“I’ve got to do a better job of coaching the team,” BC head coach Bill O’Brien said after Saturday’s loss. “I’ve got to do a better job of helping the coaches. It just was a terrible night. But it’s football. It’s adversity.”
Each week follows a similar script: The Eagles say they’ve put their shortcomings in the past and vow to correct them. Then, they continue to find a way to one-up themselves — and not in a good way — as one of their worst seasons in decades gets worse and worse.
“Losing’s not fun, so that is what it’s going to be,” said safety KP Price. “At the end of the day, we’ve got a good team. A lot of people that sit in this same exact room every day, we all believe and we’ll never stop believing.”
Here are five takeaways at the midpoint of the season.
BC’s thrashing of Fordham gave fans a false sense of hope. The heartbreaking double-OT loss to Michigan State offered a glimpse of what they could accomplish.
Since then, it’s been all downhill — and that’s putting it lightly.
The Eagles lost a winnable game to a Stanford team that has finished 3-9 four consecutive seasons. They showed up in spurts against California, but crumbled in the clutch and watched one they desperately needed slip away.
Injuries started to mount, playcalling became even more predictable, and the schedule toughened. With freshmen frequently seeing action, the defense looking inept as ever, quarterback Dylan Lonergan regressing, and the run game nowhere to be found besides vs. Cal, the situation abruptly went from bleak to disastrous.
Then, against Pittsburgh and Clemson, it got much, much worse. The Eagles were no longer on the cusp of winning close games; they were on the wrong end of two massacres.
In its last two games, Boston College has allowed 89 points, including 67 in the first half, and surrendered 500-plus yards on each occasion.
The Eagles have given up 59 first downs; lost the possession battle, 76:29-42:91; and allowed opponents to convert 15 of 27 times on third down and 6 of 7 on fourth.
Pittsburgh and Clemson recorded up easy-mode video-game numbers that put the game away in the first half.
Price, who pieced together a strong individual showing Saturday with 14 tackles and an interception, said the defense has to do a better job.
“We got on a good little track at the end of the game in the second half, but it wasn’t soon enough,” Price said. “So start faster, taking the positives and carrying those things over.”
Lonergan has many admirable traits as a quarterback. He’s levelheaded, delivers a largely accurate ball, and has developed a great rapport with Lewis Bond, Reed Harris, and Jeremiah Franklin.
But his decision-making, pocket awareness, and progression through his reads have gone downhill ever since the Michigan State game. Lonergan threw two interceptions against California and fumbled against Pittsburgh and Clemson.
O’Brien has to decide if Lonergan is the guy next year and beyond. If he does, he’ll likely continue to start him for the foreseeable future; if he doesn’t, it might be time to move on to freshman Shaker Reisig.
Reisig sizzled against the Panthers but he struggled against the Tigers with a pick of his own.
“He’s young, he’s good,” Bond said. “He’s going to get better with experience. It’s just getting the reps with him. He’s a good young player.”
After an uncharacteristically quiet game against the Panthers, Bond bounced back with seven catches for 70 yards Saturday night.
He still has by far the most receptions in the ACC (45) and the sixth-most in the country. Bond now has 170 career catches, which means he needs 31 more to eclipse Zay Flowers’ program record.
In a season marred by dysfunction, Bond remains a constant.
“I’m trying to lead with that example by doing everything right, doing things the right way,” Bond said.
With daunting matchups against Louisville, Notre Dame, SMU, and Georgia Tech on the horizon, Saturday’s homecoming game against UConn is obviously a must-win.
Their hopes of contending are long gone, and their quest for a bowl game is just about finished. Now, it’s about pride and working toward building something sustainable long term. It starts with a battle that could have lasting recruiting ramifications if it goes south.
Said Bond: “You just have to keep showing up.”
Trevor Hass can be reached at trevor.hass@globe.com. Follow him on X @TrevorHass.
