An upset win against then-No. 10 Florida State and a near upset victory against then-No. 6 Missouri put Boston College football head coach Bill O’Brien in the national spotlight.
The Eagles’ most recent loss at Virginia due to a second-half breakdown has turned heads about the identity and expectations for BC’s squad.
With six games remaining, BC football writers Graham Dietz and Sourabh Gokarn asked BC football’s social media audience to list their most pressing questions and concerns about the team’s successes and failures this season.
Here are Dietz and Gokarn’s responses for The Heights’ bye-week mailbag.
Why hasn’t Thomas Castellanos run as much as last season?
Dietz: Similar to how I characterized it in my previous notebook, and just like he phrased it in BC’s most recent press conference, it feels like Castellanos is programmed to show that he can “be a real quarterback,” as if he did not do so last season because his main strength was the run game. O’Brien stated that he and offensive coordinator Will Lawing gameplan for each of their opponents differently, and the run/pass game split is based accordingly, which is a fine approach.
The tradeoff, however, is that it overshadows the deadliest weapon this offense possesses—Castellanos’ innate ability to make plays with designed quarterback runs and scrambling. Castellanos ranked 35th in the nation overall last season in rushing yards (1,113), averaged 5.2 yards per carry, and averaged 16.5 attempts per game. This season, that number is down to 10.6 for an average of 1.9 yards per attempt.
Because O’Brien comes from an NFL background, I think part of how he envisions the offense’s execution is with an approach that requires deep analysis of the opponent and exploiting the weaknesses. College defenses, however, are substantially less difficult to attack than NFL defenses, and I think there is an argument to be made that O’Brien and Lawing have to free Castellanos up a bit.
The skill gap between an average college player on defense and Castellanos is much wider than an NFL defensive player and an NFL quarterback, which is why the outcomes of games in college football are more unpredictable. While Castellanos’ pocket awareness and average time of release have improved drastically, he hasn’t been nearly as explosive. He has to make a decision: Does he want to continue to show that he can “throw the ball,” or does he want to give BC its best chance to compete and win?
What’s going on with BC’s offensive line?
Gokarn: BC’s allowed sack numbers are telling a disappointingly obvious story: Its offensive line just isn’t holding up like it did a season ago. The Eagles allowed a total of 16 sacks throughout the 2023 season. But this year, BC has already surrendered nearly as many sacks (15) through only six games. The Eagles’ team quarterback sack percentage has more than doubled from last year, jumping from 5.06 percent in 2023 to 10.29 percent this season. That ranks 125th in the nation.
These numbers, while concerning, aren’t quite capturing the full story. As Graham mentions, O’Brien and his offensive staff haven’t fully utilized Castellanos’ legs and off-schedule talent thus far, instead keeping BC’s signal-caller rather confined in the pocket. Add in a receiver corps that—while talented—has struggled to consistently create separation from defensive backs, and you get an offensive line under duress and prone to sacks.
As a unit, the Eagles’ offensive line has actually improved in some aspects, particularly in the discipline department. BC has reduced its average penalties per game from 6.3 in 2023 to 4.0 this season. Much of the credit for that improvement belongs to an offensive line that has largely limited false starts and other costly penalties.
That being said, the unit does deserve some blame. After all, this is an experienced and talented offensive line full of returners. Drew Kendall entered the season on the Rimington Trophy Preseason Watch List, Ozzy Trapilo earned a spot on the 2023 All-ACC Second Team, and Jack Conley has been with the program for six seasons now. Needless to say, this isn’t a unit that needs any excuses. But if Castellanos, his receivers, and the offensive coaching staff can put them in a better position to succeed, look out for a strong finish to the season from BC’s offensive line.
How does Amari Jackson’s injury impact the defense’s success, and who will step up?
Dietz: Jackson was the pride and soul of BC’s secondary, but he tore his ACL against Virginia on Oct. 5, ESPN’s Pete Thamel confirmed. That doesn’t bode well for the team as a whole—no injury does—especially since Jackson started all 13 games last season and 24 in his career on the Heights. He is BC’s leader in pass breakups this year, has accumulated 21 tackles (13 solo), and snagged an interception against Michigan State.
