5 takeaways from BC football’s 27-24 loss to Wake Forest
The disparity on third down was the main difference.
COMMENTARY
Boston College had a chance Saturday to earn its biggest win of the season to this point against an undefeated and explosive Wake Forest team.
The Eagles overcame an early 10-point deficit to tie the game heading into halftime, and they trailed by three points with 6:39 remaining, but the Demon Deacons’ ability to possess the ball and make key plays when they mattered most was ultimately the difference.
BC racked up 536 yards on offense, compared to 440 for Wake Forest, but the Demon Deacons were 17 of 24 on third down while the Eagles were 2 for 12. That trend was ultimately too much for the Eagles (3-2) to overcome, and they fell, 27-24, to the Demon Deacons (5-0) in a game they’re disappointed they couldn’t seize.
.@WakeFB leaves Chestnut Hill with the 27-24 win!🎩#GoDeacs pic.twitter.com/g2Ydy3rcji
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) September 29, 2019
It was the seventh-best day of total offense of the Steve Addazio era, and BC is now 12-1 when finishing with 500-plus yards as a team.
“If somebody said to me yesterday, ‘You’re going to have this many yards, will you take it?’ Hell yeah, I would have taken that,” Addazio said. “Yeah. What we have to find out is just how we have one more point than they do at the end of the game. I think we can dissect where we could have had a couple.”
Here are some thoughts on a back-and-forth battle that could have gone either way.
The disparity on third down was the main difference.
Statistics can often be misleading, but in this particular case, the numbers speak for themselves. BC could have potentially overcome either its own inefficiency on third down or Wake’s success in that area, but trying to win a game when both are so alarmingly in the opposition’s favor isn’t easy.
The Demon Deacons’ last drive of the game was a microcosm of the whole afternoon. A stop would have given BC the ball back with plenty of time, down by three, but Wake Forest converted on third down three straight times.
Wake eventually punted, but by that point, the Eagles only had 28 seconds and had to start from their own 5-yard line. It would have taken a miracle, and there was no such luck despite a valiant and creative effort as time expired.
In the third quarter, Wake had a drive that lasted 20 plays, which was tied for the longest in program history. The Eagles’ defense couldn’t make plays when it had to, as Wake’s delayed handoffs and height in the receiving corps both paid dividends.
“That’s one thing,” defensive back Brandon Sebastian said. “We have to get off the field on third down.”
21/33 | 345 total yards | 2 TDs
Jamie Newman continues to make his mark on the ACC!#GoDeacs | @WakeFB @jlmn12_ pic.twitter.com/ocpSF2tYef
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) September 29, 2019
On offense, the Eagles had their chances as well. Early in the second quarter, trailing 10-0, BC had a chance to score a touchdown, but Kobay White dropped a catchable pass on third down and BC settled for a field goal.
“We were No. 2 in the conference on offense on third down conversions,” Addazio said. “Today, we were not as effective on third down as we have been this season. So maybe after we study the film, maybe in there you’ll find that we need to be a little more efficient today on third down and defense, and a little more efficient on third down and offense.”
BC couldn’t cash in on a key field goal opportunity.
After a Mike Palmer interception and two big AJ Dillon gains set BC up with a field-goal opportunity, the Eagles had a chance to tie the score at 20 early in the fourth quarter.
Kicker Aaron Boumerhi drilled the attempt from 44 yards, but BC committed a delay of game penalty, so the kick was negated.
“That’s never been a problem, never a problem in practice, and we work off the clock all the time,” Addazio said. “Why it had to come down like that? You know, it shouldn’t have. It shouldn’t have.”
Addazio said he made the decision not to call a timeout because he thought they could get it off in time. He saw the clock was going down, but he thought it was in their best interest to try to complete the play as planned.
“I knew it was close,” Addazio said. “I did not want to burn that timeout. I thought we would get the ball off. That’s all I can tell you. I’m a half a second wrong. That’s life. That’s where it is.”
On the next play, the snap was off, and backup quarterback/holder Dennis Grosel recovered it, scrambled, and tried to find Danny Dalton, but the pass was incomplete. The Eagles came away empty, immediately squashing the momentum they had built up.
AJ Dillon and John Lamot turned in strong performances.
It wasn’t all bleak for the Eagles. In fact, a lot of it was exactly what they were looking for.
On offense, Dillon finished with 23 carries for 159 yards, posting his third-straight 150-plus-yard performance. It was the 10th career game with 150-plus rushing yards for the junior running back, which puts him second among active NCAA players.
Dillon praised the offensive line for its work in creating holes for him to run through.
“We had 252 yards rushing,” Dillon said. “Any time they’re doing that, they’re obviously doing their job. I love those guys up front.”
Another highlight on offense was a trick play, in which running back David Bailey showed off his arm and found Chris Garrison for a 16-yard score in the fourth quarter to slice the deficit to 27-24 with 6:39 remaining.
.@BCFootball uses some trickery and turns it into 6!#WeAreBC #MustSeeACC | @_DavidB_2 pic.twitter.com/Mr99xXQYiS
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) September 29, 2019
On defense, redshirt junior linebacker John Lamot had a monster day, turning in a career-high 17 tackles, including two for a loss.
He grew up playing sports with Wake’s quarterback, “family friend” Jamie Newman, in Graham, North Carolina, so he had some additional background knowledge against him coming into the game. On one play, he almost forced Newman to fumble the ball, but the referees deemed it a pass instead.
Lamot was peeved by the loss, but he’s not discouraged by the Eagles’ long-term chances.
“It is disappointing not to win,” Lamot said. “There are a lot of things we can learn from. We see the improvement. We know we can do it. We have to keep our confidence up and come ready to work for this next week.”
Graduate student Mehdi El Attrach also registered a career-high, racking up 12 tackles, and redshirt junior Max Richardson added 13 tackles and a sack.
It was a mixed bag for Anthony Brown.
The BC quarterback finished 21 of 29 for 268 yards and two passing TDs, but he also threw two interceptions.
His first pick came on the opening drive, and it gave momentum to the Demon Deacons early. The second came in the third quarter, and it led to Wake’s 20-play drive.
“We had a lot of self-inflicted wounds,” Brown said. “ … We were clicking today, but we don’t finish drives like that and it can hurt you … We win most categories, but then not the points. Then people don’t look at it and it doesn’t add up.”
He made plenty of strong throws as well, scrambling out of the pocket and away from trouble on fourth down and finding Jake Burt for a completion one play and making the right read and leading Zay Flowers into the end zone on another.
Brown now has eight touchdown passes and two interceptions on the season. His completion percentage, yards per pass, and passer rating are all up from last year, but his performance Saturday left him wanting more from himself.
“I would say just finishing drives is going to be huge,” Brown said. “I know we will. But I wish it could have happened today.”
Jayson Tatum and Enes Kanter were in the house.
Celtics Jayson Tatum and Enes Kanter were there to watch the Eagles take on the Demon Deacons.
Kanter shared a video of himself entering the BC student section while “Mr. Brightside” blared over the speakers. An “Enes! Enes! Enes!” chant broke out, and he perched himself right in between the “G” and the “L” in a line of shirtless and rambunctious Eagles fans.
We have all been there before 🙌
Student sections are the best 😂
Thanks @BostonCollege 🙏 pic.twitter.com/ieEcBdfUnU
— Enes FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) September 28, 2019
A “Kanter! Kanter! Kanter!” cheer also emerged, and the newly acquired center helped toss T-shirts into the stands to screaming and adoring fans.
“We have all been there before,” he wrote with a few emojis added. “Student sections are the best. Thanks @BostonCollege.”
