Winning pretty is always a best case scenario for any team, as the Boston College Eagles proved in week 1 of the 2021 season. A victory over Colgate had the Eagles flying high.
Winning ugly has its merits, too. Namely that the important thing was taken care of.
Boston College (3-0) experienced the latter on Saturday, in what at first glance looks like an easy 28-3 win over the Temple Owls (1-2). The win was a methodical, workmanlike performance for Boston College, one that shows the Eagles can win even when a high-octane offense falls flat.
In starting with three straight wins for the first time since 2018, the Eagles used a gritty effort on defense to pave the way. Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s victory.
Boston College Eagles: Defense rocking and rolling
The first-half effort from the Boston College defense was something to behold. The Eagles held Temple to 58 total yards and three first downs.
Nearly all of those yards were on Temple’s fourth drive, which accounted for 46. Prior to that drive, Boston College’s defense was stout, forcing three straight 3-and-outs to open the game.
The Eagles added another before halftime and ended with five on the game in holding the Owls to only 3-14 on third-down conversions.
Temple was able to find some momentum in the second-half but managed to collect only a field goal in the scoring department.
Fourth-down stops were huge, too, with Boston College holding Temple to 1-4. There was a huge stop in the second-half with Temple threatening to score. And Isaiah Graham-Mobley had one in the first-half, picking up a huge hit to keep the Owls from converting on 4th-and-three.
Graham-Mobley, the graduate transfer from Temple, had another excellent game. His nine tackles led the team as he continues to settle into a leadership role on defense.
Boston College did give up a few big plays in the pass game, but ultimately nothing that hurt them. Up front, Boston College held Temple to only 78 rushing yards and collected four sacks. Sophomore defensive tackle Khris Davis had his best game of the season with five tackles and 1.5 sacks.
This unit seems to be coming together, with the unit on the same page throughout much of the game. Which was a good thing because the offense did not look very in sync.
Boston College Eagles offense not in sync
Things begin beautifully for Boston College on offense, scoring on the third play of the game. The Eagles began with great field position thanks to a 67-yard kickoff return by Travis Levy.
Dennis Grosel found Jaden Williams with a 19-yard scoring strike, the freshman receiver’s first career touchdown.
The next drive saw a Grosel interception on a slightly underthrown deep pass. From there, things slowly morphed into more conservatively playing calling. The offense did look out of sorts despite some successes and that could be why Boston College went more to the run in the second-half.
Plus, Grosel was only 4-10 at the half for 37 yards, though there were a couple of dropped passes that did not help. The sixth-year player only attempted three passes in the second-half, connecting only one for negative three yards.
Grosel also had some nice runs, finishing with 47 yards on five carries, plus a 2-yard touchdown run that finished the scoring on the day.
It was certainly a mixed bag. On one hand, the offense scored on four possessions. The running game was consistent but not solid. The highlight was a swing pass to Zay Flowers that the receiver picked up huge yardage on. Officially, it was a backwards pass so it actually turned into 47 rushing yards for Flowers.
Boston College did pick up 187 total yards on the ground, though only 53 in the second-half. Most of that came on the Eagles final scoring drive, in which all eight plays were running plays.
Boston College Eagles backfield doing enough
A week after Patrick Garwo III had a gargantuan day, it appeared as if he would be the featured back this game.
And he was, for the most part, getting the majority of the carries through the game’s first three quarters. Garwo, however, had trouble finding much room to run, though he did have a 20-yard run in the 1st quarter.
Garwo ended with 16 carries for 49 yards to lead the team, scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to put Boston College up 14-0.
Levy also saw some time in the backfield, carrying the ball three times for ten yards. His touchdown gave the Eagles a 21-0 lead just before halftime.
There was a curiosity surrounding the fact that Alec Sinkfield wasn’t being used throughout most of the game. But there he was in the fourth quarter, carrying the ball six times for 35 yards.
Garwo, Levy, and Sinkfield are proving to be quite the trio. At this point, it appears the Eagles are going to plow ahead with whoever has the hot hand. That’s not a bad thing, as it seems to be working at the moment.
The trouble was relying too much on the run with the talent the team has in the passing game. Grosel did look shaky at times today — more like a freshman than a veteran — and that could mean trouble down the line.
Today, though, a victory was secured. Pretty or ugly, that’s the most important thing. The performance by the defense today was definitely something to be proud of. And the type of momentum that will definitely be needed in coming weeks as a couple of Tiger programs await on the horizon.