Relief in Raleigh
By Anthony Iati
Maybe it’s just one game. Maybe bowl eligibility is still a longshot. Maybe job security rumors will continue to swirl.
Today, none of that matters.
The Boston College Eagles defeated an ACC opponent on the gridiron.
The final score today at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, NC: Boston College 21 – North Carolina State 14.
It had been 700 days since the Eagles stomped Syracuse, 28-7, on November 29, 2014. That Thanksgiving Saturday marked the Eagles’ most recent conference victory until today. Boston College improved to 4-4 (1-4 ACC) and dropped the Wolfpack to 4-4 (1-3 ACC) by hanging on in the final minutes and stopping a potential game-tying drive by NC State.
The story of the game was BC’s aggressiveness on offense. Under siege for bland play-calling and a lack of creativity, offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler dialed up a gameplan that kept the Eagles in control. Using jet sweeps, end-arounds, and one unforgettable running back pass, Loeffler’s offense compiled 386 total yards and 21 first downs.
It was clear early on that BC’s offense had a little extra fire this afternoon. After a Ryan Finley slant pass to Bra’Lon Cherry resulted in a 79 yard touchdown and put the Wolfpack ahead 7-3, Boston College answered when Jeff Smith took an end-around 60 yards to paydirt on the second play of the ensuing drive.
The score remained 10-7 at halftime, as the defenses traded 4th down stands late in the half. A Matt Milano sack of quarterback Ryan Finley snuffed out NC State’s 4th-and-6 attempt from just outside field goal range. The Wolfpack defense countered by stuffing Patrick Towles on a quarterback sneak on 4th-and-1.
The Eagles began the second half on defense, but it didn’t take long for defensive ends Harold Landry and Zach Allen to generate a strip sack and fumble recovery, respectively, against Finley. Despite starting on NC State’s 21-yard line, BC settled for a 29-yard Mike Knoll field goal to bump its lead to 13-7.
Everything seemed to be falling BC’s way when Ty Schwab hauled in a spectacular interception off a tip by Milano. Not to be outdone, however, NC State defensive back Josh Jones intercepted Towles on the very next series. Finley trotted out and found receiver Kelvin Harmon for a 23-yard touchdown pass after the officials’ review surprisingly overturned the original call of an incomplete pass.
The momentum had slipped away– and would continue to do so. Behind running back Matt Dayes and Harmon, NC State drove inside BC’s 40 again on its next possession. The Eagles defense rose to the challenge, forcing Finley to throw incomplete on 4th-and-5 from the 35-yard line. Prior to the play, Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren burned his second timeout of the half, which would prove costly later on.
In the WZBC Sports broadcast booth, color analyst TJ Hartnett noted at the start of the 4th quarter that despite a few big errors, Boston College had controlled the ballgame, which might bode well for the Eagles down the stretch. Aided by an ineligible receiver penalty wiping a Wolfpack score off the board, he was right. The Eagles resumed their aggressiveness in the middle of the final frame, daring to run an outside pitch to Jon Hilliman to convert on 4th-and-1 from the Wolfpack 31-yard line.
On the ninth play of that drive, Loeffler made perhaps his gutsiest play call of the season. Towles handed off to freshman running back Davon Jones, who rolled to his right and found an open Tommy Sweeney for the go-ahead touchdown. Said Addazio on the play, “We had worked on that all week long. We had confidence the defense would suck up on him.” Towles then hit Sweeney to pick up the two-point conversion and extend the BC lead to 21-14 with 4:43 to play.
Nyheim Hines answered by returning Mike Knoll’s kickoff to the Eagles’ 42-yard line, dragged down by the heroic efforts of Knoll himself. Finley calmly went right to Hines for a 32-yard pickup on first down to the Eagles’ 10-yard line. Clinging to a 7-point lead, the Boston College defense stiffened up again.
Cornerback Kamrin Moore intercepted Finley in the end zone with under two minutes to play. Said Moore after the game on the pick, “I knew my preparation would carry me through.” What was going through his mind when he kneeled in the end zone for a touchback? “Game over,” Moore said with a grin.
After Hilliman scampered for a first down, the Eagles went into the victory formation. Towles, who spoke after the game about his love for football and the camaraderie in the Eagles’ locker room, bled the rest of the clock. When 00:00 showed, Boston College’s 12-game ACC drought was history.
And, man, was Coach Addazio proud. “For me to watch our team grow and to come together and fight for each other like that is why I got into coaching,” the fourth-year BC coach said. “It’s a relief to me to see the tears, the joy on those kids’ faces in the locker room.”
Were there negatives? Of course. Patrick Towles somehow committed three intentional grounding penalties. Mike Knoll had a field goal blocked. The kickoff unit nearly allowed a backbreaking touchdown run. Addazio’s timeout usage was questionable at times.
But worry about the negatives tomorrow. Today is a day to be positive about the program. Addazio’s players never quit on him and showed, in the head coach’s words, “unbelievable resolve” in pulling out this victory.
The season is still in front of the Eagles. Reaching bowl eligibility will not be easy, but it is there for the taking. A gauntlet of No. 5 Louisville and No. 12 Florida State now awaits, followed by the home finale against UConn, and a road date with ACC foe Wake Forest.
Can the Eagles squeeze out two wins in their final four contests? Time will tell and the road will be tough. But in the head coach’s own words today:
“Tough times don’t last, tough people do.”
Photo credit to Gerry Broome of the Associated Press.