After getting off to a strong start for the first time in a few weeks, Boston College imploded in the second half and wouldn’t score a single point, falling 24-14.
Thomas Castellanos started the game 11/11 with two touchdown passes, but would proceed to turn the ball over three times in the second half. To start the game, he found Jaden Skeete and Kamari Morales wide open for scores, combined with a healthy dose of the freshman Turbo Richard early, and BC was doing everything right. The defensive was flying around unrelenting, and held UVA to two straight three and outs and then two field goals.
The tides began to shift late in the second quarter, right around Castellnos’s first incompletion. The Eagles on the cusp of field goal range came up incomplete on 3rd and 8. Forced to punt, UVA was pinned deep, but two personal foul penalties, including a targeting call on Khari Johnson, helped the Cavs keep the drive alive and into the BC redzone. The Eagles defense held Hoos to another field goal making it 14-6 at the half.
The Cavaliers completely controlled the ball from there on out, exhausting the BC defense with a nearly eight minute drive on their first possession out of half. The defense got the stop on down but another key member of the secondary, Amari Jackson went down leaving BC very short. Virginia capitalized and threw the ball with ease all around the field.
The Eagles offense moved away from the run and couldn’t get anything going. Castellanos had a ball batted at the line and was intercepted. Two plays later, the Hoos scored on a 29 yard pass from quarterback Anthony Colandrea. On the ensuing possession, Castellanos lost hold of the ball for the second time on the day, but this time star safety Jonas Sanker recovered and scored to give UVA the lead 24-14.
BC’s offense failed to even snap the ball on time to open the next two possessions, burning a timeout on one and taking a penalty on the next. On third and fourth and one in their own territory, BC inexplicably threw incomplete twice and handed possession back to Virginia. With one last chance and just under four minutes to go, Castellanos threw horribly short and was intercepted again. He proceeded to very clearly hit his interceptor out of bounds effectively sealing it.
Bill O’Brien has a lot to look at offensively and why the team can’t put together two halves of complete football. The Eagles head into a bye before back to Virginia to Blacksburg.