Colorado State 24, Boston College 21: Eagles Lose a Winnable One

Entering today's game against Colorado State, the Eagles had been outscored 20-17 in the first quarter. Boston College was unable to improve on that today after getting off to another slow start where the Eagles created two turnovers but were unable to turn them into any points until the second quarter. In the second quarter, the Eagles looked much better and put the ball in the end zone twice and missed a 40 yard field goal with time expiring in the half, which would have given them a 10 point lead at the break.

In the fourth quarter, leading 21-17, BC was driving when, on 2nd and 9, Murphy scrambled around for a while trying to make a play before finally throwing a pick at the 11 yard line. Had he not turned the ball over there, BC almost certainly would have gotten points to make it a full touchdown lead or a two score game. CSU immediately started marching down the field in the other direction when they got the ball back. CSU got into BC territory and at the time, lead 2nd half first downs 14-4 over BC when they made a stop on 4th and 2 to end the Rams' drive.

That trend unfortunately continued on the next drive when BC went 3 and out. The Rams immediately started marching down the field again with 5 minutes to play. Dee Hart broke one 43 yard run to give Colorado State the ball at the 11 yard line. Dee Hart averaged a crazy 12.9 ypc in the game as Colorado State's offense was much more balanced than anticipated. CSU finished the game with 161 rushing compared to 269 passing.

On 4th and (essentially) goal from the 12, with 1:02 to go, Garrett Grayson found a wide open Charles Lovett in the end zone to take a 3 point lead.

Given BC's reliance on the run, the Eagles seemed absolutely doomed when they took the ball on the 25 following a touchback on the kickoff. Murphy did complete his first pass of the drive which is usually a good sign, but the Colorado State defense was fairly fresh after they dominated time of possession in the second half. The Eagles did not look comfortable in the two minute drill and receivers had trouble getting separation. Eventually, on 4th and 22, BC lost the game--failing to convert.

There is plenty to talk about tomorrow after this game. First there was the missed field goal at the end of the first half.  Then there was the Murphy interception in the red zone in the fourth quarter. It was a reality check for Eagles fans either way as Colorado State was clearly a reasonably fair matchup for BC today regardless of the key mistakes. The loss means nothing as far as ACC standings. But optimism towards becoming bowl eligible certainly just got a lot lower.

Murphy looked great at times today. The passing game looked tons better prior to the final drive, where receivers caught enough balls to seemingly keep Colorado State honest when trying to stop the BC rushing attack. In the end, though, BC should have had a much larger halftime lead, and a few mistakes in the second half should not have mattered enough to possibly result in a loss. After the bye week, BC is going to have to get off to better starts in games and score more in the first quarter the rest of the season.

After the bye week, the Eagles have their first true road game at NC State on October 11.

Highlights, if you dare.