Former BC commit Bhayshul Tuten set a VaTech rushing record in the Hokies’ 42-21 win yesterday over BC.

Oh, the third quarter last night was fun!

It had been quite some time since Eagles fans had seen their team play exciting, proficient football. After forcing Virginia Tech to punt on their opening possession of the third quarter (something that had been unusual of late for BC), the Eagles got the ball with 11:59 remaining in the quarter. Then, in nine minutes, four seconds, BC scored touchdowns on their next three possessions.

Indeed, that those 21 points only reduced the Virginia Tech lead to 28-21 took a little off the level of satisfaction. Yet the notion of a revitalized BC squad playing for a potential comeback also added to the level of excitement. (Spoiler: VaTech won, 42-21.)

The Eagles even started a drive at the beginning of the final quarter, reaching midfield. On fourth down and less than a yard, BC lined up in the shotgun formation to keep the drive and the comeback alive.

In a lot of similar situations, college and pro teams will line up under center, sometimes even switching the often smaller quarterback for a bigger running back, with perhaps a couple of other backs in the backfield to push that ball carrier those several inches across the line to gain.  Not BC. And no first down. Turnover on downs at midfield. Three runs later, the Hokies pushed the margin to 35-21.

The Eagles still kept trying. Seven plays took them to the Hokies 18, but a high snap on a field goal attempt (field goal?) eluded the holder and it was recovered by VaTech. On the next play, freshman running back Bhayshul Tuten, who decommitted from BC to join the Hokies, ran 61 yards to make the final score 42-21.

“We definitely fought back to get ourselves back in the game,” said BC coach Bill O’Brien, “but we dug ourselves such a deep hole. It’s very difficult to come back from a four-score deficit.”

The less said about the first half of the game, the better. Stats tell the story. BC actually had the ball longer and ran more plays, 36 to 30 for VaTech, but the Hokies made bigger plays. They gained 332 yards, averaging just over 11yards per play, and most of them (188) on the ground. BC gained 134 yards total offense.

“I thought I had the team ready to go tonight, but I obviously didn’t,” O’Brien said. “I’ve got to figure out how to get the team ready to go. We’re better than that.”

For the game, the Eagles gained 372 yards and allowed 532 yards to the Hokies.

Perhaps a weird statistic, but in no quarter of the game did both teams score. It was sadly symmetrical that VaTech scored 14 points in the first, second, and fourth quarters, and BC scored 21 points in the third quarter.

BC quarterback Thomas Castellanos was 17 of 26 passing for 205 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions, but had two fumbles. He also ran for 58 yards net, second on the team to Turbo Richards’ 64 yards on nine carries.

VaTech’s Tuten set a new Hokies record, rushing for 266 yards on 18 carries.

Highlights (7:01)

The Eagles fell to 4-3, 1-2 in the ACC. Next is Louisville in Chestnut Hill, Friday, 4:30 pm PT.

Coming into yesterday’s game at Virginia, the concern of many was that the Eagles had started their two previous games slowly and had to come from behind to get close wins. That didn’t happen yesterday. BC turned it upside down.

Instead of a slow start, the Eagles jumped out to a 14-0 lead, scoring touchdowns on their first possessions of the first and second quarter. Then they didn’t score again. But Virginia did.

Allowing two UVa field goals in the second quarter, BC went into halftime ahead 14-6. In the final quarter, the Eagles, using the term in the Boston Globe, “unraveled.” Following another Cavalier field goal, two turnovers by BC quarterback Thomas Castellanos in a five-minute period led to two Virginia touchdowns and a 24-14 win for the Cavaliers.

The loss was the third in BC program history when they had led by 14 or more points and the first since Miami came back from 0-28 in 1999 to beat the Eagles 31-28.

“It was terrible,” said coach Bill O’Brien. “Put it on me. Blame it all on me. We’ve got to do a better job. We’ve got to coach better. We’ve got to play better. We’ve got a long way to go.”

In the first quarter, BC ran 17 plays for 122 yards and a touchdown. Castellanos was nine-for-nine for 105 yards. Virginia ran 10 plays for 16 yards, 10 of them coming on the single pass completion by the Virginia quarterback in four attempts.

In the fourth quarter, which started with the Eagles up 14-6, Virginia scored 18 unanswered points. A field goal early in the quarter brought them to within five points. With 11:11 remaining, Virginia intercepted Castellanos at midfield. Consecutive pass completions of 20 and 30 yards put Virginia in the endzone for their first lead. A two-point conversion made it 17-14.

On BC’s next possession, a fumble by Castellanos was scooped up by Virginia at the BC 40 yard line and brought into the endzone. With 6:02 left, UVa was up 24-14.

The Eagles had two more possessions, but turned the first over on downs and had another Castellanos pass intercepted to end the second.

Game stats were relatively close. UVa gained 339 yards total offense, BC 319. UVa ran 65 plays, BC 59. The difference was turnovers. Virginia scored 15 points off two fourth quarter BC turnovers. All their other points were field goals. 

