Postgame Notes: BC 26, UMass 7

Boston College at Massachusetts
Gillette Stadium | Foxborough, Mass.
Sept. 10, 2016

Team

Boston College holds a 21-5 all-time series advantage against Massachusetts and has won the last nine meetings.
The Eagles are 9-2 when playing on the Minutemen's home field.
Boston College is 8-5 overall in Foxborough, with the first contest being a 21-7 victory against Holy Cross on Nov. 21, 1971. The Eagles are now 2-0 at Gillette Stadium, playing both games as the road team against Massachusetts.

Offense

The Eagles' offense recorded the most passing yards (191) in a game since then-freshman QB John Fadule threw for 257 yards against NC State on Nov. 7, 2015.
Graduate QB Patrick Towles hit sophomore WR Jeff Smith for touchdowns on the first plays from scrimmage on consecutive offensive drives in the second quarter. The TD throws - 46 yards and 36 yards - were Towles' first two in a BC uniform and were also Smith's first career receiving TDs.
Towles finished the day 12-for-22 for 191 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He rushed for 66 yards, his new single-game high at Boston College. He finished 10 yards shy of his career-best 76 yards, which came against Mississippi State on Oct. 24, 2014.
Smith finished the day with a career-high 98 yards receiving on five receptions. He also notched a career-long 46-yard reception, which resulted in his first career touchdown.
Prior to today's game, redshirt sophomore RB Jon Hilliman rans for at least 100 yards in his last two starts. Today against Massachusetts, the Minutemen's defense held him to only 54 net yards on the ground. He rushed for his second touchdown of the season and 17th of his career in the fourth quarter.
Sophomore TE Tommy Sweeney recorded his first reception of the season, a 19-yard pass from Towles in the third quarter

Defense

The Eagles' defense held its opponent under 100 yards for the first time in 2016, and for the 16th time in the last 27 games dating back to the 2014 season.
UMass recorded -23 yards rushing, the second-lowest total allowed by the BC defense in program history and the fewest yards since the school-record -30 yards allowed against Louisville on Nov. 10, 1991
Boston College collected eight sacks on the day, which tied the program's single-game record and matched the eight-sack effort three times previously (against NC State on Nov. 12, 2005; at Rutgers on Nov. 17, 2001; against Temple on Oct. 15, 1994).
Junior LB Connor Strachan recorded a career-high 2.5 sacks, part of his 6.0 tackle day (3 solo, 3 assists). He also recorded his fourth career fumble recovery - and first of the season - and his first career forced fumble, which came in the second quarter.
Sophomore DE Wyatt Ray recorded a career-high 1.5 sacks on three plays, one with Strachan in the first quarter, the second with junior DE Harold Landry and the third with sophomore DE Zach Allen - both in the fourth quarter.
Sophomore DE Zach Allen recorded a career-high 1.5 sacks on the day, including his first career sack in the fourth quarter. Allen finished the day with career-highs in tackles (6 - 3 solo, 3 assists) and tackles for a loss (2.5). He also added his first career fumble recovery.
In the second quarter, junior DB Isaac Yiadom recorded his first career forced fumble. He also notched his first pass breakup of the season.
Junior LB Matt Milano recorded his second sack of the season, pushing his career total 8.5 sacks
Junior LB Ty Schwab recorded seven tackles (3 solo, 4 assists) on the day, including his second tackle for a loss of the season. He leads the team with 16 tackles (8 solo, 8 assists) in total this season.
In the third quarter, Landry recorded his first sack of the season and then added a half-sack in the fourth quarter after combining with Ray to finish with 1.5 sacks on the day. Landry now has six sacks in his career.
In the third quarter, sophomore DB William Harris hauled in his first interception of the season. It was the second INT of his career.

Special Teams

Junior P/K Mike Knoll was 2-for-2 on field goal attempts and 1-for-2 on extra-point attempts. He connected on field-goal kicks from 40 yards and 37 yards out. The 40-yard effort matched his previously career long, which he hit at Florida State on Nov. 22, 2014.
Knoll also connected for a career-high 63-yard punt and set a new career high with 377 punt yards
Senior RB Myles Willis returned two kickoffs for 66 yards (33.0 yards per return) bringing his career total return yards to 1,679 yards. He still sits in fourth for career returns (69) and return yardage.
In his second game returning punts, senior RB Tyler Rouse returned five punts for 56 yards, with a career-long return of 33 yards in the fourth quarter.

Attendance: 25,112
Weather: 79 degrees, partly cloudy
Coin Toss: Boston College won coin toss and deferred to second half

Players Mentioned

Zach Allen

John Fadule

Will Harris

Jon Hilliman

Mike Knoll

Harold Landry

Matt Milano

Wyatt Ray

Tyler Rouse

Ty Schwab

Jeff Smith

Connor Strachan

Tommy Sweeney

Patrick Towles

Myles Willis

Isaac Yiadom