Boston College Wins Fourth in a Row, 21-14 Over Connecticut

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On an unusually warm late October Saturday afternoon, the Boston College Eagles (5-3, 2-2) looked to continue a winning streak that stood at three as they welcomed the UConn Huskies (1-7) to Alumni Stadium. The Huskies arrived at Chestnut Hill losers of six of seven games, however, they were trying to make it two in a row over the Eagles after winning last year’s game 13-3 in Connecticut.

Boston College won the toss and decided to defer to the second half. UConn got first crack on offense. After a three-and-out by the Huskies, the Eagles got their first turn with the ball. As has been the case the past three weeks, BC went to the ground to get the offense going. They would convert a fourth down on the drive. The drive ended when QB Thomas Castellanos fumbled the ball and it was recovered by Connecticut DE Pryce Yates for the game’s first big play. Connecticut would take the turnover and turn it into points. The nine-play drive was finished off by a 1-yard TD run by Jelani Stafford who used his size as a defensive end to bully his way into the end zone. 7-0 Huskies.

It would take the Eagles 4:17 seconds to tie the game at 7-7. The 10-play, 75-yard drive had six running and three passing plays. Big plays on the drive included a 17-yard run from Castellanos and a 15-yard pass completion to Lewis Bond on the left side. Two runs from Klye Robichaux, the first went for 13 yards. On the very next play, Robichaux took it into the end zone from 5 yards out to tie the game. The quarter ended at 7-7. The Eagles were already starting to flex their muscles gaining 66 yards on the ground in the quarter, 42 of them from Robichaux.

The second quarter played just like the first for BC. They would take the lead with 6:26 left in the half on a 12-play, 66-yard drive where 10 of those plays were on the ground. This time it was Alex Broome getting the call and he would finish the drive by catching a 6-yard pass in the right flat from Castellanos and taking it into the endzone. BC was up 14-7. With 6:19 left in the half, the Eagles already had 122 yards on the ground. UConn’s next drive stalled on a failed fourth down try inside their own territory. The chance to add more points for BC came up short as Castellanos’ pass into the right side of the end zone was picked off by free safety Chris Shearin for the Huskies. With that, the half came to an end with the Eagles up 14-7. BC gained 225 yards in the half, 148 of that on the ground. The Eagles’ defense was good allowing only 77 total yards.

As the third quarter started, an interesting development took place. With BC getting the second-half kickoff, a change at QB took place. Emmett Morehead was running the offense. He drove the team into Huskies territory before it stalled. A 44-yard FG attempt by Connor Lytton was wide right. The UConn defense held and they got the ball for the first time in the second half with 7:39 to go. When BC got the ball back Castellanos was back at QB. His first drive of the second half ended up in the end zone. A key play on the drive was a 30-yard pass completion to TE Charlie Gordinier that set the Eagles up at the Huskies’ 13-yard line. On the very next play, Robichaux took a handoff and went up the middle for a 13-yard TD. It was 21-7 BC with 34 seconds left in the quarter. The third quarter ended with the Eagles in the lead.

The fourth quarter started with UConn inside BC territory. They would make this a one-score game again as Cam Edwards (16 carries 89 yards, 1 TD) took a handoff, broke a couple of tackles down the right side, and ran into the end zone from 30 yards out. With 13:51 to play the Huskies were down 21-14. Connecticut’s defense would hold and give their offense another shot. The drive took them to the Boston College side of the field where a 54-yard FG try attempt by Noe Ruelas was short and to the right. With 6:44 left the Eagles had the ball back at their 36-yard line. They picked up nine big yards on a fourth down as Castellanos (16-of-24, 151 yards 1TD, 14 carries 72 yards) did the honors. BC was now deep in Huskies territory at the 32-yard line and Connecticut was forced to use their timeouts. It was to no avail as BC ran out the clock and won their fourth in a row 21-14 over Connecticut.

After the game, coach Haffey was happy with the win but thought they were “sloppy on offense.” He believes his team kept UConn in the game far too long. That said, he knows how hard it is to win four in a row. LB Vinny DePalma echoed those same thoughts by saying “We have to get better.” On offense, the ground game was most of the story running for 246 yards on the day. Both running backs, Kyle Robichaux (23 carries for 112 yards, 2 TDs), and Alex Broome (15 carries, 84 yards) talked about how much fun they are having running behind their offensive line. Having the ball for 40 minutes and running 83 offensive plays is never a bad thing Connecticut QB Ta’Quan Robinson had a difficult day, going 11-of-24 for 130 yards.

Boston College has a short week, the first of two such setups, as they will get ready to head to upstate New York to meet Syracuse on Friday night.