BC rallies in fourth quarter to beat Western Kentucky

Boston College’s game against Western Kentucky on Saturday had all the elements of a trap game.

With starting quarterback Thomas Castellanos sidelined, a Red Bandanna Game thriller behind them and the heart of conference play on the horizon, the Eagles looked sluggish early against the Hilltoppers.

In the past, BC teams may have collapsed and stumbled to defeat, but so far, under head coach Bill O’Brien, the Eagles have made evidence of a different level of courage. Boston College erased a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit, outlasting Western Kentucky, 21-20, in a thriller at Alumni Stadium.

It was the largest fourth-quarter deficit the Eagles (4-1) overcame in a victory in program history, surpassing 12-point comebacks against Holy Cross in 1980 and Pittsburgh in 1988.

“The message from player to player was don’t panic,” defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku said. “We are a resilient team. We just have to go out there and show it.

Ezeiruaku (14 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 quarterback hits) forced a fumble at the Western Kentucky 20-yard line with 6:26 remaining, leading to an 8-yard pass from quarterback Grayson James to Jerand Bradley at 3:33. . KP Price broke a last push from the Hilltoppers (3-2), while the Eagles escaped.

“I feel like we were able to seize the moment,” James said.

James, a junior transfer from Florida International replacing Castellanos, finished 19 of 32 for 168 yards, one touchdown, one interception and one rushing touchdown. He sputtered early, then found a rhythm as the game progressed.

The pre-existing chemistry with John Paul II (Texas) High School teammate Bradley paid off in his first start at BC. James floated the ball where only the 6-foot-5 Bradley could recover it, and Bradley took care of the rest.

“It was like having flashbacks of what we were doing,” Bradley said.

While it was certainly a powerful finish from the Eagles, it was far from a convincing overall performance.

The Hilltoppers took the lead, 7-0, on a 3-yard pass from Caden Veltkamp to Kisean Johnson with 3:05 left in the first quarter.

On Western Kentucky’s next drive, BC’s Khari Johnson dove and intercepted a Veltkamp floater. The Eagles briefly had momentum, but James gave it back immediately when he threw a pass directly into Keondre Williams’ arms for an interception early in the second. James looked nervous early on and struggled to make the right reads on short and intermediate passes.

James said Castellanos approached him after the pick and reassured him that he would be more than fine.

“He had a lot of confidence in me,” James said. “The whole offense did it.”

Western Kentucky capitalized with a 7-yard TD pass from Veltkamp to Easton Messer. At this point, WKU had a 129-12 advantage in passing yards.

BC showed signs of life late in the second half, when James found Lewis Bond for a key conversion on third down to set up a 3-yard TD run from Kye Robichaux (18 carries, 81 yards, 1 TD ) against his former team.

“It was almost a chicken egg at halftime, which would have been really embarrassing,” O’Brien said.

The Hilltoppers fought back when Lucas Carneiro kicked a 22-yard field goal as time expired.

WKU took a 17-7 lead into halftime, racking up 247 yards to BC’s 133. The Hilltoppers had 106 yards after the catch, while the Eagles had just 33. James finished the half 12 of 16, settling in late after a slow start.

The offensive slowness wasn’t shocking given the quarterback situation, but the defensive inconsistency was puzzling given BC’s success on that side of the ball this season.

“We need to play better in the first half of these games,” O’Brien said. “I know we can, so I have to figure it out.”

BC started the second half with a promising strike, but Bond tried to fend off a defender and fumbled. Carneiro kicked a 35-yard field goal, increasing WKU’s lead to 20-7 with 8:44 left in the third.

The Eagles caught a break when Veltkamp’s pass hit Michael Mathison’s fingertips and ricocheted into Kam Arnold’s hands for an interception late in the third. That led to a 1-yard TD run by James, cutting the deficit to 20-14 with 11:36 left.

“I feel like I’ve been able to settle in and have the guys rally around me,” James said.

Ezeiruaku recorded a key sack, leading to a Western Kentucky punt moments later. On the Hilltoppers’ next drive, Ezeiruaku delivered a crushing hit on Veltkamp to force the fumble on a strip sack and set up Bradley’s score.

The Eagles certainly wouldn’t have triumphed without the genius of Ezeiruaku, who now has the fourth-most sacks in BC history and is in the running for BC Defensive Player of the Year. Atlantic Coast Conference.

“Donovan is a heck of a player,” O’Brien said. “One of the best players in the ACC. He’s a playmaker, he’s intelligent. He knows when the time is right to play.