The Eagles turned the ball over three times, continued to struggle running the ball and stopping the run, and couldn’t convert in critical moments. As a result, they fell, 30-20, in a very winnable game they entered as 14-point favorites.
“We’re not a good football team right immediately,” O’Brien said. “Print that. Write that. We’re going to work hard to be better. Hopefully we improve.”
The Eagles (1-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) scored 20 points in the second quarter and none the rest of the game. The Cardinal (1-2, 1-0 ACC), outscored 50-23 in their first two games against Hawaii and BYU, displayed a killer instinct that BC lacked.
A week after falling just short in a largely encouraging loss at Michigan State, Boston College took a significant step backward against Stanford. The Eagles are immediately 1-6 on the road in the O’Brien era, compared to 7-1 at home, and enter the bye week in need of an unexpected recharge just three weeks into the season.
“We had turnovers, missed opportunities,” said BC wide receiver Reed Harris. “Once all those things start to pile up on leading of each other, that’s going to turn the tide.”
The first half was an unpredictable game of runs that featured several shifts in momentum and very little rhythm or fluidity.
Stanford averaged 18.8 yards per completion in the first quarter and moved the ball with relative ease. The Cardinal torched a depleted BC secondary, sans standouts Syair Torrence and Amari Jackson, to build a 6-0 lead through one on field goals from Emmet Kenney.
The Eagles then responded convincingly, erupting for 17 points in a span of less than six minutes to briefly seize command. Luca Lombardo drilled a 51-yarder, Dylan Lonergan found Turbo Richard for a 49-yard strike and Jordan McDonald scored from 2 yards out to vault Boston College ahead.
On the verge of tacking on another touchdown, the Eagles then squandered momentum with a head-scratching sequence they would like to have back. The Cardinal recovered a fumble after a bad snap and scored almost immediately, then Collin Wright added a 19-yard pick-six moments later.
The Cardinal scored 14 points in 18 seconds, capitalizing on Lonergan’s first costly mistake in a BC uniform. When the broadcast showed a graphic that Lonergan (30 for 44, 333 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) was the first Boston College quarterback to start a season with nine touchdown passes and zero interceptions since Anthony Brown in 2018, he threw a pick shortly thereafter.
Harris (seven catches, 141 yards) racked up 113 receiving yards in the half for the Eagles, who outgained Stanford, 313-232, in total yards but didn’t have anything to show for it. Boston College struggled to run the ball, missed tackles, and beat itself in spurts, just like it did against Michigan State.
“We just have to work on eliminating bad football and playing cleaner overall defensively,” said BC linebacker Owen McGowan. “We can’t have missed assignments, we can’t miss tackles.”
After all that, BC and Stanford entered halftime deadlocked at 20. At that point, though it wasn’t all picturesque, Boston College was still well within striking distance.
The Eagles had a prime opportunity to reclaim the lead late in the third, but Richard fumbled on fourth and goal from the 1. It was BC’s third turnover of the night and Richard’s second goal-line fumble in as many games.
“We had our chances,” O’Brien said. “We came away with field goals instead of touchdowns, or we turned the ball over on the 1-yard line.”
Stanford made Boston College pay for the blunder with a 75-yard run and 5-yard TD rush from Micah Ford to take a 27-20 edge through three. The Cardinal scored 21 points off BC’s three turnovers, which ultimately made the difference.
They extended the margin to 30-20 on a 26-yard field goal with 11:26 remaining, secured another key stop, then ran out the clock with spirited general manager Andrew Luck igniting the crowd.
It was just one game, but this one illuminated what needs to be fixed moving forward. O’Brien acknowledged the Eagles need to coach better to put the players in a position to be successful. The talent is there, and it’s up to the players and coaches to work in tandem to figure out a solution so Year 2 of the O’Brien era doesn’t go to waste.
“There’s a lot of season left,” O’Brien said. “I’ll tell you exactly what I told the team. Everybody’s got a choice. You want to be here, you don’t want to be here. Make your choice.”
Trevor Hass can be reached at trevor.hass@globe.com. Follow him on X @TrevorHass.
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