By Stephen Ur
The Boston College Eagles hosted Virginia at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, MA on Saturday afternoon. BC was coming off a 56-28 loss to the undefeated Louisville Cardinals last week in their first road game of the season.
The Cavaliers were able to move down the field with ease on their first drive, and they were able to punch it into the end zone for the first touchdown of the game as quarterback Tony Muskett threw a five-yard pass to running back Mike Hollins. The 10-play, 75 yard drive took just 4:35 and gave UVA the early 7-0 lead.
After UVA punted on their second drive, sophomore wide receiver Lewis Bond returned the kick to the Virginia 45 yard line, giving the Eagles good field position to start their drive. Unfortunately, quarterback Sam Castellanos threw an interception on third down, and they came away with nothing.
The first quarter would come to an end with the Cavaliers maintaining their 7-0 lead. Castellanos threw his second interception on the next BC drive, setting UVA up at the BC 46 yard line. Muskett would throw an 18-yard touchdown to Malik Washington, his second, and Virginia led 14-0 with 12:11 left in the first half.
With just 47 seconds left in the half, the Eagles would cut the deficit in half with a five-play drive that last just 65 seconds and saw Pat Garwo score from two yards out. Virginia would make a few plays in the final seconds, getting down to the Boston College 33 yard line.
On the last play of the half, Muskett found Malachi Fields on a heave to the end zone, which Fields caught in double coverage. They led 21-7 as both teams headed into the locker room.
Boston College got the ball to start the second half, and after getting to the UVA 24, they had to settle for a 42-yard field goal from Liam Connor, cutting the Cavaliers lead to 21-10. On the ensuing drive, a big run by Alex Groome set up a touchdown pass from Castellanos to Joseph Griffin Jr, making it a 21-17 game with 6:09 left in the third.
BC’s defense then made a big play as Elijah Jones intercepted a Muskett pass intended for Fields at the Eagles’ 33 yard line with 5:04 left in the third. They would capitalize on the turnover with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Castellanos to Bond. The Eagles had their first lead at 24-21 with 1:04 left in the third quarter.
UVA tied the game with a field goal of their own and with 2:11 left, Connor kicked the game-winning field goal. BC’s defense then made a fourth down stop in the end for the 27-24 win.
The Eagles will be on the road next week as they take on Army. That game is scheduled to kick off at noon ET.