5 takeaways from BC football’s bounce-back win over Rutgers
They established the run game early.
COMMENTARY
Earlier this week, Boston College linebacker Max Richardson didn’t hold back as he assessed the Eagles’ defensive performance against Kansas.
“We did not play to our potential,” Richardson said. “It was a game where we were very underwhelming. I think in the first two weeks of the season, we still thought we had a lot of work to do, but we were definitely a defense that underachieved Friday against Kansas.”
On Saturday, in a non-league matchup at Rutgers, the defensive execution was better overall. It wasn’t a perfect effort, but it was enough to help the Eagles claim a 30-16 win over the Scarlet Knights and move to 3-1 on the season.
Offensively, Boston College racked up 272 rushing yards, averaging 4.5 yards per carry and controlling the clock in the fourth quarter to preserve the win.
Though the overall performance wasn’t quite as convincing as the Eagles’ early-season wins over Virginia Tech and Richmond, it was a solid showing and ensured they got back on track after a disappointing hiccup that no one saw coming.
“When you get punched in the face, you have to learn how to respond,” BC coach Steve Addazio told reporters. “ … And now we’re going to head back into ACC play, I believe, as a better football team.”
Here are a few key takeaways from the game:
The run defense was markedly better.
After the Jayhawks gashed the Eagles for 329 rushing yards, Richardson expected the Scarlet Knights to try to take advantage BC’s perceived lack of tackling ability.
“They have a high-powered offense,” Richardson said Wednesday. “They have two really good backs, No. 1 (Isaih Pacheco) and No. 2 (Raheem Blackshear). What they’re going to do is try to run the ball. We didn’t stop the run against Kansas, so why would they not come in with their big-time backs and try to run the ball right up the gut?”
Whenever the Scarlet Knights tried to run, though, the Eagles were there to stop them. They held them to just 85 rushing yards the entire night, limiting Pacheco to less than three yards per carry.
The flip side of that, however, was the pass defense, as Rutgers quarterback Art Sitkowski torched the Eagles for 304 yards passing. Sitkowski’s 74-yard touchdown pass to Blackshear in the first quarter wasn’t exactly the early development BC was looking for, but the Eagles regrouped and didn’t allow a touchdown the rest of the way.
BC held Rutgers to 4 of 15 on third down while ending up 9 of 19 itself. Brandon Barlow forced a fumble and Mehdi El Attrach recovered the ball early in the second quarter, and Mike Palmer intercepted a pass late, as the Eagles made significant plays when they had to in order to preserve the win.
Trying to avoid a sack, Sitkowski throws up a duck toward the sideline, and Mike Palmer makes him pay, recording his first interception of the season.
That’s BC’s seventh pick of the year. pic.twitter.com/5ilQBlOMRF
— Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom) September 21, 2019
Max Richardson was everywhere.
As frustrated as Richardson was by the Kansas loss, he was even more motivated to move on and start fresh.
“We’re going to learn from the loss and be angry and pissed off, and we’re going to keep trucking on,” Richardson said Wednesday.
He posted a team-high and career-high 14 tackles Saturday, including 10 solo tackles and 2.5 for a loss. The redshirt junior set the tone early, teaming up with Joey Luchetti to bring down Pacheco for a loss of two on Rutgers’ first play from scrimmage.
Richardson was steady and engaged all night, and he made one of the game’s biggest plays with 54 seconds left in the second quarter. Moments after wrapping up Sitkowski for a loss of two, he burst past a pair of Rutgers players and tripped up Blackshear to stop his progress.
Blackshear, who has excellent speed, had a lane to the end zone, which would have given Rutgers the lead. Instead, Richardson corralled him, brought him down, and earned the celebration that ensued after the play.
He knew how important it was in the grand scheme. The Scarlet Knights ended up kicking a field goal, and BC added one of its own as time expired to take a 17-13 edge into halftime.
They established the run game early.
The Eagles didn’t take long to turn to their strong group of running backs, leaning heavily on their go-to weapons on the game’s first drive.
AJ Dillon started the action with rushes of six and five yards for a first down, another for 14 yards, and one more for three yards, then David Bailey found a hole and scored from 42 yards out to put the Eagles ahead, 7-0, less than two minutes into the action.
The trend continued all afternoon. Quarterback Anthony Brown finished 13 for 25 with 159 yards passing, which was enough to provide a threat, but the Eagles did the majority of their damage on the ground.
Dillon racked up 154 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries, Bailey added 12 carries for 79 yards and the score, and Brown himself chipped in 11 carries for 40 yards and a TD.
On a timely 18-play, 75-yard, 6-minute, 44-second drive in the fourth quarter, the Eagles relied on a healthy mix of Dillon and Brown. When they arrived at fourth and 1 from the Rutgers 21, with 8:02 left, they didn’t allow the Scarlet Knights to get set and quickly hiked the ball to Brown. The QB took care of the rest, plowing his way forward for three yards.
Several plays later, Dillon scored from 4 yards out, putting the Eagles up, 30-16, with 6:32 left and significantly hurting Rutgers’ chances of a comeback.
BC’s first drive of the day felt like a tone-setter. In less than two minutes, they ran it on five of their seven plays, using A.J. Dillon to hammer away at Rutgers’ defense then breaking through with this 42-yard burst by David Bailey that gave them a quick 7-0 lead. pic.twitter.com/lsGBs7lB7O
— Julian Benbow (@julianbenbow) September 21, 2019
It was a homecoming for several players.
Nineteen Eagles who played high school football in New Jersey returned to their home state Saturday.
Junior offensive lineman Ben Petrula spoke Wednesday about the significance of this game, noting that Rutgers was one of his top three schools.
“I’ll have a lot of family there,” Petrula said at the time. “Everybody that’s from New Jersey will play really hard. Then again, everyone from Rutgers is going to play really hard, because we’ve got so many kids from New Jersey. I think it will be a physical game.”
It was, and the Eagles were up for the challenge.
Brown, who is from Cliffwood, New Jersey, told reporters Saturday that he used to talk to his dad about playing at SHI Stadium all the time. When he saw the Eagles were facing Rutgers this season, he said he was immediately excited.
“I always say we need more Jersey guys on the team,” Brown told reporters. “Hopefully this will boost that.”
They regained momentum.
The reactions after the Kansas game weren’t pretty. Eagles fans weren’t happy with the performance. The players and coaches weren’t either.
It was a disappointing result for a team hoping to reach at least eight wins this season. The Eagles knew the best remedy was to learn from it, put it behind them, and play better the next time. When they got the chance to do so, they didn’t squander it.
It wasn’t flawless, and there are still some issues to fix, but it was a solid road win against a Power Five school, nonetheless. The victory was BC’s first road win over a Big Ten opponent since 2003.
They acknowledged coming in that the stakes were high, and they left with a much-needed triumph. Next up is Wake Forest at home this Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
