
Boston College Falls Short to No. 24 Wake Forest
September 28, 2019 | Football
Eagles unable to overcome early deficit in 27-24 defeat to the Demon Deacons
AJ Dillon rushed for a season-high 159 yards on 23 carries, while also hauling in a 33-yard pass from Anthony Brown.
Brown finished the game 20-for-28 for 240 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. The junior signal caller also gained 20 yards on the ground on six carries.
Eight different Eagles caught a pass on the afternoon. Running back David Bailey and wideout Kobay White each corralled four catches for 33 yards apiece. Bailey also tossed his first collegiate touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, connecting with tight end Chris Garrison. Â
Ben Glines made three catches for 43 yards, while Hunter Long pulled down three passes for 39 yards. Zay Flowers also made an impact both on the ground (four rushes; 24 yards) and in the air (three catches; 31 yards).
Defensively, John Lamot made a career-best 17 tackles (four solo). Max Richardson made 13 stops (seven solo), including a sack, while Mehdi El Attrach logged 12 tackles (five solo). TJ Rayam had 11 tackles (six solo). Three Eagles - Mike Palmer, Tanner Karafa, and Joseph Sparacio - each registered eight tackles. Palmer also logged an interception.
Less than two minutes into the game, Brown threw his first interception of the season on the first series of the day for the Eagles. The Demon Deacons recovered the ball on their own 43 yard line and used 11 plays to cover 57 yards - punching it into the end zone from five yards out with 8:47 left in the first.
After a BC three-and-out, Wake took close to five minutes off the clock on its next drive, tacking on a 22-yard field goal to make it 10-0 with 2:13 left in the quarter.
The Eagles got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter, after a 13-play, 83-yard drive that ended in a 22-yard field goal from Aaron Boumerhi.
On its next possession, BC tied it at 10-10, manufacturing a touchdown drive. Bailey gained 36 yards on the first two plays, thanks to a 25-yard rush and an 11-yard catch. The Eagles continued momentum, thanks to Dillon (10 yard rush), Long (11 yard catch), and Brown (four yard keeper), setting up the 26-yard TD strike to Flowers with 8:54 left.
The Demon Deacons responded, going 82 yards on nine plays, culminating in a six-yard TD connection between Jamie Newman and Shea Surratt, making it 17-10 with 3:14 to go in the half.
Boston College tied it up at 17-17 to end the half. The drive was kickstarted by a 45-yard kickoff return from Travis Levy - the longest of his career. On 2nd-and-12, Brown avoided impending doom deep in the backfield, avoiding two tacklers to connect on a 15-yard sideline strike to Glines. Brown hooked up with White on a 20-yard passing play, taking it to the Wake five-yard line, before finding Bailey on a shovel pass on the right side.
In the second half, Boston College forced Wake to go three-and-out on its opening drive. BC advanced into the red zone on its first possession of the second half, but on 4th-and-3, Brown's pass was intercepted at the Wake Forest 18. The Deacs used 20 plays over 6:46 to go 78 yards, ending with a 22-yard FG to make it 20-17 with 4:47 to go in the third quarter.
After a stalled BC drive, Wake Forest drove 67 yards on its next possession. On 1st-and-10 at the BC 10, Palmer picked off an overthrown Newman pass. Â
Dillon gained 57 yards off runs of eight and 16 yards and a 33-yard reception, putting the Eagles into Wake Forest territory. The Eagles had a chance to tie the game on a 44-yard FG from Boumerhi but had the successful kick called back on a delay of game penalty. After moving back five yards, BC had trouble with the snap and the pass from holder Dennis Grosel went incomplete with 13:02 to play.
The next two drives for both the Demon Deacons and Eagles resulted in a pair of three-and-outs.
Wake Forest tacked on another touchdown with 9:47 to play on a 27-yard link up between Newman and Scotty Washington, making it 27-17.
Wake put the ensuing kickoff out of bounds, giving BC the ball on its own 35. Dillon carried the ball for 40 of the next 65 yards on the BC drive. On 2nd-and-10 at the Wake 16 yard line, Bailey took the handoff from Brown and tossed a pinpoint pass into the back right corner of the endzone to Garrison, making it 27-24 with 6:39 to play.
On the next drive, the Demon Deacons bled the clock and BC took the ball with 28 second remaining on its own five-yard line. On their final snap, the Eagles tried to keep the play alive with a series of laterals, but eventually fumbled out of bounds to end the game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- AJ Dillon reached the 150 rushing yard mark for the third consecutive game. It is the second time in his BC career that he has had at least three straight games with 150+ yards on the ground. He accomplished the feat as a freshman in 2017, going for 196 yards vs. NC State on Nov. 11, 200 yards vs. UConn on Nov. 18, and 193 yards vs. Syracuse on Nov. 25.
- Each of the eight BC players who caught a pass had at least one reception of 11 yards or more. Zay Flowers' 26 yard pass was the longest of the day for the Eagles.
- Grant Carlson punted four times for 154 yards - including a long boot of 50 yards. He put one ball inside the 20.
- The Eagles gained 536 yards on offense (284 passing; 252 rushing). It is BC's highest yardage total of the 2019 season.
- The two teams combined to run 167 plays on offense (Wake 87; BC 75). The Eagles averaged 7.1 yards per play, while the Demon Deacons logged 5.1 yards.
- Wake won the battle of possession, holding the ball for close to 36 minutes. BC's time of possession was 24:09.
- BC was 2-of-12 on third-down conversions. Wake Forest was 17-of-24.
- Boston College is now 14-11-2 all-time versus Wake Forest.
- The Eagles were 2-of-12 on third-down conversions. Wake Forest was 17-of-24.
- The road team has won the last six matchups between BC and Wake.
- Boston College travels to Louisville on Saturday, Oct. 5. Kickoff time is set for 12:30 pm ET and the game can be seen live locally on NESN as part of the ACC's RSN clearances. The BC Learfield IMG Sports Network will air the game on WEEI 93.7 FM, beginning with the pregame show 30 minutes prior to kickoff.
Team Stats

WF 7, BC 0
WF - Carney, C 5 yd run (Sciba, N kick), 11 plays, 57 yards, TOP 4:33

WF 10, BC 0
WF - Sciba, N 22 yd field goal 10 plays, 51 yards, TOP 4:48

WF 10, BC 3
BC - Boumerhi,A 22 yd field goal 13 plays, 83 yards, TOP 4:17

WF 10, BC 10
BC - Flowers,Z 26 yd pass from Brown,A (Boumerhi,A kick) 6 plays, 85 yards, TOP 1:39

WF 17, BC 10
WF - Surratt, S 6 yd pass from Newman, J (Sciba, N kick) 9 plays, 82 yards, TOP 3:28

WF 17, BC 17
BC - Bailey,D 4 yd pass from Brown,A (Boumerhi,A kick) 9 plays, 48 yards, TOP 2:33

WF 20, BC 17
WF - Sciba, N 22 yd field goal 20 plays, 78 yards, TOP 6:46

WF 27, BC 17
WF - Washington, S 27 yd pass from Newman, J (Sciba, N kick) 5 plays, 56 yards, TOP 1:35

WF 27, BC 24
BC - Garrison,C 16 yd pass from Bailey,D (Boumerhi,A kick) 10 plays, 65 yards, TOP 3:08