BC Battles to Finish at No. 14 SMU

Read Time:2 Minute, 59 Second

DALLAS – Boston College fell, 38-28, to No. 14 SMU at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Grayson James was 17-for-31 on the day, for 212 yards. He had a touchdown and an interception. James completed 17 passes to six different receivers, led by four catches apiece from Reed Harris (78 yards), Jeremiah Franklin (42 yards), and Kamari Morales (34 yards, TD). Kye Robichaux carried the ball 21 times for 90 yards and two touchdowns, while Jordan McDonald gained 63 yards on the ground on 11 rushes.

Boston College’s first possession ended in a punt that gave SMU the ball near the 50-yard line. Six plays later, the Mustangs found the end zone, making it 7-0 with 7:42 left in the opening quarter. SMU would extend its lead to 10-0 after a 35-yard field goal with about a minute to go in the first.

BC got on the scoreboard with 9:53 left in the second, as Robichaux found the end zone from two yards out. The scoring drive covered 75 yards on 13 plays and took nearly six minutes. The Mustangs would push their lead back to 10 – at 17-7 – with 5:55 to go in the second, but James and the Eagles orchestrated another 75-yard scoring drive, capped by a 13-yard scoring connection with Morales with 1:03 to play in the first half. BC trailed 17-14.

Carter Davis picked off SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings at the BC 44-yard line with 46 ticks left. After a 15-yard personal foul on the Mustangs, the Eagles had it 1st-and-10 at the SMU 15-yard line. But it was not meant to be, as James threw an interception in the end zone with 24 seconds remaining. SMU made the most of that limited timing, pushing the ball down the field to set up a 41-yarder to make it 20-14 at the break.

Grayson James engineered a go-ahead touchdown to start the third quarter, taking the ball into the end zone himself to finish off an eight-play, 83-yard drive, making it 21-20. James and Harris connected twice on 19-yard passing routes, setting up the 20-yard QB scamper.

SMU would counter, regaining the lead after a touchdown and field goal on its next two possessions, taking a 31-21 advantage into the fourth quarter. But BC would carve into that lead on Robichaux’s second touchdown of the afternoon, carrying the ball for the final 25 yards of the 10-play, 74-yard drive. The score made it 31-28.

Boston College’s defensive corps dialed up the pressure and forced an SMU punt on the next possession. The Eagles got the ball back with a little more than four minutes on the clock but were unable to convert. SMU added a late touchdown to pad the final score.

Daveon Crouch led BC with 10 tackles (six solo), including two for a loss. Joe Marinaro added eight tackles, while KP Price had seven.

The Eagles compiled 392 yards of offense on the day (212 passing; and 180 rushing). They tallied 21 first downs, were 6-for-15 on third-down conversions, and held a nearly 10-minute advantage in time of possession.

The Eagles return home for the final two contests of the 2024 regular season, beginning with a matchup against North Carolina on Saturday, Nov. 23. The game is set for a noon kickoff at Alumni Stadium and the game will air live on The CW.