It was a game they had to have. Mired in a three-week slide since an opening weekend win against lowly Fordham, the Boston College Eagles travelled to Pittsburgh Saturday with all but their season on the line. They could not deliver.
In his pregame radio spot, Bill O’Brien called the afternoon’s matchup a game between “two wounded animals.” By the end, it was clear which one still had a pulse — and it wasn’t his. The Panthers trounced the Eagles in a one-sided game that showcased two programs headed in opposite directions. For Pitt, it was a win that put the season back on track. For BC, a defeat that keeps them firmly off the rails.
After a quick BC three and out to start the contest, Pitt quarterback Mason Heintschel looked poised beyond his years throughout the first plays of his collegiate career, a poise that would ultimately define the day. The 18-year-old true freshman led Pitt on an impressive opening touchdown drive in which he went 4-for-4 passing for 29 yards while rushing twice for 16 yards.
BC was unable to respond, stymied on a midfield fourth-down conversion in which Lonergan attempted a desperate run for a first down with all his receivers covered. The first Eagles first down of the game came as a gift—two consecutive Pitt offsides penalties to start the second quarter.
Lonergan continued to take shot after shot downfield but repeatedly failed to connect. High-velocity passes soared through the hands of BC receivers on seemingly every pass attempt. He completed a third-down pass to tight end Jeremiah Franklin for 32 yards early in the second quarter, but Franklin was stripped of the ball. The fumble was recovered by Pitt linebacker Kyle Louis. While the Panthers could not capitalize on the turnover, the Eagles seemed cooked from that moment forward.
A series of penalties stymied the Panthers fourth drive of the game after another BC three and out. Pitt called timeout to regroup before 2nd & 19 at the BC 43 with 8:17 to go in the first half. On the subsequent third down, BC cornerback Isaiah Farris was flagged for pass interference. Heintschel set off to run on the subsequent 3rd and long.
After a analysis, Pitt’s young quarterback was deemed short of a first down deep in BC territory, which led to a fourth down conversion attempt. Pitt got that and more. Heintschel’s pass to a wide-open Kenny Johnson resulted in a ten-yard scamper for a touchdown to make it 17-0 Pitt.
BC responded with their third three and out of the game, setting up another Panthers drive that culminated in a three-yard touchdown run by Juelz Goff to make it 24-0 Pitt.
The rout was on in the waning seconds of the first half, when Pitt’s Ja’Kyrian Turner scampered in from three yards out for a touchdown. Pittsburgh would lead 31-0 at the half.
Boston College’s first half offensive stats were hideous: they managed just two first downs, going 1-for-7 on third down conversions for just 78 total yards. The Eagles’ first half star? Punter Shamus Florio, whose four punts averaged 44.5 yards including a booming 56 yarder.
Decimated by injuries on the defensive side of the ball, the Eagles struggled throughout the entire game. But for a BC roster that entered the season with a roster shallower than their ACC foes, they seemed undone again not by a lack of talent but by mistakes that never seem to stop replicating themselves: poor tackling, poor coverage in space, killer turnovers.
Pitt’s second half opening drive was stifled by the Eagles’ first tackle for a loss; a Favor Bate sack of Heintschel for a loss of 11 yards. A Lonergan fumble on a sack shortly after returned the ball to Pittsburgh. Heintschel would find Deuce Spann alone in the back of the endzone for his third touchdown pass of the afternoon to make it 38-0.
Quarterback Grayson James took over for BC midway through the third quarter. He threaded the needle with a 21-yard pass to Dawson Pough but followed it up with an interception two plays later. A robotic second half ensued in true blowout fashion.
The Panthers tacked on a field goal to make it 48-0 with 8:28 to play. BC got the ball back after forcing a fumble on a punt by Andy Quinn — but the play was reviewed and deemed to targeting by Boston College’s Luke McLaughlin, who was subsequently ejected.
The auditions continued for BC when Shaker Reisig came in at quarterback with less than four minutes remaining. He completed two impressive long passes to Kaelan Chudzinski before the two connected from three yards out for the Eagles’ first touchdown of the day.
Eli Holstein replaced Heintschel at quarterback for Pitt halfway through the fourth. Heintschel’s final numbers in his collegiate debut: 30-for-41 passing for 323 yards and four touchdowns.
While nineteen games are far too few to determine whether O’Brien is the right coach to restore Boston College football to relevance, what remained of the optimism that marked his arrival has vanished. The rash of injuries hasn’t helped, but the “new coach” energy around the program is no more.
In a season that required almost everything to go right, nothing has — but pride still counts for something. How the Eagles respond when they host Clemson next weekend will today define what is seemingly a lost year.
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