Boston College rolls over the Richmond Spiders 45-13 for 2-0 start

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Fresh off their first ACC season-opening win since 2007, and just the second in school history since joining the conference in 2005, the Boston College Eagles returned to Alumni Stadium to play non-conference football vs The Richmond Spiders. This is the sixth time the two schools have met on the field. However, it’s the first time since 1971. The Eagles hold a 4-1 record vs the Spiders all-time. In their victory over Virginia Tech last Saturday, Boston College showed an ability to move the ball on the ground and through the air. They gained 157 yards on the ground and 275 in the air. If there may be a bit of a concern, it is that the Eagles pass defense allowed 344 yards in the air to the Hokies. Yes, they did pick off three Virginia Tech throws and force five turnovers for the game. It helped to net the Eagles 14 points off turnovers. But the total yardage is a bit high, even for an opener.

Richmond was on the winning side of a 38-19 win at home against Jacksonville. The Spiders got in done on the ground rushing for 320 yards with eight players getting touches on the day. QB Joe Mancuso was good with his arm and his feet. He ran for 77 yards and two touchdowns and was 14-for-19 in the passing game good for 131 yards. A dual-threat guy that the Eagles had to pay attention to. Richmond’s defense had their hands full also dealing with the duo of A.J. Dillion, who gained 88 yards on 23 touches with a TD, and QB Anthony Brown who completed 15 of 26 for 275 yards and two touchdowns. The best news about that performance was no picks. Boston College had a 20-9 non-conference record heading into this one.

It did not take long for BC to flex their muscles after winning the coin toss and electing to defer. Richmond (1-1) kicked off to begin the game. A minute and twenty-five seconds of game time later, the ball was in the Spiders end zone. A six-play 71-yard drive was capped off by a 46-yard touchdown run off of a jet sweep up the right sideline by freshman Zay Flowers. The kick was good and the Eagles were up early 7-0. As the first quarter reached the halfway mark, the Eagles offense was at it again. It was keyed by a 36-yard run up the middle by RB David Bailey. Anthony Brown then found TE Korab Idrizi for a seven-yard touchdown pass. For Brown, it was his third touchdown pass of the year. For Idrizi, it was his second career TD catch. The Eagles were up 14-0.

The BC defense got in on the act by picking off Spiders quarterback Mancuso. Boston College defensive back Nolan Borgerson picked off his first career INT. The Eagles wasted little time taking that turnover and turning it into points. A.J. Dillon got a 30-yard run to the right and set up BC in the red zone. From there, Dillon finished it off with a two-yard TD run to the right. Just like that, it was 21-0 Boston College after one.

Richmond’s offense, which did spend time in Boston College’s side of the field in the first, finally made it pay off early in the second. Mancuso found Keyston Fuller over the middle for a 35-yard catch and run for a Spiders touchdown. For Mancuso, it was his first touchdown toss of the season. It was 21-7 BC early in the second quarter. The Eagles got that one back when Brown hit Dillon on the right sideline, Dillon would make a cut back into the field and run 42-yards for his second touchdown of the half It was Brown’s second TD toss of the half to make it 28-7 BC, 11:15 before halftime. After, the Spiders cut the gap on a 36-yard field goal by Jake Larson. BC added to their lead before the half when Brown found Jake Burt for a 55 yard TD catch and run up the middle. For Brown, it was his third touchdown pass of the half. BC was now up 35-10 with 3:36 to go in the second.

The first half came to an end, with the Eagles leading 35-10. Their offense gained 375 total yards in the first 30 minutes of play and were two of three in the red zone. In the third, BC (2-0) kept it going. Dillon got his second rushing touchdown and third of the day. This one was from two yards out that made it 42-10 Eagles with eight minutes to go in the third. A 30-yard FG by Aaron Boumerhi increased Boston College’s lead to 45-10 with seconds left in the third.

With subs in the game for both sides, the fourth quarter saw only a 45-yard field goal by Larson, his second of the game for Richmond. The final score from Chestnut Hill was Boston College 45 Richmond 13. The Eagles would finish the game with 518 yards of total offense with 346 coming on the ground and they went four of five in the red zone.

After the game, Coach Addazio said: “he felt great about being 2-0.” He pointed out “good things happening today.” The coach really liked his “fast offense and how the defense tightened things up in the second half.” Quarterback Anthony Brown talked about “the guys in our rooms can make plays.”

Looking ahead to Friday night’s game with Kansas, Brown said: “they have a good running back and their defense will come to play.” Under the lights at home this Friday, Boston College will host Kansas out of the Big 12. Kickoff is set for 7:30 PM.