Boston College Eagles: 3 takeaways from painful loss to Rutgers
Saturday afternoon offered a fresh start and a fresh season for the Boston College Eagles, with a chance to kick off the right way.
It’s too bad the product on the field was more of the same we’ve seen in a recent seasons.
An offense at times that looks unstoppable and then becomes their own worst enemy. A defense that stands on the edge of something great, followed by allowing huge plays at inopportune times.
The result, after leading all game, was a 22-21 loss to Rutgers, in which the Scarlet Knights found the winning score with just under three minutes left in the game.
Painful as it was to lose after a mostly solid game, there’s plenty to learn. Here are three takeaways from the loss.
Powerful Boston College Eagles connection
Part of the excitement heading into the 2022 season was the opportunity to see quarterback Phil Jurkovec tossing dimes to wide receiver Zay Flowers once again.
On Saturday, the duo did not disappointment.
Flowers has been a favorite target for a few seasons now and was targeted 15 times against Rutgers. It’s no secret the Eagles want to find ways to get Flowers touches and he responded in kind on Saturday, hauling in 10 catches for 125 yards.
Boston College’s star receiver also found the end zone twice, making the extraordinary look routine all day.
Jurkovec, on the other hand, had quite an up-and-down day. For all the love Jurkovec receives for beautiful deep passes and turning something into nothing on the ground, there’s the flip side.
Turnovers, of which Jurkovec had three on Saturday.
Rutgers capitalized on two of those turnovers, turning them into 12 points on offense.
Turnovers aside, Jurkovec missed on a few passes and was sacked four times. It wasn’t the best of efforts but a strong performance as Jurkovec threw for 283 yards and three touchdowns.
The Jurkovec to Flowers connection is important to keep an eye on. So, too, is Jurkovec and the Boston College Eagles finding the secondary receiver. On Saturday, a couple of players stepped into that role.