Written by Ernie Casanova
CHESTNUT HILL, MA— In what started out to be an unattractive gloomy afternoon, Saturday’s midday game between the Boston College Eagles and Louisville Cardinals was a bright spot on a day filled with dark clouds and cold rain. Both teams fought hard in the trenches to get after each teams’ signal caller, and the pressure and physicality was present from the beginning with the Eagles losing two fumbles early in the contest. As the weather started to get hotter and much better, so did one team’s offense. Boston College was able to surge off of a competitive Louisville team and improve to 5-2 (2-1 ACC) by a score of 38-20, as Louisville fell to 2-5 (0-4 ACC).
Boston College started off very strong in the first 10 minutes scoring 14 quick points, with one of those touchdowns being a beautiful 26-yard throw from QB Anthony Brown to TE Hunter Long. With the quick start, it all seemed like a downhill ride early for Cardinals but their defense prevented a much bigger early lead with the pressure they were putting on Eagles’ QB Anthony Brown. After a couple of hurries and sacks from the defense to give them the ball, Louisville started to make their way up the field in the last four minutes of the first quarter. Louisville scored 13 unanswered points on two rushing touchdowns within that time frame and suddenly, it was a must-see contest.
Malik Cunningham and Hassan Hall were the running backs responsible for the touchdowns. By the end of the first quarter, the Cardinals had overcome their early deficit and then took the lead six minutes into the next quarter on a Jawon Pass three-yard scramble. It was a 20-14 Louisville lead as things seemed to start going their way, but the big momentum shift occurred when Eagles DB Nolan Borgersen blocked a Cardinal punt near the end-zone. The block was subsequently recovered by Travis Levy in the end-zone for the score to make it 21-20 with four minutes left in the first half. Kicker Colton Lichtenberg booted a 38-yard field goal a couple minutes after to increase the lead to four as the Eagles went into the locker room at the half with a 24-20 lead.
Much of the rest of the game consisted of numerous four and outs and punts due to some very stingy defensive play. It was 24-20 entering the fourth quarter when the Eagles stormed up the field and let true freshman David Bailey extend their lead with a one-yard touchdown run. With the game at 31-20 and with just under 10 minutes left to play, the Cardinals just couldn’t execute on clutch drives to give them a chance. Eagles running back Jeff Smith topped it off with a five-yard TD run to bring it to 38-20, and that was the end of it.
QB Jawon Pass finished the game going 17-31 for 170 yards with no touchdown passes and one interception. He had one rushing touchdown along with Cunningham and Hall. Hall led the team in rushing and finished with 39 yards on 13 attempts. WR Dre Fitzpatrick led the receiving corps with four catches for 50 yards as the explosive group was very quiet for the majority of the game. With this being the Cardinals’ fourth loss in a row, head coach Bobby Petrino didn’t mince his words. “Yeah, it’s always hard when you lose”, Petrino mentions after the game. “There’s no question about that. We have a bye coming up. We have to have a couple good weeks of practice.”
As for the Eagles, who played today without their star running back, it proved just how well rounded and exciting they will be once bowl season comes if they finish out as strong as they are playing. Considering how well the offense did, it’s hard to overlook this hard-nosed defense. They finished with seven sacks, with defensive end Wyatt Ray responsible for three and a team total of 12 tackles for loss with an interception.
“I could tell from the sideline they played great, great penetration, surge”, stated head coach Steve Addazio of his defense. “There was a different energy in the hotel today before we left. There was one of those deals where we felt like this is going to be a real street fight out here today.
Our D-line, there were some comments made earlier in the week, our defensive line took offense to that. I think that they showed how explosive and how fast and athletic they can be, physically tough. So they played with a purpose, no doubt about it. Also, the offense put up 31 points without their best player in A.J Dillon, which is a pretty good feat.”
QB Anthony Brown proved competence going 16-22 for 179 yards and one touchdown throw to finish with a 156.1 passer rating. To go with that amazing stat-line, his backfield in Bailey and Glines finished the game with a combined total of 219 yards on 45 rushes. The one-two punch combination shown today gives this team a glimpse of hope in sustaining for the future. Michael Walker led the Eagles’ receiving core with 48 yards on two catches while running back Travis Levy specialized in receiving coming in second with 35 yards on 4 catches.
With a week off and #16 Miami next up on their schedule, Addazio looks to rest his players for a midseason refresher.
“All in all, we’re going to head into the bye week 5-2. Have a chance to get rested, have a chance to get AJ back healthy and ready to roll, have a strong football team heading down the back end of this season.”
