The arrival of an exciting, energetic quarterback, however, sparked hope in an otherwise frustrating game.
A comeback spearheaded by UCF transfer Thomas Castellanos fell just short, with the Eagles falling to the Northern Illinois Huskies in overtime, 27-24.
Playing at home to begin the season brought hopes of a 1-0 start for Boston College. Too many mistakes and penalties did the Eagles in and, for the first time in program history, led to a loss to a team from the MAC.
It was also the first loss in four games to the Huskies and a game the Eagles were just missing extra zip and execution through the game's first 2.5 quarters.
The offense, with solid returners at key positions and a revamped offensive line (with the return of all-conference performer Christian Mahogany), was expected to make waves. The offensive line did its part, paving the way for 146 rushing yards and providing adequate pass protection. Still, the team lacked an identity on what it wants to be (with maybe some answers in the second half) and starting quarterback Emmett Morehead struggled before ultimately giving way to Castellanos.
Not helping were no less than six dropped passes as the Eagles failed to find much rhythm in the passing game.
The defense was decent in spots but let major penalties keep drives for the Huskies alive. They allowed one touchdown drive where Northern Illinois ate up over seven minutes on 12 plays, in which all were run plays. Boston College did allow 166 rushing yards but only 3.5 yards per attempt, so it wasn't all horrible.
But the line failed to put much pressure on the quarterback. The defense, overall, gave up too many chunk plays on first down and allowed Northern Illinois to convert 10-18 on third down.
Positives can be found, however, and here are three Boston College standouts from the loss.
Thomas Castellanos
Castellanos entered the game on Boston College's third drive and immediately made an impact, ripping off a 29-yard run on his first play.
The sophomore brings a different pace to the position and is an obvious upgrade in terms of being dynamic in the run game. Morehead was a tough 3-6 for 14 yards in the first half and Castellanos wasn't much better in the passing game with a 5-12 performance, for 31 yards.
After Morehead again struggled, Castellanos made the most of his return and, with it, perhaps the new starter for Boston College.
Down 14-0, he led the Eagles on their first touchdown drive of the season. Playing with a short field thanks to a fumble by Husky quarterback Rocky Lombardi (pressured by Neto Okpala, with a recovery by Khris Banks), Castellanos found Lewis Bond for a 12-yard touchdown pass.
Castellanos later added a two-yard touchdown run for the Eagles second touchdown. Impressive as his legs were (nine carries, 67 yards), it was a scrambling drill earlier on that drive that made the day.
On a fourth down and five from the BC 46, Castellanos rolled out and initially found nothing. Pressure forced him from the pocket. And then from another as he backtracked and sidestepped defenders, taking him all the way back to his own 10-yard line. Still, he avoided defenders and eventually connected with Bond for 10 yards and first down.
A 30-yard touchdown to Jaden Williams tied the score at 21 with 1:44 left. Though no magic was to be found in overtime, Castellanos finished with 138 yards passing, completing 13 of 28. He did have one interception on a ball he forced into double coverage.
Starting quarterback is no easy position to handle and I thought Morehead, with his experience from last season, would slide right in. In going 4-10 for 30 yards, he often looked the more inexperienced of the two quarterbacks. Dropped passes hampered the offense and production of both quarterbacks. But, if Castellanos can continue to provide that dynamic edge, the job will be his going forward.
Lewis Bond
A handful of receivers were set to replace the production of Zay Flowers. And while the heir apparent Ryan O'Keefe (5 catches, 38 yards) didn't burst out the gate, plenty of others had fine games.
The best was Bond, who had four receptions for 40 yards and a score. He was consistently relied upon in key situations and gave the Boston College offense an added dimension.
Bond was talked about a lot during camp about a player who could make an impact this season for the Eagles. One game in, it certainly looks like he will be a main option going forward.
Eight different receivers hauled in a catch for Boston College and it feels like all had a drop, too. Each also had key receptions, whether it was a 22-yard haul by O'Keefe on the final touchdown drive or a 16-yard reception by Joe Griffin on a third down earlier in the game.
Tight end George Takacs had his struggles, with a drop that nearly led to an interception and finishing with only one catch for two yards.
There didn't seem a whole lot of effort to get Takacs involved. Game planning is part of it and I still believe there is something to be said about not trying to get 15 yards with every pass play. Rather see some shorter routes and build momentum down the field, which should allow the running game to grow even more.
Vinny DePalma
Individual efforts for the Boston College defense were mostly from the expected sources. The top of the list was linebacker Vinny DePalma, who played like the experienced veteran he is.
DePalma had 12 tackles (six solo) and came up with a key stop late in the game. The linebacker held down the linebacker fort, with Jaylen Blackwell adding seven tackles.
Donovan Ezeiruaku collected eight tackles, starting the game off with a tackle-for-loss. He was held without a sack and had a roughing the passer call that kept a Northern Illinois drive going in the fourth quarter.
The secondary did some nice things, considering the number of faces seeing their first extended playing time. Safety John Pupel looked good in collecting seven tackles and both Elijah Jones and Jalen Cheek played well with a combined seven tackles and four pass break-ups (though both had costly pass interference calls to extend drives.)
A stagnant first half for Boston College gave way to much better things in the second half. The loss stings, especially with such a winnable game. Frustrating, yes, but there was plenty to build on. And if Castellanos remains the starter, the opportunity for plenty of excitement in 2023 for the Eagles will be something to look out for.
photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
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