While Saturday’s weather had Alumni Stadium feeling like a mid-November game for Boston College, the results on the field did not.
With cold rain pouring down all-day-and-night, BC moved to 3-1 in their first year under Bill O’Brien, as they beat traditional Big Ten power Michigan State 23-19 in dramatic fashion.
Not only did this hand the Spartans (3-1) their first loss of the season, it also gave BC a win in their 11th annual “Red Bandana Game” - a night of remembrance and celebration for the late Welles Crowther, a hero during the terror attacks of 9/11 who tragically lost his life that day while individually saving the lives of at least one dozen people in the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Crowther had recently graduated from BC and was a volunteer firefighter in Upper Nyack, NY.
If you have never heard Crowther’s story in-full, I highly recommend you stop reading this right now and watch this piece from ESPN’s SC Featured.
“It’s a special place,” O’Brien told the ACC Network on the field postgame while thousands of BC students stormed the soggy field. “I mean, Boston College is a very special place. The student body is just everything to this place. So I was just so happy that our guys played so hard to give these students something to cheer for, you know?
“I think that’s what this place is all about, and God bless the Crowther family and God bless Welles Crowther.”
O’Brien’s team had their most balanced game of the season offensively, passing for 140 yards and rushing for 152. They lost the time of possession battle 27:30 to 32:30, but they won the all-important battle of turnovers, 4 to 1.
Three of those four turnovers were interceptions thrown by Michigan State’s dual-threat quarterback Aidan Chiles, with his last pick being the one that sealed the win for Boston College. Chiles tossed a ball to the corner of the endzone with 42 seconds remaining, and it was picked by sophomore defensive back Max Tucker.
Tucker toe-tapped along the endline as he secured the ball right in front of the student section, who erupted in celebration as they knew they were only moments away from storming the field for the first time since BC’s upset win over Mizzou in 2021.
Four plays earlier, on the previous possession, junior quarterback Thomas Castellanos made the only other play of the game to send the crowd in a similar frenzy.
While Castellanos’ stat line for the day wasn’t going to turn any heads, it was his clutch 42-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Lewis Bond with 88 seconds left that gave BC the late rally they needed to finish off the Spartans.
Castellanos told the media postgame that once he saw his favorite receiver in man-coverage downfield, he knew he wanted to make the eventual game-winning throw.
“Coaches have done a really good job of preparing us for anything,” said Castellanos. “Just different situations throughout the game all the time, and we’ve gone over that scenario multiple times.
“I seen man. I’m probably gonna get in trouble in film for throwing it because the defender was outside leverage on the top-route with slot base. I wasn’t supposed to throw it, but Lewis is a great football player. He won for me.”
Even after making the play of the season thus far, Castellanos was worried about whether or not he had made the right decision on that play.
It’s this culture of accountability that O’Brien has brought back to the program for the first time since the last O’Brien was manning the sidelines (Tom O’Brien, 1997-2006) that is the real game changer for BC Football in 2024.
In years past under the likes of Jeff Hafley or Steve Addazio, this accountability faded over time, and in some cases maybe never truly existed. Many around the program have told me that both the Addazio and Hafley administrations lost the locker room in their final years with the Eagles, which led to embarrassing stretches for a once-proud football program. Undisciplined football and untimely losses led to an apathy around the program locally that these Eagles players are still trying to combat, even as they sit at 3-1 on the season.
“You know, a lot of times when things aren’t necessarily going as well for this program, the students - not everybody showed up to the games,” said senior defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku. “But you know, we got something brewing here, as we all can see. And they can see it as well - the student body can see it.
“It’s great to have everybody in there, because we feed off that energy. So like I said, we just need to continue that throughout the rest of the season.”
Ezeiruaku had 8 tackles on the day, continuing his dominant season on the edge.
Performances like the ones Ezeiruaku and Castellanos had on Saturday are the types of games O’Brien tells his team they need to keep the momentum going for this program.
“I tell these kids all the time, and I’ve said this since I got the job - we have to be an exciting team so people wanna come watch us play,” O’Brien said postgame. "I think the students - they work really hard, too. This is a great school, it’s a very demanding school. To give them something to cheer for on Saturday night, I think that’s pretty cool.”
Earlier this season, Boston College cracked the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since 2018, with a ranking of #24 after starting the season 2-0 with wins over Florida State and Duquesne. In Week 3, they had a one-score loss on the road at #6 Mizzou, leading the Eagles to fall out of the Top 25 after only seven days with the ranking.
Saturday’s win over an undefeated Michigan State should be enough to send the Eagles back into the Top 25. We’ll see on Sunday evening if the voters agree with this sentiment.
The Eagles continue their non-conference schedule in Week 5 as they host Western Kentucky (3-1) of Conference USA. The Hilltoppers have won three in a row after a 63-0 opening weekend loss to #5 Alabama.