Looking Forward, Looking Back: BC Stuns #17 SMU in Wasabi Fenway Bowl

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BOSTON — Sophomore quarterback, Thomas Castellanos rushed for 155 yards and two touchdowns in Boston College’s (BC) 23-14 victory over the #17 Southern Methodist University (SMU) Mustangs at the Wasabi Fenway Bowl on Thursday afternoon.

“It was pretty emotional down there when we got to take one final knee,” said BC head coach, Jeff Hafley following the win. “All of the hard work we put in, all of the ups and downs throughout the season and to finish like this… it was special.”

BC won the toss and elected to defer to the second half. SMU return man, Roderick Daniels Jr., brought the ball out to the 29 but an illegal block in the back penalty would have the Mustangs starting from their own 16. The Mustangs offense would drive their way down into BC territory but sophomore quarterback Kevin Jennings would be stripped by Donovan Ezeiruaku who recovered the football and set the Eagles up on their own 43.

Castellanos maneuvered the Eagles’ offense deep into enemy territory, but the drive would stall out at the 27-yard line. BC’s Liam Connor opened the scoring with a 45-yard field goal after SMU’s Charles Woods knocked away a deep pass intended for freshman Jaedn Skeete.

SMU’s early woes continued, going three-and-out on their next drive. Ryan Bujcevski’s punt was tipped by the BC defensive line, setting the Eagles up at the Mustangs’ 44-yard line. The subsequent BC drive would be nearly identical to their first, ending in another 45-yard field goal attempt for Connor. This time, however, the Leominster, Mass. native would send the ball wide right, keeping the score at 3-0.

The Mustangs would find life on their next possession, going on a 15-play, 78-yard touchdown drive to start the second quarter. Jennings would convert a third-and-17 with a strike to Jake Bailey to move the chains into enemy territory. Once in the red zone, LJ Johnson would take the ball down to the half-yard line before plunging up the middle to put the Mustangs ahead 7-3.

BC responded with a 10-play, 77-yard drive of their own. Hafley opened up the playbook with a 13-yard flea flicker going from Castellanos to Robichaux and back to Castellanos to put the Eagles at the SMU 28. Robichaux closed out the drive with a six-yard run into the SMU endzone to put the Eagles back in front 10-7 with 3:07 to play in the half.

SMU made quick work of a short field following a 38-yard return by Key’Shawn Smith to bring the ball out to the 45. Jennings made a highlight reel play, warding off two Eagles defenders before throwing on the run to Adam Moore to set up the Mustangs on the Boston College 27-yard line. Jaylan Knighton would be on the receiving end of Jennings’ screen pass, running into the endzone for a 6-yard return to close out a 10-play, 55-yard drive.

At the gun, SMU led the Eagles 14-10. Boston College was held to just six passing yards on three completions in the wet conditions.

The Eagles Strike Back

Boston College opened the second half with the ball and made early gains’ into enemy territory. Alex Broome found a hole in the Mustangs’ defensive front and ran around the end of the line for a 20-yard pick-up. However, Castellanos made a costly mistake just a few plays later, throwing directly into double coverage and getting picked off by SMU linebacker Alex Kilgore.

The teams would trade punts before SMU got the next big chance of the game. Jennings made an unbelievable running throw to the endzone from the 47-yard line, but Key’Shawn Smith would mistime his dive for the ball. The drive continued, but stalled out at the Boston College 27, setting up a field goal attempt from 45 yards out. Collin Rodgers would boot the ball just low enough for BC’s KP Price to tip the ball away and hand possession back to the Eagles.

BC would come out of the final intermission with newfound confidence. A short pass by Castellanos to Jaedn Skeete would turn into a 32-yard gain for the Eagles. A 15-yard QB keeper to put the BC back in the lead with 12:22 to go in regulation.

The BC defense would make an enormous fourth-down stop allowing Castellanos to lead the offense back to the endzone. Kye Robichaux would take the ball 40-yards to set up a 14-yard end-around run by Castellanos who flew head over heels into the endzone. Connor would miss the PAT, but the Eagles would lead by 11 with under ten minutes to play.

SMU’s final drive, whole lengthy, would be unsuccessful. The Eagles made another fourth-down stop, allowing the offensive unit to ice the game and close out the come-from-behind upset victory in front of the hometown crowd. This is Boston College’s first win over a ranked opponent since their game against the then #17 NC State Wolfpack.

POSTGAME PROCEEDINGS

SMU’s most notable miscues surrounded the special teams unit.

“[Special teams] was not good today,” said SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee. “It was not to our standard. The first two kickoff returns we ended up running around more than we’d want. We had different personnel than we had throughout the year and we let [Boston College] run through the A-gap. It’s unacceptable. It can’t happen.”

Lashlee appeared to take away some positives after the loss.

“I think as time goes on, we’ll look back and think ‘This was a pretty special year,’” said Lashlee. “This team did a lot of special things. What they did down the stretch and the way they battled week in and week out was totally the opposite of what we did today, but we played 14 games. The record shows who we are more times than not.”

With the game being played in the unusual venue that is Fenway Park, many adjustments had to be made to fit a football field into the confines of “America’s most beloved ballpark.” Most notably, the benches were placed on the same sideline, creating challenges when substituting players on and off the field. However, it seems that the concerns that the BC players and coaches had regarding the location were slightly overblown.

“It was way worse in practice,” said BC quarterback Thomas Castellanos. “It felt like coach [Hafley] was 100 yards away. When we got out here, it wasn’t that bad. It felt normal. I couldn’t go down to cheer on the defense, but other than that it felt normal.”

While many people have begun to question the importance of non-college Football Playoff postseason contests, BC head coach Jeff Hafley made his opinions on the importance of bowl games known.

“I don’t think you could ever call a game ‘meaningless,’” said Hafley. “These guys work too hard and sacrifice too much. Every day these guys are out practicing. They weren’t home with their families for Christmas. I think it’s very disrespectful to call bowl games ‘meaningless.’ I thought we played harder than we have all year. This wasn’t meaningless to us at all.”