A strong second-half and a physical performance by the defense helped lead the Boston College Eagles to victory on Saturday afternoon.
Down 14-7 at the half, with an offense struggling, the Boston College Eagles hopes in remaining ranked weren’t looking too promising.
The Eagles scored 21 unanswered points, however, and held the Virginia Tech Hokies to 32 yards in the third quarter, resulting in an eventual 31-21 Boston College victory.
Winning for the first time against Virginia Tech since 2014, the Boston College Eagles (7-2, 4-1) are now pretty much guaranteed a winning season. More importantly, it keeps them in line for a chance at the ACC Atlantic division title.
More from Chowder and Champions
- 3 Midseason Chaim Bloom Decisions That Have Killed the 2023 Red Sox
- 10 Patriots Who Will Be Cut by Tuesday’s Roster Deadline
- MLB Screws Red Sox Fans With Broadcast for Mookie Betts Return
- 3 Most Underpaid Celtics Heading Into the 2023 Season
- Red Sox Continue Rollercoaster Season With Massive Win
A showdown with the Clemson Tigers, ranked 2nd in the College Football Playoff rankings, is set for next Saturday. A victory by the Eagles would put them in the driver’s seat for the division title.
AJ Dillon carried the ball 24 times for 96 yards and a first-quarter touchdown. Dillon sat out much of the 4th after taking a couple of hard hits near the sideline.
Quarterback Anthony Brown turned in another efficient game, throwing for 177 yards and one touchdown. Despite a few instances of bobbled snaps, Brown was on target and also carried the ball seven times for 37 yards.
This was one of those games in which victory was truly a team effort, though. Special teams had no major errors, the defense recovered from a shaky first half, and the offense came up with big plays when needed.
Here are three areas that stood out for Boston College in the win.
Travis Levy
Travis Levy has been highlighted before, mostly because of his effort on special teams and scoring off blocked punts two weeks in a row.
This time around, it was his play on offense that was the reason for the nod.
The sophomore running back entered 2018 as the presumptive backup to Dillon. In recent weeks, Levy had given way to David Bailey and Ben Glines and was relegated to mostly special teams and as a pass catcher.
With Dillon banged up against Virginia Tech, head coach Steve Addazio and the Eagles again turned to Levy to carry the load.
Levy responded with a productive day. He carried the ball 11 times for 75 yards and two touchdowns. His first touchdown run, of 23 yards, tied the score at 14 midway through the third quarter and his one-yard run in the fourth gave the Eagles a 28-14 lead.
Levy also had three receptions for 28 yards.
Korab Idrizi and Tommy Sweeney
The tight end position has been a favorite target for Brown and the Eagles the last two seasons.
More from College Sports
- Boston College Eagles head coach Jeff Hafley in make-or-break season
- Boston College Eagles: Top 5 wide receivers in program history
- Boston College Eagles: 3 standouts in 2022 season
- Boston College Eagles snowed under in South Bend
- Boston College Eagles navigate their way to upset-victory
Both Korab Idrizi and Tommy Sweeney continued that trend on Saturday.
Idrizi caught his first touchdown pass of the season, a 22-yard reception to give the Eagles a 21-14 lead they would never relinquish. The junior, who entered the game with only six receptions for 56 yards this season, finished with two catches and 49 yards.
Sweeney, one of the top-5 tight ends in the ACC, had one of his better games of 2018. Entering the game, Sweeney had the most receptions (20) of a very balanced Eagles receiving corps. He acted more as a safety net for Brown, however, totaling only 169 receiving yards.
Sweeney was at it again on Saturday, leading the team with four receptions and stretching the field with 61 receiving yards. Not only that, he was part of the reason the Eagles were able to total 219 yards on the ground.
Boston College Eagles 2nd-half defense
Keeping a balanced offense and talented receivers in check were going to be a must for Boston College on Saturday.
In the first half, they allowed only 14 points but Virginia Tech was moving the ball behind the play of quarterback Ryan Willis.
The second half was a complete turnaround.
The Eagles held Willis and the Hokies to 115 total yards in the second half, including only 32 on 21 plays in the third quarter. Boston College came out of the locker room and forced three straight three-and-outs.
A fourth series by the Hokies lasted only two plays thanks to an interception by Brandon Sebastian. Sebastian’s left foot barely touched green near the sideline to give the freshman his first career interception (and Boston College’s 14th in 2018).
The run defense was stout all afternoon, holding Virginia Tech to 111 yards on 3.1 yards per carry.
This kind of second-half defensive effort will be needed next week against a Clemson offense that is only getting better as the season progresses. The Tigers dropped 77 points in a victory over Louisville.