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Boston College football’s ACC struggles continue with blowout loss to Pittsburgh
Throughout the week, Boston College football coach Bill O’Brien insisted the Eagles were close to breaking through.
He believed BC could revitalize its season if it found a way to make a few more key plays in critical moments.
After an embarrassing 48-7 loss at Pittsburgh on Saturday, it’s clear the Eagles are significantly further away than O’Brien thought. A program searching for relevancy is much closer to futility than mediocrity after surrendering 503 yards to the Panthers.
“I’ve got to figure it out,” O’Brien said. “It’s on me to figure out. Just not getting it done right now. I’m not getting it done.”
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Last year’s win over Pitt is a distant memory, as BC is off to its first 1-4 start since 2012 and still searching for its first victory over a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent since that meeting last November.
The Eagles (1-4, 0-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) fell behind, 31-0, after a dreadful first half in which they resembled a junior varsity team playing against the varsity. The Panthers (3-2, 1-1) outgained BC, 331-69, held the Eagles to minus-9 rushing yards, and possessed the ball for 21:12.
“I take full responsibility for what happened on that field,” O’Brien said. “I’ve got to do a better job. I’ve got to figure out how to coach these guys better, how to get the staff and the players to understand how we want to play.”
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BC recorded just two first downs, had four three-and-outs, and punted on four of six first-half possessions. The other two drives resulted in a turnover on downs and a fumble.
Against Pittsburgh freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel, who was making his first career start, the Eagles allowed 220 first-half passing yards, 118 yards after catch, and 20 first downs, as Pitt ran 51 plays to BC’s 25.
At one point, the ACC Network broadcast showed Heintschel had completed 11 of his first 10 passes. While it was 10 for 10 in reality, the graphic wasn’t far off.
“He was good with his legs,” BC linebacker Owen McGowan said. “He got the ball off quick, made pretty good reads. He definitely had a good day.”
The Panthers, who were missing star running back Desmond Reid, managed 4.4 yards per carry and finish the half 3 for 3 on fourth down.
A 14-yard touchdown reception from Justin Holmes and 31-yard field goal from Trey Butkowski gave Pitt a 10-0 edge by the end of the first quarter. Kenny Johnson added a 12-yard TD catch, Juelz Goff a 3-yard rushing score, and Ja’Kyrian Turner a 6-yard TD scamper with 10 seconds left to put the finishing touches on a dominant half.
BC’s defense was shorthanded, with linebackers Daveon Crouch and Bryce Steele, defensive backs Amari Jackson and Syair Torrence, and defensive tackles Quintavvious Hutchins and Kwan Williams sidelined. Pitt took full advantage.
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“I think guys all around need to play better,” McGowan said. “Defensively, we have to do a lot of things better. We have to tackle better. We do still have a lot of good players. We just have to raise our standard.”
Offensively, BC struggled to run the ball against a formidable defense averaging an ACC-best 1.85 yards allowed per carry entering the game. Ineffective runs led to passes quickly becoming predictable.
The second half was more of the same. A fumble from BC quarterback Dylan Lonergan paved the way for a 10-yard TD pass from Heintschel (30 for 41, 323 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs) to Deuce Spann that extended the margin to 38-0.
Grayson James replaced Lonergan, who threw for just 89 yards, in the third quarter and promptly threw an interception on his first drive.
“Grayson’s a senior,” O’Brien said. “It had nothing to do with anything other than giving Grayson some reps.”
Zion Fowler-El hauled in an 18-yard TD pass from Heintschel to give the Panthers a 45-0 edge through three, and Butkowski tacked on a 47-yard field goal in the fourth for good measure.
The Eagles showed signs of life late, when freshman quarterback Shaker Reisig found freshman tight end Kaelan Chudzinski for a 3-yard score, but the outcome had long been decided.
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Pitt had won just two of its previous 10 games, with the victories against FCS opponent Duquesne and Central Michigan. This was another chance for BC, whose lone win came in the opener against Fordham (FCS). It exposed the Eagles and showed they’re even further away from contention than their already-reeling fanbase thought.
It was BC’s most lopsided loss since a 44-0 beatdown from Notre Dame in 2022. After back-to-back 7-6 seasons, BC feels destined for a final record similar to its dismal 3-9 mark that year.
“There still is a lot of football,” McGowan said. “We can still get to where we want to be at the end of the year. We’ve just got to keep working at it and not get discouraged. Even though games like this are frustrating, we just have to move on to the next and flush it.”
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