The Boston College Eagles (5-5, 2-4 ACC) football team capped off an eventful week with a 38-28 loss to the No. 14 SMU Mustangs (9-1, 6-0 ACC) on Saturday evening.
The Eagles, who were led by quarterback Grayson James, fell short in a late rally attempt.
James started his second game for the Eagles this season after being announced as QB1 earlier in the week by head coach Bill O’Brien.
The move caused controversy which resulted in former starting quarterback Thomas Castellanos entering the transfer portal on Wednesday, one day after the announcement.
James spoke about the situation after the game on Saturday and how the change happened from his point of view.
“I found out the news from coach on Sunday,” said James. “He told me and then told the whole team what the plan was moving forward and he gave me a vote of confidence as well as everybody on the team as well. So we just move forward. I’m confident myself and having them behind me definitely helps a lot. And I felt like we were able to execute today, we just didn’t come up, like I said earlier, in the crucial moments.”
The senior also shared that although the situation was difficult, he was ready for the challenge.
“Yeah, I mean it’s definitely [a] difficult situation, but it’s nothing that I wouldn’t want to be in a position to handle,” said James. “I always prepare to play and whenever I decide I wanted to play college football, you want to play in games like this, and hurts not to win, but we got two more opportunities in front of us to go handle business, and I know the entire team is looking forward to that.”
Curtis: A really interesting and exciting game for BC despite the loss, especially considering how good SMU has been this season. What did you guys see?
Curran: My instant reaction was that I was pleasantly surprised by Grayson James. Don’t get me wrong — he was not at all perfect. The pick at the end of the half and the three straight sacks to seal the game were pretty disappointing (on top of the fact that he probably could or should have had 1-2 more interceptions) but I just can’t help but think he fits this offense so much better. He had what, three or four completions of 20+ yards? He showed a really nice touch on that 4th down floater to Franklin, and his ability to find Harris down the field was encouraging.
I do not think the erratic aim and questionable decisions will ever be completely eliminated from James’s game. However, I do think that with more reps and O’Brien’s full attention we will see the mistakes minimized. BC has a formula, and even though it’s taken most of the season to figure it out we have it now: lean on the power run game, open up the play-action, and grind away at the opponent.
Curtis: I completely agree, and I think even over the course of the game that James showed improvement. It makes me wish they had been starting him earlier in the season. But nonetheless, the offense looks so much better with him at the helm now that we can actually complete passes downfield and stretch the opposing defenses out.
The BC defense on the other hand had a pretty tough game. With a crop of injuries in the defensive backfield, they were getting picked apart for most of the game. The defensive line was able to generate some pressure at times, but not nearly enough to counteract the holes in the secondary. I think that’s probably the biggest concern moving into the final weeks of the regular season.
Curran: Agreed. Losing Amari Jackson for the season was a major blow, and the pass coverage hasn’t been helped with the injuries to Kam Arnold and then Owen McGowan. I actually really like DC Tim Lewis — I know the defense has had a lot of ups and downs this season but given the talent level and the injuries he’s dealt with this season I think he’s done a decent job. I hope he sticks around, because BC has a massive number of secondary recruits coming in next year.
Moving forward, I want to see more of the young guys get a chance. Quintayvious Hutchins has looked really good and Ashton McShane has been thrust into the starting lineup. BC has a good young core — experience now will help in the future, especially as O’Brien continues to mould the program in his vision.
Curtis: Yup, Tim Lewis has actually done a pretty good job considering the circumstances. This BC secondary was already pretty thin to start the season before any injuries, and it’s only gotten worse. Despite that, Lewis and the defense have found a way to reform Donovan Ezeiruaku back into the monster he was two seasons ago, get much more consistent pressure from the DL, and they even have made some timely stops when they needed them. Despite how the game ended on offense, the defense stood up tall and did its job against SMU for the majority of the 4th quarter. They got a huge stop and gave BC the ball back with a few minutes to go.
Kieran: Curran, I like what you said about BC finding a formula. Truthfully, we really can’t ask much more from O’Brien in his first season. He’s still getting to know the team and he’s still building his own culture. But finding a formula to win games is very important for a new coach. Sure, we could think about what they could have been if they had figured this all out earlier, but what matters is that they might have finally found the answer with Grayson James. And the defense is what it is this season. Like you mentioned, there are some young guys we should feel good about, and that’s a pretty solid place to start from for a first year coaching staff. SMU isn’t a bad team by any means, so the fact that BC pushed them like they did is another encouraging sign.
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