Coming off its first top-10 win since 2002 against Notre Dame and its largest such win in program history against Florida State last week, the Eagles entered its matchup against Duquesne with the expectation of winning and winning big.
The now No. 24-ranked team in the country did just that against Duquesne on a cloudy Saturday afternoon in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Crushing the Dukes 56–0 in their first home game of the 2024 season in Alumni Stadium, the Eagles could not have handled business any better—at least according to most people who watched the game.
“There was a lot that we did well, but I think we can do a lot better,” BC head coach Bill O’Brien said.
That mindset might very well be what has taken the Eagles from a team that barely scraped by FCS powerhouse Holy Cross to a team wiping the floor with an FCS squad in Duquesne in 2024.
Here are three observations from the Eagles’ performance that launched them into the Associated Press’ top-25.
Setting The Tone Early
It did not take long for BC to set the tone of the game. On the second drive of the matchup for the Eagles, BC marched the ball 80 yards down the field to take an early 7–0 lead, never looking back. The drive was highlighted by a 30-yard pass from Thomas Castellanos to Jerand Bradley, a 26-yard pass to Lewis Bond, and a dominant run by Treshaun Ward to finish off a scoring drive of less than three minutes.
The Eagles went on to score again in the first quarter with just over a minute left courtesy of a 72-yard touchdown connection between Castellanos and Reed Harris.
The Eagles pulled away in the second quarter, notching four touchdowns and setting themselves up to cruise to their second win of the season in the second half.
The defense was continuously locking up Duquesne too, with Khari Johnson snagging an interception early in the second quarter and taking it all the way to the end zone for a pick-six.
The Eagles never gave the Dukes a chance to get back in the game in the second half and made it clear they would not stoop to the level of their competition—a trend that’s plauged BC in the past.
Castellanos Unleashes the Cannon
After Castellanos threw for just 106 yards against then-No. 10 FSU last week, his arm was on full display on Saturday in front of a home crowd and his legs took a rest.
Castellanos completed 9-of-10 pass attempts against the Dukes for 234 yards and four passing touchdowns, now boasting a total QBR of 93.9—which ranks third in the country after Week Two. Castellanos trails just Joe Fagnano of UConn with a ranking of 97.9 and Cam Ward of Miami with a QBR of 94.9.
Even though Castellanos only threw 10 times, his vision stood out from his performance on Saturday, logging an average of 26 yards per completion.
Compared to Castellanos’ performance against FSU, where he largely used his legs to make an impact, the game plan was flipped for the matchup against Duquesne.
Castellanos also says he has his mind set on packing Alumni for home games, something that he is well on his way to doing.
“When I first got here, me just going into Conte and seeing the hockey team play, my goal is to pack Alumni like the hockey guys pack out Conte,” Castellanos said. “And that’s been a goal of mine.”
New Eagles Taking Flight
With each new season comes new additions to the Heights, and the newest Eagles are already making a major impact in the 2024 season.
Ward continued his dominance from last week’s performance at FSU and logged 55 rushing yards, a rushing touchdown, and a 30-yard receiving touchdown. Ward’s receiving touchdown put the Eagles up by 42 at the end of the second quarter, finding himself wide open over the middle of field, spinning for the catch and diving into the endzone.
Bradley fired up the Eagles’ offense with a play that would set BC up for success. After a Kye Robichaux run that tallied just two yards on the previous play, Bradley came up big in the next play. Launching the ball deep, Castellanos found his receiver, as Bradley snagged the ball to pick up 30 yards on the play and extend the Eagles’ drive. From then on, BC cut through the secondary like butter.
Finally, O’Brien is shaping up to be BC’s most important addition. His ability to keep his team disciplined and focused on the end goal is taking BC from painful mediocrity to new heights.
