The bad omen happened plays later, when the Eagles were called for a face mask penalty after stopping the Cardinals on third down.
Louisville (4-0) followed that with a 33-yard touchdown run by Jawhar Jordan, scored on their next six possessions, and Boston College (1-3) fell 56-28 on Saturday afternoon.
Boston College's defense drowned all day, allowing big play after play. Quarterback Plummer was 18-21 for 388 yards, averaging nearly 21.6 yards per completion. Louisville racked up 585 yards of offense, with Plummer accounting for six touchdowns (five passing, one on the ground.)
Jordan was as advertised, totaling 134 yards and two touchdowns, to go along with a 75-yard touchdown reception off a screen pass.
Even when the Eagles did find ways to get the Cardinals to third down, Boston College couldn't get them off the field. Louisville was 8 of 12 on third-down attempts.
The defense had been slightly above mediocre in the season's first three games but never found an answer all game. Despite finding ways to pressure Plummer, they came up just short in getting to him. The secondary was somewhat successful in containing Louisville star wideout Jamari Thrash but others stepped up around him.
Boston College also had an interception negated because of an offside call.
Rightfully so when allowing 56 points, there were very few bright spots for Boston College on defense. John Pupel led the way with eight tackles (six solo) and redshirt sophomore Sione Hala had his best game, making seven tackles and collecting a sack.
Overall, penalties and mistakes were limited, especially compared to the season's first three games. The Eagles had seven penalties and only a handful occurred on offense, which had been a major problem.
The offense looked in sync on the first drive before stalling in Louisville territory and didn't get on track again until the second quarter. A decent running attack was underutilized but much of that was due to be down by so much.
Kye Robichaux had nine carries for 40 yards and Pat Garwo III saw his first action since the opening minutes of the game against Holy Cross. Garwo had three carries for 15 yards and two receptions for 10 yards, all in the second half.
The passing game provided the highlights, with these four players standing out.
Trio shines for Boston College
Depth at wide receiver is one issue Boston College hasn't faced thus far in 2023. The real question heading into the season was who was going to rise to the top.
Three have risen to the task and all three were tops on Saturday.
Lewis Bond again gave a riveting performance with four catches, 71 yards, and two touchdowns, bringing his season total to four.
Bond proved to be hard to tackle, too, with a 36-yard scamper after breaking tackles on a wide receiver screen.
Bond is tops in receiving yards and touchdowns but tops in receptions is Ryan O'Keefe. O'Keefe had five more on Saturday and continues to be more involved. He notched 86 receiving yards and hauled in his first receiving touchdown as an Eagle with a 30-yard score in the second quarter.
Joe Griffin was again productive, with five receptions for 76 yards, including a highlight-worthy one-hand grab in the fourth quarter going for 26 yards.
Drops continued to be an issue, with Bond, Dino Tomlin, and Jaden Williams all having at least one. But the unit has adapted well in adjusting routes, especially with quarterback Thomas Castellanos finding ways to keep plays alive.
Growth, progress at quarterback
Castellanos struggled early to connect in the passing game. But once he got rolling, he was hard to stop.
And again, it was the legs of Castellanos that energized his game.
Castellanos provided Boston College's first score of the game on a 39-yard touchdown run. His rushing productivity after was a little lackluster, finishing with 10 carries for 49 yards. But part of that can be attributed to sacks and twice tripping his own lineman's feet while trying to hit a hole.
Completion percentage (17-33) was again hampered by drops and some near-mises. Castellanos threw for 265 yards and three touchdowns, multiple times extending plays and finding third or fourth options on routes.
In only his third start, Castellanos is showing fantastic signs of growth. There are still some hiccups, like the errant backwards pass recovered by Louisville (but thankfully overturned because Castellanos was down). But more and more, his upside is prevailing as Boston College's quarterback.
After a close loss to Florida State, it was disappointing to see this result against Louisville. It was a difficult road test that Boston College did not handle well. The offense is rolling along and only getting more efficient. Let's hope this is only a blip for the defense, or else fans best buckle up for a wild ride each week.
photo credit: Flickr
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