BC shows potential in season opening blowout of Fordham

College Sports

The Eagles scored 66 points, their highest single-game total since 2015.

A season ago, the Boston College football team kick-started the Bill O’Brien era with an emphatic road triumph over No. 10 Florida State.

The Seminoles ultimately sputtered to a dreadful 2-10 season, which removed some of the sparkle from BC’s victory, but the matchup still offered a glimpse into what the Eagles hope to become.

Saturday’s opener against Fordham didn’t carry quite the same pizzazz, yet it served a purpose in officially launching Year 2 under O’Brien. To go from good to great, the Eagles know they have to consistently play clean and dynamic football on a weekly basis.

It came against a Football Championship Subdivision Rams team that finished 2-10 last season, but BC’s resounding 66-10 win showed how dangerous the Eagles can be.

“We have a lot to prove still,” said BC wide receiver Lewis Bond. “I wouldn’t say it proves much, but it was a good win.”

It wasn’t a perfect performance, and there’s still room to grow, but the Eagles displayed an improved passing attack and dominated in all three phases. They didn’t let an inferior opponent come close to an upset, growing stronger as the game progressed and leaving no doubt.

BC scored its most points since 2015, racking up 555 yards and averaging 7.1 yards per play against a helpless Rams defense.

“We definitely don’t want to be 3 yards and a cloud of dust,” O’Brien said. “We don’t want to get into 15-play drives. That’s really not who we are. We’ll do that if we have to, but we really believe in chunk plays.”

Alabama transfer Dylan Lonergan finished 26 for 34 for 268 yards and four touchdowns in his first collegiate start, making quick decisions and zipping the ball to explosive receivers with ease.

Bond racked up 11 catches for 138 yards, Jaedn Skeete caught two touchdown passes, and Daveon Crouch added a pick-6 for BC.

The Eagles jumped out to a 14-3 edge on back-to-back 11-yard touchdown passes from Lonergan to Jordan McDonald and Skeete in the opening 12 minutes.

Fordham responded defensively, forcing BC into four straight punts and quieting the crowd.

“There were three or four series there that we’ve got to look at,” O’Brien said. “We’ve got to fix those, because those can’t happen in these games coming up. We have to do a good job of overcoming that.”

After a largely uneventful second quarter, the redshirt sophomore Lonergan engineered a crisp 10-play, 82-yard drive and found Skeete for 6 more on a 13-yard strike with 26 seconds left.

BC outgained Fordham, 225-61, in total yards, yet just 40 came on the ground and the offense was stagnant in spurts. Even so, the Eagles managed to build a commanding 21-3 halftime edge after a clean two-minute drill.

“I think when we play fast, we play really well,” Lonergan said. “We really had the defense on their toes.”

O’Brien said he believes the Eagles have one of the best quarterback rooms in the country. He credited Lonergan for being the same person every day, adding that he didn’t observe anything different from him Saturday than he has all offseason.

The Eagles extended the margin to 38-3 on Crouch’s 28-yard return, a 48-yard field goal from Luca Lombardo, and a 17-yard grab from Reed Harris.

“[Crouch] is a great Boston College story,” O’Brien said. “He’s what BC’s all about. He’s been through a lot of adversity in his life. I couldn’t be more proud of that guy.”

Wellesley native and Xaverian product Charlie Comella blocked a punt late in the third quarter, setting up a 4-yard score from Turbo Richard to make it 45-3 through three.

Backup quarterback Grayson James (5 for 5, 190 yards) hit freshman Dawson Pough for 52 yards, paving the way for a 1-yard score for Alex Broome early in the fourth. Westford native and Buckingham Browne & Nichols product Bo MacCormack III added a 2-yard score.

Fordham quarterback Gunnar Smith scored from 1 yard in the final minutes for the Rams, then Pough made it 66-10 on a 22-yard strike with 1:55 left.

When the linebacker Crouch heard that the Eagles limited the Rams to 168 yards, he replied that he believes that’s too many.

It gets much tougher soon, with a clash at Michigan State next Saturday, but this was a step in the right direction for Boston College.

“I’m just happy we’re back. We’re back,” Crouch said. “That’s all I kept saying today. Just looking at the crowd and seeing the students and everything, all the fans getting excited for the win, we’re back. BC football is back.”