It is only the second BC loss in its nine-game history with Virginia.

Highights (15:43)

BC fell to 4-2, 1-1 in the ACC. No game next Saturday. Next is a Thursday, October 17, matchup with Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Game time is 4:30 pm PT.

Senior DE Donovan Ezeiruaku forces a fumble that led to winning touchdown for Eagles over Western Kentucky yesterday, 21-20.

In Boston College’s two most recent football games — against Michigan State on September 21 and Western Kentucky yesterday — the Eagles had fewer first downs and fewer yards on total offense than their opponents. They also had to come from behind late in the fourth quarter if they were to win. And they did.

BC took its first lead with 3:33 remaining against Western Kentucky yesterday and held on to win 21-20. Behind 20-7 in the fourth quarter, it was the the Eagles’ biggest final quarter comeback in program history.

In the Red Bandana Game the week before, BC and Michigan State exchanged leads four times before the Spartans took the lead 19-16 with 4:12 remaining in the game. In a six-play drive from the BC 25, Eagles quarterback Thomas Castellanos mixed runs by Grad RB Treyshaun Ward and passes to R-Jr. WR Lewis Bond to take the lead with a 44-yard pass to Bond. A subsequent interception by sophomore DB Max Tucker in the endzone allowed BC to take knees for the 23-19 win.

In both games, the Eagles played mediocre first halfs. “We’ve got to play better in the first half of these games,” Coach Bill O’Brien said. “I know we can, so I’ve got to figure it out.”

(I’m reporting on the two games because I joined classmates in Boston for the Michigan State game and to visit family and friends. I did not have access to a computer to prepare a report while there. I also had intended to attend the Michigan State game and had a ticket for it, but joined friends to watch on television. We had been at West Point last year and had been soaked through there. With rain forecast throughout the game on September 21, we chose not to have that experience again.)

Western Kentucky
This was the first meeting between the teams. The Hilltoppers came in with a 3-1 record, their only loss coming in the opener to Alabama, 73-0.

Western Kentucky took the opening kickoff all the way down to the BC 18, where they turned it over on downs, falling short on fourth-and-one. On their next possession, they took eight plays to score the first touchdown of the game.

After intercepting BC quarterback Grayson James, who played due to an injury to Castellanos, on the first play of the second period, the Hilltoppers took a 14-0 lead.

In the middle of the second period, BC had a 13-play drive for 74 yards, in which James was six-of-six passing, and finished with a three-yard rush by Kye Robichaux for a touchdown against his former team.

Western Kentucky added a field goal to take a 17-7 lead into halftime. The Hilltoppers had gained 247 yards in the first half, compared to 133 yards for BC. The Hilltopper quarterback was 17-of-21 passing for 165 yards, with one interception. Eagles QB James was 12-of-16 for 92 yards and an interception.

BC opened the second half looking as if O’Brien’s halftime talk had energized . . . or scared . . . them, but gave the ball up on a fumble by Bond at midfield. Twelve plays later, Western Kentucky added a field goal to push the lead to 20-7.

With 23 seconds left in the third quarter, Grad LB Kam Arnold intercepted a pass at the BC 43. Nine plays later, James ran one yard for a touchdown and the lead was cut to 20-14. On Western Kentucky’s second possession following that score, senior defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku sacked the quarterback, forcing a fumble recovered by R-Jr. DL George Rooks at the WK 20. Six plays later, James threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to R-Jr. WR Jerand Bradley and, following the PAT, BC led 21-20.

After successfully converting one fourth down, the Hilltoppers turned the ball over on downs with less than two minutes to go. BC was able to take the knee and victory.

Overall, the Eagles gained 279 yards, 168 passing, 111 rushing. James was 19-of-32 passing for one touchdown and with one interception. Western Kentucky gained 355 yards total offense, 232 passing.

Ezeiruaku was the star of the game. He had a career-best 14 tackles (10 solo), three sacks, and four tackles for loss. He received a helmet sticker on ESPN’s College Football Final for his performance.

Highlights (10:03)

BC improved to 4-1 for the season. They play Saturday morning at Virginia.

Michigan State

Cocah Bill O’Brien signals a score against Michigan State.

The September 21 Red Bandana Game, honoring alumnus Welles Crowther for his heroism in the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York City, featured a sold-out Alumni Stadium and a steady rain. It also featured a slow start by the Eagles and exciting finish for a win that was replicated the following week.

Down 19-16 with 4:12 remaining in the game, BC went on a six-play drive that ended with a 42-yard pass touchdown from Castellanos to Bond. O’Brien later said the rain stoppage only shortly before allowed the play to succeed.

Up 23-19, the Eagles were able to stymie Michigan State and intercept a heave into the end zone with 36 seconds to go. Two knees and victory in hand. Students and others rushed the field to share in the win.

Highlights (14:23)