CHESTNUT HILL — Boston College has repeatedly shown the capacity of turning a commanding early lead into a heartbreaking loss.
Louisville rallied from a 13-point first half deficit to defeat BC 31-27 before a crowd of 42,887 in an ACC match on Friday night at Alumni Stadium. BC had built 14-0 leads on Missouri and Virginia earlier in the season that ended in losses.
BC fell to 4-4 on the season and 1-3 with its third straight ACC loss while Louisville improved to 5-3 and 3-2. The Eagles’ will enjoy some rest and recovery over their second bye week and resume ACC play at home against regional rival Syracuse on Nov. 9.
“We were up 20 to 7 and I just felt like we were in a good position,” said first year BC coach Bill O’Brien. “We can’t play for 60 minutes.
“I can’t coach them well enough to play 60 minutes and I have to coach a lot better. I have to watch the tape and figure out how to fix it. Terrible.”
The match was dominated by two dynamic quarterbacks, BC’s Tommy Castellanos, and Louisville’s Tyler Shough. Castellanos completed 13-of-28 passes for 164 yards and three touchdowns.
Shough shredded the Eagles secondary by completing 28-of-38 passes for 333 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Louisville had 461 yards of total offense to 318 from BC.
(Shough) “did a great job, a great player and good coaching staff that out coached us,” O’Brien said. “We didn’t do much on offense tonight.”
BC’s defense produced the first big play of the game at 9:21 of the first quarter. The Eagles pass rush pressured Shough to throw an errant sideline pass that was intercepted by defensive end Quintayvious Hutchins on the BC 16.
Castellanos acted on Shough’s miscue by completing a 54-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kamari Morales to make it 7-0 with 7:26 to play. Castellanos completed a similar touchdown pass to Morales in the Eagles 27-21 loss at Missouri on Sept. 14.
BC got the ball on their own 39 when Cardinals’ place kicker Brock Travelstead’s 56-yard field goal attempt fell woefully short. Castellanos engineered a 61-yard, 10-play scoring drive that made it 14-0 at 10:24 of the second.
The drive appeared stalled on fourth and goal from the eight, but the Cardinals jumped offside prior to place kicker Liam Connor’s 25-yard field goal attempt. O’Brien put the offense back on the field on fourth and goal from the four and Castellanos delivered a soft touchdown toss to running back Treshaun Ward.
“In the first half they had they belief and confidence that we could convert with a touchdown,” Castellanos said.
Hutchins made his second huge play of the first half when he stripped Louisville wide receiver Ahmari Higgins-Bruce and recovered the fumble of the Cardinals 46. BC went 46 yards on seven plays and scored their third touchdown on a 4-yard run by Kye Robichaux with 6:28 to play. Connor’s PAT kick sailed wide left and BC led 20-0.
Shough rejuvenated his dispirited offense with a time consuming 10-play, 76-yard, scoring drive to cut the lead to 20-7 with 1:17 to play.
“What got us open in the first half was a couple of gadget plays but we didn’t really do anything in the first half,” O’Brien said. “They turned the ball over and we didn’t.
“We did some good things in the first half but we didn’t do much on offense tonight.”
Shough transited the momentum into second half. Shough completed four passes for 55 yards on a 11-play, 69-yard scoring drive. The Cardinals drive went sideways inside the BC 10 and they settled for a 23-yard field goal by Travelstead to make it 20-10 with 10:42 to play.
Castellanos retaliated with 58-yard pass to Ward that set up first and 10 from the 11. Castellanos capped the trip with a touchdown to wide open tight end Jeremiah Franklin to make it 27-10 with 7:58 to play.
Shough continued the shootout with a 9-play, 83-yard, scoring drive that made it 27-17 with 3:50 to play in the third. Louisville cut the Eagles’ lead to 27-24 on an 18-yard run by Issac Brown with 10:57 to play. Louisville took a 31-27 lead on a 6-yard pass from Shough to tight end Nate Kurisky with 7:12 to play.
The Eagles got a final chance for redemption when K.P. Price intercepted Shough on the BC 47 with 3:43 to play.
“I think the second half we didn’t come out with the energy we needed to finish the game,” said nickel back Cameron Martinez. “I think that had been a problem for us all year so far, not finish in the second half and that is what you saw today.
“They came out in the second half with their hair on fire and finished the game.”