Jackson was regarded as the team’s top cover corner and comes from a Jeff Hafley recruiting class, whose specialty is the secondary. During Hafley’s tenure, BC produced multiple cornerbacks who made it to the NFL, the most recent being third-round pick Elijah Jones, and Jackson was tracking to be next. It’s a big blow to say the least.
Eyes will turn toward Ashton McShane, a true freshman, to replace Jackson and absorb the majority of his snaps. McShane stepped in for Jackson during the loss to the Cavaliers and held up decently, but now he has minimal experience. There will be a heavy emphasis on Max Tucker to do the dirty work with Jackson now gone, but Tucker has had his ups and downs and is also relatively young compared to the seasoned vet in Jackson. Ohio State transfer Cameron Martinez was expected to be a high-end addition to BC’s secondary but has yet to make his mark since returning from injury, so I would also expect to hear his number called on more often and the possibility of a scheme change for defensive coordinator Tim Lewis to help relieve some of the added pressure for the young corners.
Is offensive coordinator Will Lawing struggling to play to the offense’s strengths?
Gokarn: I don’t want to let recency bias completely get in the way of my assessment of the offense. BC put up a nearly flawless offensive performance in its season opener at Florida State. The Eagles’ following game against Duquesne was even more of an offensive clinic. The results after that point, however, have been much more of a mixed bag.
Lawing and the rest of the staff have done a commendable job working talented freshman running back Turbo Richard into the rotation, despite already having two starting-caliber backs in Kye Robichaux and Treshaun Ward. And aside from a disastrous second half in Charlottesville, Castellanos has actually worked well enough in the BC offensive system, largely limiting mistakes and taking what the defense is giving him.
But working well enough isn’t the same as maximizing the offense’s potential as a whole.
The Eagles’ offensive showing through six weeks has raised quite a few questions. Why isn’t Castellanos running as much? Where are the wheel concepts that worked so well in Week 1? What happened to stud transfer receivers Jerand Bradley and Jayden McGowan? Most of all—where is the creativity? Lawing and Co. have a number of intriguing offensive pieces at their disposal. The key question for the rest of BC’s season is whether its staff can take advantage of those tools and maximize the offense’s potential.
What’s the outlook for the rest of BC’s season?
Dietz: I don’t think BC fans like to hear a coach preach a one-game-at-a-time strategy, but that is the O’Brien way and he won’t waver. That is the status quo in Chestnut Hill and will remain the status quo until he leaves, so the Eagles’ faithful better get used to it. Having the expectation of winning an ACC Championship or making it to the College Football Playoff is meaningless to O’Brien as just an ambition. If those feats result from doing things the right way, and taking things one day at a time, then they do have some meaning.
The Eagles are currently sitting 4–2 and have six games remaining on their schedule, all of which are in-conference and four of which are at home. There is a good chance, based on the performances so far, that BC wins four of the six. With it becoming more and more apparent that BC’s “upset” victory over the Seminoles Week 1 wasn’t much of an upset, there is still some uncertainty regarding the team’s ability to come out triumphant in high-stakes matchups. But they have six chances to show it after a miserable second-half meltdown against the Cavaliers.
Gokarn: Externally, BC might be suffering a bit from excessively high expectations following its Week 1 upset over the Seminoles. Yes, the Virginia loss stung, but that’s because it was a thoroughly winnable game against a seemingly inferior opponent—not because it likely eliminated the Eagles from College Football Playoff contention. That particular dream was nice to hold onto through five weeks, but it wasn’t exactly grounded in reality nor was it one O’Brien had in mind.
As I wrote in our preseason predictions, programs, especially one like BC’s, aren’t rebuilt overnight. While the past few weeks have revealed several concerning flaws, an eight-win season or better still remains on the table. Given BC hasn’t hit eight wins in 15 years, that milestone would be a resounding first-year success and a strong position to build upon in the coming years, as O’Brien’s own recruits begin to fill out the roster.
