Pitt's 48 points were the most BC has given up since its loss to Louisville in 2023. (Paul Criado / Heights Staff)
Boston College football visited Pittsburgh on Saturday, looking to turn its season around, but it resulted in disaster instead. BC lost 48–7, falling to 1–4 on the season and 0–3 in conference play.
Despite the optimism and momentum the program entered the season with, BC is off to its worst start since 2012.
While there is still over half the season left and plenty of opportunities to get better, BC still has to play Clemson, Notre Dame, and Georgia Tech—all much more talented teams than Pitt, at least on paper. Unless major improvements are made, BC’s season could shift from disappointing to disastrous in a matter of weeks.
Here are two key takeaways from Saturday’s loss:
Rushing Attack
BC had 27 yards on 24 rushes as the Eagles’ O-line generated no push against a dominant Panthers front.
Coming into the game, Pitt was top 10 in the nation against the run. Couple that with a lackluster Eagles rush attack (besides the game last week against Cal), and it’s a formula for disaster.
The Eagles attempted to establish the ground game during their first few drives, but were unable to get anything going. The runs went either for a loss or no gain, leading to difficult third downs.
On the other side of the ball, the Eagles couldn’t stop the run, as the Panthers picked up 172 yards on the ground.
It’s hard to be in a competitive game when you’re getting out-gained on the ground by 150 yards. Pitt’s rush attack took an already bad game from BC and made it worse as the Panthers leaned on their ground game to pile on the lead in the second half.
Key Injuries
Despite head coach Bill O’Brien’s insistence that injuries are never an excuse for poor play, it is impossible not to notice the effect injuries had on BC’s defense on Saturday.
The defense was without almost half of their preseason starters, namely Quintayvious Hutchins, Daveon Crouch, Bryce Steele, Syair Torrence, and Amari Jackson, to name a few. These losses seemed to pile up as the defense could not manufacture a stop.
Pitt only punted the ball three times, with two of those coming in the second half, once the game was already in hand. Pitt also possessed the ball for 39 minutes, as the Panthers controlled the entire flow of the game.
The Panthers did all of that with a true freshman quarterback making his first start. The Eagles’ pressure on him was nonexistent, though, due to their thinness up front. Despite O’Brien’s statements on the next-man-up mentality, Saturday’s game showed that the next men up for BC were incapable of getting it done.