Boston College: Eagles Fall Late, 22-21, in Season Opener

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CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Rutgers ran for a 22-yard touchdown with 2:43 left in the fourth quarter to take its first lead and the Scarlet Knights held on for a 22-21 season-opening victory over Boston College on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Stadium.

Zay Flowers finished with a career-high 10 receptions for 125 yards and two scores. He also gained 16 yards on the ground for 141 all-purpose yards.

BC got the scoring started in the first quarter as Phil Jurkovec found Flowers’ back shoulder on an 11-yard TD strike, making it 7-0 with 8:42 left in the period. Jurkovec finished the game 23-for-41 for 283 yards and three touchdown passes.

Rutgers found the end zone early in the second quarter on a 26-yard touchdown run, but missed the PAT attempt, leaving it at 7-6. With 5:22 left in the half, Jurkovec and Flowers connected on a 26-yard touchdown pass, making it 14-6.

With less than two minutes left in the opening frame, Elijah Jones intercepted RU’s Gavin Wimsatt, returning it 38 yards into Rutgers territory. A 15-yard penalty helped put BC into field goal range, but Connor Lytton missed on his 44-yard attempt with 12 seconds to go.

Coming out of halftime, the Scarlet Knights forced a fumble deep in BC territory and made the most of the turnover, using two plays to cover six yards into the end zone. Rutgers’ two-point conversion attempt failed, making it 14-12 with 13 minutes to go in the third.

Jaden Williams hauled in an 11-yard pass from Jurkovec with eight-and-a-half minutes left in the quarter, to make it 21-12. Rutgers tacked on a 33-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the third, making it 21-15 heading into the final quarter of play.

The Scarlet Knights took their first lead of the afternoon with 2:43 remaining in regulation, following a 12-play, 96-yard drive which featured 11 running plays. Al-Shadee Salaam scampered 22 yards to the left side of the formation to cap off the drive for a 22-21 Rutgers advantage.

RU sacked Jurkovec on back-to-back plays on the ensuing drive to force a BC punt deep in its own territory, and the Scarlet Knights drained the clock to seal the victory.

Boston College returns to action next Saturday, Sept. 10 at Virginia Tech in the ACC opener for both teams. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. in Blacksburg and the game will air live on ACC Network.