Boston College defeats Michigan State 23-19

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Saturday night at Chestnut Hill was a rainy night for football. However, that did not stop a sold-out crowd from showing up to see the Eagles and Spartans play some ball in the Red Bandanna game. This is the seventh time the two schools have met since 2007 in the Champs Sports Bowl. Michigan State won the coin toss and deferred to Boston College for the second half.

After a three-and-out from the Eagles, a short punt gave the Spartans a short field to work with. Starting from the BC 49, Michigan State moved themselves into position to try a 41-yard FG. Jonathan Kim connected to give MSU a 3-0 lead with 9:11 left in the first. BC’s second drive of the quarter was moving along nicely. Using a ground game that was churning up yards, they found themselves in the red zone. The drive ended when Eagles RB Treshaun Ward fumbled inside the State’s 10-yard line. The ball was recovered by Spartans LB Wayne Mathews III. The first quarter ended with the Eagles driving again. Running the ball was BC’s best option in the first gaining 66 yards on 14 carries.

BC kept that drive moving as the second quarter began running the ball down State’s throat. They finished it with an 11-yard run by Turbo Richards. He started to run up the middle, found nothing there, then turned it to the outside on the left and raced into the endzone. The point after was no good. BC had to settle for a 6-3 lead with 12:22 left in the half. Boston College already was closing in on 100 yards of rushing on 18 carriers averaging 5.2 yards a carry. Michigan State came right back on the strength of QB Aidan Childs’s arms and legs. He picked up a big first down by using his legs for an 11-yard gain. Then hooked up with Montorie Foster Jr. for a 40-yard catch down the middle that put the ball at the BC one-yard line. From their Childs on a QB keeper took the ball into the endzone for a 1-yard TD run to put Michigan State back in front 10-6 with 8:05 left in the half.

The Eagles’ defense came up with their first big play of the night as Childs looked for a receiver over the middle, he found BC free safety Carter Davis instead. It gave Boston College the ball back with 3:15 left in the half at their own 22-yard line. The turnover did nothing for the BC offense. Behind the legs of Childs, MSU added to their lead just before half as Kim hit his second FG of the half. This one from 26 yards out. The half came to an end with Michigan State up 13-6. Childs was becoming a problem for the Eagles defense. He was 7-of-16 for 102 yards and a pick. On the ground, he ran for 61 yards on 5 carries with a score. His longest run was 22 yards. The BC ground game was the first half story. Ward was the leading ball carry with 50 yards on 8 carries. The Eagles had 108 total yards, 88 of them on the ground.

Michigan State got the second-half kickoff. then fumbled it away. Kay’ron Lynch-Adams fumbled it away. The Eagles special teams recovered it at the MSU 5-yard line. All the Eagles could do with the gift was a 34-yard FG as the offense went backward. It was 13-9 with 13:00 to go. The defense made it two-for-two on turnovers as the next time MSU had the ball, Childs threw an interception that was hauled in by Amari Jackson.

The ball was spotted at the Spartans 36-yard line. On the very next play, Ward (14 carries for 102 yards, 1 TD) went around the left side and took the ball into the endzone for a 36-yard TD run. That put the Eagles in front 16-13 with 12:20 left in the quarter. They had now scored 10 unanswered points. MSU stopped that run with a 51-yard FG by Kim, his third of the night, to tie the game at 16-16 with 9:06 in the third. The quarter ended with the game still tied and BC driving for the go-ahead score.

That drive that BC was on did not result in any points. The MSU defense came up with a goal-line stand stopping Castellanos on a fourth and one at Michigan State’s one-yard line. State would take that stand and move the ball all the way to the BC 9-yard line. It was an 18-play 89-yard drive that took nine minutes off the clock. Kim hit his fourth FG of the night to give MSU a 19-16 lead with 4:12 left. The Eagles, with 1:28 left, took the lead back 23-19 as Castellanos hit Lewis Bond (6 catches for 102 yards and a score) with a 42-yard catch and run TD pass. Bond caught the ball on the right side, crossed the field, and trotted into the endzone on the left side.

State still had life starting from their own 25-yard line with two timeouts. The Boston College defense sealed the deal with an interception of Childs in the back of the Eagles’ end zone. Max Tucker came up with the pick. For Childs (17-of-35, 241 yards), it was his third INT of the night. Castellanos (10-of-16, 140 yards, and a TD) took a knee to end the game. Boston College improves to 3-1 as the Eagles win 23-19 over Michigan State (3-1).

After the game, BC head coach Bill O’Brien thought the game was “a dog fight” and very much believes the team can do “so many things better.” Quarterback Thomas Castellanos gave Lewis Bond all the credit for what turned out to be the game-winning TD catch. Bond for his part said, “it was his first game-winning catch at any level.”