Boston College hosts Michigan State in the Red Bandana Game

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After a tough loss on the road at Missouri, the Boston College Eagles (2-1, 1-0) return to Alumni Stadium Saturday night to face Big 10 Michigan State (3-0, 1-0) in the annual Red Bandana Game. A little history on the name of the contest for this week. The game is played in the memory of Wells Crowther class of 99 who passed away during the attacks of September 9, 2011. He is credited with saving several lives by risking his life and going into the Twin Towers and bringing people out of the buildings. This is the tenth Red Bandanna game and BC is 4-5 in the game that started in 2014.

A brief look back at last Saturday’s game at Missouri saw it was BC’s toughest test to date. The Eagles did have a 14-6 lead in the middle of the second quarter but Missouri would score 14 unanswered points to take a 17-14 lead to the locker room. The Tigers would increase the lead to 27-14 after scoring on their first drive of the third quarter. They added a FG later on. Boston College would make it a one-score game in the fourth on QB Thomas Castellanos’ third TD pass of the game. However, that would be as close as the Eagles would get. Telling stats from the game were the Tigers running game getting 176 yards on the ground while holding BC to just 49 yards rushing, their lowest output of the season.

Boston College and Michigan State have met six times and BC holds a 4-1-1 record all-time. The last time these two met was in Orlando, Florida in the Champs Sports Bowl game that the Eagles won 24-21 on December 28, 2007. Their record against the current members of the Big 10 is 40-48-2. 9-18 vs the league at the time of competition. The Spartans boast a defense that is 16th in the country in total defense allowing 242.3 yards a game. They are 23rd in scoring defense yielding only 11.3 points in their three games to date. On offense, they can throw the ball and run it too. Through the air, they average 249 yards a game, 53rd in the nation. On the ground, they average 162.7 yards, good for 62nd in the country.

Thomas Castellanos finds himself ranked in the top 10 in five different categories. He is top-10 in passing efficiency (204.0), passing touchdowns (9), passing yards per completions (16.83), and yards per passing attempts (10.91). He is also in the top-10 and second in the ACC in points responsible with 60. On the defensive side of the ball, Donovan Ezeiruaku is 12th in FBS and fourth in the league with three sacks. That total leads the BC defense.

Michigan State is looking to go 4-0 for the first time since 2021. This marks the end of the non-conference portion of their schedule. Last week’s shutout of Prairie View was the team’s first since 2021. The defense allowed only 17 yards on the ground and 140 total. The defense is fifth-best in the country in sacks with 11.37, and ninth in team tackles for loss with 9.7 a game. Redshirt junior cornerback Charles Brantley is tied for second in the Big 10 with two INTs.

The Eagles are a six-point favorite heading into this contest. A win would surely look good on their season-ending resume.