Recap: Boston College 26, Massachusetts 7

GAME INFORMATION
Score: Boston College 26, Massachusetts 7
Records: Boston College (1-1, 0-1 ACC), Massachusetts (0-2)
Location: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.
Attendance: 25,112
Time of Game: 3:12
Weather: 79 degrees, partly cloudy

BC HIGHLIGHTS

Graduate QB Patrick Towles threw his first two career touchdowns in a Boston College uniform. He was 12-for-22 on the day with 191 passing yards with one interception. He added 66 yards on the ground to lead the Eagles.
Sophomore WR Jeff Smith caught his first career touchdowns, a 46-yarder and a 36-yarder, on back-to-back offensive plays in the second quarter to give the Eagles the lead. He finished the day with five catches for 98 yards.
Junior LB Connor Strachan anchored the Eagles' defense with six tackles (tied for the third on team), including a career-high 2.5 sacks for a loss of 19 yards. He also forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.
The BC defense held UMass to -23 rushing yards, the second-lowest total by an opponent in program history and the least since Oct. 12, 1991 when Louisville was held to -30 yards in BC's 33-3 win at home.
The eight team sacks tied a school record, which the Eagles have accomplished three other times in BC history.

KEY MOMENTS

With 3:17 to play in the second quarter and BC down by one, sophomore DB Isaac Yiadom knocked the ball out of UMass QB Ross Comis's hands and Strachan recovered.
Towles connected for a second time with Smith to give BC the 13-7 lead with 3:08 left in the first half.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Minutemen were the first to strike, scoring on a drive after the Eagles turned it over on downs at the UMass 27-yard line. With 2:23 left in the first quarter, Comis completed a 58-yard touchdown pass to Adam Breneman to give UMass a 7-0 lead.
The Eagles notched their first TD of the game with 4:32 to go in first half. Towles hit Smith for a 46-yard completion for six points on the first play of the drive. Jr. K Mike Knoll missed the extra point.
With UMass driving and less than four minutes to play in the half, Yiadom knocked the ball out of Comis's hands on the rush and Strachan recovered to give the Eagles the ball. Towles connected with Smith again on the first play of the drive to give BC a 13-7 lead - as Knoll hit the extra point - with 3:08 remaining.
Knoll hit a 40-yard field goal with 3:50 left in the third quarter, which tied a career long, to give the Eagles a 16-7 lead. With just over a minute to go in the quarter, Knoll connected on a 37-yard field goal to increase BC's lead to 12 points.
Redshirt sophomore RB Jon Hilliman wrapped up the scoring when he broke free for a 15-yard run with 4:14 left in the game. The drive was keyed by senior RB Tyler Rouse's 33-yard punt return to the UMass 35. Towles then connected with Smith for six yards and junior WR Charlie Callinan for 14 yards to set up Hilliman's TD run and the final 26-7 scoreline after Knoll's successful PAT.

UP NEXT
The Eagles will travel to face Virginia Tech at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17. The game will be televised by ESPNU, streamed on WatchESPN and carried on the radio by the Boston College IMG Radio Network, including WEEI 850 AM locally.

Next Event

Team Stats

Will Harris

Players Mentioned

Charlie Callinan

Jon Hilliman

Mike Knoll

Tyler Rouse

Jeff Smith

Connor Strachan

Patrick Towles

Isaac Yiadom