Postgame Notes: BC 30, UConn 0

Connecticut (3-8) at Boston College (5-6)
Alumni Stadium | Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Nov. 19, 2016

TEAM

Boston College closed out its home schedule with a 30-0 victory over Connecticut Saturday afternoon at Alumni Stadium. The win moves Boston College to 5-6 overall as the Eagles look to become bowl-eligible next Saturday at Wake Forest.
With the victory today, the Eagles moved to 11-0-2 in the all-time series against UConn and 6-0-1 in Chestnut Hill against the Huskies. BC has won the last 10 meetings and outscored the Huskies, 297-59.
The BC shutout was the first since defeating Howard, 76-0, on Sept. 12, 2015. It was the first November shutout for the Eagles since a 17-0 victory over Notre Dame on Nov. 8, 2008.
Prior to the game, 17 seniors were honored for their contributions to the football program as part of the team's Senior Day festivities:
- TE Brendan Nosovitch • DB EJ Fortenberry • TE Cameron Croteau • WR Drew Barksdale • OL Jimmy Lowery • QB Patrick Towles • LS Leonard Skubal • LB Mike Strizak • OL Jim Cashman • FB Bobby Wolford • DE Kevin Kavalec • LB Matt Milano • TE Mike Giacone • DT Truman Gutapfel (captain) • DB John Johnson (captain) • RB Tyler Rouse (captain) • RB Myles Willis (captain)
In a special halftime ceremony, former BC quarterback Matt Ryan was recognized and his jersey was retired. He is the 11th player in program history to have their jersey retired on the Heights. Ryan played at BC from 2004-07, compiling over 9,000 passing yards and 56 touchdowns. Among several accolades, Ryan was the 2007 ACC Player of the Year.

OFFENSE

Graduate student quarterback Patrick Towles was 14-for-19 with 183 passing yards and one touchdown. Towles completed 73.7 percent of his passes, the best single-game completion percentage of his BC career.
Sophomore wide receiver Jeff Smith racked up a career-high 121 all-purpose yards, recording 87 receiving yards on four receptions and 34 rushing yards. He tallied his second reception over 50 yards on a 54-yard pass from Towles that set up a field goal in the third quarter.
Redshirt freshman running back Davon Jones opened the scoring for the Eagles on a one-yard carry with 10:36 remaining in the second quarter. It was his second touchdown on the season.
Sophomore wide receiver Michael Walker tallied his third touchdown of the season on a 10-yard pass from Towles with 8:25 left in the third quarter. Walker finished with four catches for 45 receiver yards.
Freshman tight end Korab Idrizi recorded his first-career reception on a 12-yard pass in the third quarter.

DEFENSE

The BC defense forced a season-high four turnovers (three interceptions and one forced fumble), which was the most since forcing five against Notre Dame on Nov. 21, 2015.
The defense held UConn to -6 yards rushing, the second time this season that the defense has held an opponent to negative rushing yards (Massachusetts, -23).
The Eagles have held opponents to under 100 rushing yards 21 times in the last 36 games. In 2016, BC has not allowed more than 50 rushing yards in all five victories.
BC tallied four sacks on the day, tying for the fourth-highest total of the season.
Senior linebacker Matt Milano recorded his first career interception in the fourth quarter, returning it 19 yards for a touchdown. The pick-six was the first defensive score of the season for the Eagles. It was the first interception return for a touchdown by a BC defender since Connor Strachan against Howard (Sept. 12, 2015).
Junior defensive end Harold Landry's fourth-quarter sack for a loss of 17 yards increased his season total to 12 for a loss of 111 yards. Landry entered the game tied for third nationally in sacks. The sack forced his seventh fumble, which leads the nation.
Junior defensive back Kamrin Moore tallied his second interception of the season and of his career in the second quarter. He also recovered a fumble caused by Landry in the fourth quarter, which marked his first career fumble recovery.
Sophomore defensive end Wyatt Ray increased his season sack total to 3.5 and the third-quarter stop was also the first solo sack of his career.
Sophomore DB Taj-Amir Torres recorded his first career interception in the fourth quarter to close out the 30-0 victory.
Senior defensive back John Johnson wore No. 31 in his final home game in honor of Jay McGillis. Johnson is the 2016 recipient of the Jay McGillis Memorial Scholarship, given annually since 1993 to a Boston College defensive back who best exemplifies the personal qualities of team dedication and leadership by example, an extraordinary competitive spirit, and personal concern for family friends and teammates. McGillis, a starting defensive back for BC, passed away from Leukemia in 1992. The Eagles' spring game is played in his honor each year.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Junior kicker/punter Mike Knoll connected on a career-high three field goals, going 3-for-3 from 39, 35 and 24 yards. He is 10-for-11 on the season.
Knoll tallied three touchbacks on kickoffs and averaged 41.0 yards per punt, including one inside the 20.

Attendance: 36,220
Weather: 54 degrees, ENE 6 mph winds, mostly sunny
Coin Toss: Connecticut won the toss and elected to receive

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Players Mentioned

Drew Barksdale

Jim Cashman

Cameron Croteau

Truman Gutapfel

Korab Idrizi

John Johnson

Davon Jones

Kevin Kavalec

Mike Knoll

Harold Landry

Jimmy Lowery

Matt Milano

Kamrin Moore

Brendan Nosovitch

Wyatt Ray

Tyler Rouse

Leonard Skubal

Jeff Smith

Connor Strachan

Mike Strizak

Taj-Amir Torres

Patrick Towles

Michael Walker

Myles Willis

Bobby Wolford

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