freshman quarterback Jeff Smith threw what appeared to many to be a 25-yard touchdown pass to freshman Thadd Smith, but the pass was ruled incomplete by officials on the field. Replay officials sustained the call, which was vociferously and vigorously opposed by Coach Steve Addazio, A BC field goal attempt from the 25 then was muffed and Duke took over on downs.

Holding Duke at the beginning of the third quarter, BC mishandled the ensuing punt, which Duke recovered on the BC 15. Two plays later, Duke was on the 1. Four rushing attempts failed and BC took over on downs.

Troy Flutie, above, threw a 66-yard touchdown pass to the same Thadd Smith late in the third quarter to bring the Eagles within 2, at 9-7. The Eagles reached the Duke 27 late in the fourth quarter, but freshman kicker Colton Lichtenberg missed a 45-yard field goal.

Flutie had a career high 129 yards passing, completing 5 of 8 attempts. Smith was 3-13 for 12 yards, but led the team with 60 yards rushing on 11 carries. BC overall gained 305 yards to Duke’s 228, and had 9 fewer plays than the Blue Devils.

Next up, Wake Forest, which fell by 8 to Florida State on Saturday.

The Eagles stymied the Huskies of Northern Illinois Saturday, holding them to 153 yards total offense and one offensive touchdown, and won 17-14. BC is 3-1, 0-1 in ACC play.

QB Troy Flutie

Redshirt freshman Troy Flutie (Doug’s nephew, Darren’s son) started for BC and threw his first career touchdown pass in the second quarter to begin the scoring. Flute started slowly, missing his first five passes before the touchdown, but ended up 5 of 11. He also threw an interception that NIU returned to the BC 4 and then scored a touchdown.

BC has not allowed any team this year to gain more than 100 yards rushing. The defense ranks #1 in the national statistically. (The 11 total yards BC allowed to Howard certainly helped the stats.)

The Eagles had 326 yards total offense against NIU, 234 on the ground. Jon Hilliman gained 119 yards on 24 carries, and true freshman QB Jeff Smith added 56 yards on 9 carries.

Northern Illinois came into the game following a close 20-13 loss to #1 Ohio State in which the Huskies gained 190 yards. NIU is the defending Mid-America Conference champion and won at least 11 games in the previous five consecutive seasons.

Highlights from the ACC:

BC visits Duke next, Saturday, October 3, at 12:30 pm PT. The Blue Devils upended Georgia Tech on Saturday, 34-20.

Spring is here, winter is over, and so is hockey.

The BC men’s team, seeded #3 in the East Regional of the NCAA tournament, fell to #2 seed Denver, 5-2, Saturday.

The Eagles finished with a 21-14-3 overall record, and, in a break from long tradition, no tournament trophies. No Beanpot, no Hockey East regular season or tournament crown, no NCAA Frozen Four or championship. It is a statement about what is expected from BC hockey that only making the national tournament is not considered a particularly good season.

Spring sports — lacrosse, baseball, softball — are underway, sometimes facing weather difficulties, of course. The #2 women’s lacrosse team lost its first of the year to Virginia Saturday, but is one of the nation’s best teams. Baseball swept Duke last weekend but is at 11-13, and softball is at 15-13.

Results on the sports page will be updated soon.