Boston College football has looked like it could win all four games it’s played. Somehow, that makes it even more frustrating that it has lost three of them.
If the Eagles looked genuinely incapable of winning—if the opposing teams were just clearly better—it would be a little easier to accept the fact that BC is now 1–3. Instead, the Eagles have picked up three losses due to mistakes and the simple fact that they have underperformed. That’s a tough pill to swallow.
Michigan State is BC’s only loss that makes sense. The Eagles played well, but the Spartans played just a little bit better. Plus, Michigan State’s home-field advantage made it tough.
But the other two losses—one at Stanford and the other at home against California—were self-inflicted. In both games, the Eagles led by double digits. And in both games, second-half collapses killed BC’s chances at a win.
In the moment, the Eagles’ second half against Cal didn’t seem as tragically bad as it actually was. Turbo Richard’s 71-yard breakaway touchdown run gave the Eagles some undeserved momentum. Other than that singular play—which relied pretty much exclusively on Richard’s speed—the Eagles were completely scoreless in the second half.
The same thing happened at Stanford—only that time, Richard didn’t come to the rescue, and the Eagles were kept silent in the third and fourth quarters before losing 30–20.
From the outside, it’s tough to put a finger on what exactly is causing second-half stagnancy. What’s clear, though, is that the Eagles’ motivation coming out of the half is severely lacking, and that’s led to a couple of crucial losses.
It may serve as a little source of comfort to know that, despite a 1–3 record, BC hypothetically has the talent to beat some of the teams left on its schedule. The season is still young, and there’s room for the Eagles to grow. That’s something head coach Bill O’Brien has stressed repeatedly.
But if BC replicates the sloppiness it played with yesterday—and at Stanford earlier this month—the matchup against Clemson on Oct. 11 will be disastrous for BC. Truly disastrous.
That leaves a couple of weeks to get it together. Avoiding a blowout at the hands of the Tigers may be the best fans can expect in light of recent events (a fourth-quarter meltdown that included pass interference calls, a tragic drop stopping a potential game-winning touchdown, and a game-cementing interception).
A disciplined approach and a tougher mentality are needed. Let’s see if the Eagles can bring it out next weekend at Pittsburgh.
