Boston College Athletics
Photo by: Joe Sullivan
The Replay: Connecticut
October 29, 2023 | Football, #ForBoston Files
BC wasn't afraid of no ghosts.
The runup to Saturday's game between Boston College and Connecticut was filled with the kind of notes and memories head coach Jeff Hafley wanted to forget from last season. The mentions clearly existed for a reason, but he very loudly avoided going into the emotional toll of a year-old loss and what it meant to have a second opportunity to answer the bell. His players likewise didn't bite on last year's bait, but that didn't stop glimmers from poking through the occasional darkness.Â
Everyone, it felt, avoided the term "revenge" because they didn't want to reverse the clock from the progress of BC's three-game winning streak, but the aftermath of the Eagles' 21-14 win struck a defiant tone and let a redemptive emotion spill to the forefront of their conversation.
"It's a game we should win when we play," Hafley said, "and that's exactly what I told the team. We have to clean up the game because there were mistakes made, but the production's there…we kept UConn in the game, and that's no disrespect [to the Huskies]. We made the game closer than it should have been, [but] ultimately, we won the game, which is what we should do when we play UConn. I say that with no disrespect, but when we play them, that's the expectation."
The seven-point win represented BC's smallest margin of victory in the series since D. Leo Daley captained Stephen Mahoney's football team to a 7-6 win over the Connecticut Aggies during the 1915 season, but the result masked the Eagles' dominance against the overmatched Huskies. They ran 83 plays to UConn's 43 and dominated time of possession two-to-one over a UConn team that didn't gain its tenth minute of offense until the fourth quarter, and nearly every number tilted the field towards a ludicrous performance across all four periods.
The Eagles outgained UConn by over 200 yards, and the BC running game gained 246 yards, which in turn was more than the 222 total yards gained by the Huskies. Kye Robichaux gained 4.9 yards per carry en route to 112 yards and two touchdowns, and Alex Broome broke for over five yards per rush for his 80-yard day.
Quarterback Thomas Castellanos added 45 yards on the ground while going 16-for-24 for 151 yards and a touchdown, but the limited output added efficiency to a complementary defensive afternoon that held UConn quarterback Ta'Quan Roberson to 4-for-12 passing for 32 yards in the first half. He finished with 11 completions on 24 attempts, but his 130 yards failed to include tight end Justin Joly for the first time this season while leading receivers Cam Ross and Brett Buckman combined for five receptions and 43 yards.
"We were actually pretty simple," Hafley said. "It was working, and we felt good about [the scheme]. We pressured a little bit more later in the game on third down and probably could have pressured a little bit more on the second-to-last drive, but we were pretty vanilla on defense. Guys played hard and played with fundamentals and technique. Tackling was great early on in the game, and I thought we did better at the end. They hit that one big stretch where we got cut out and our safety missed a tackle in the open field, but that was probably the most disappointing run thinking back on it."
The lack of a passing attack forced UConn to rely on running back Cam Edwards, but he failed to gain four yards per carry until he broke a 30-yard touchdown in the second half. Thrust into a featured role due to an injury to feature back Victor Rosa, he failed to consistently break the first level because of an athletic scheme that highlighted BC's front seven.
DePalma finished the game with five tackles while defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku had four takedowns and a quarterback hurry, and both Sione Hala and Cole Batson broke through the three phases with safety John Pupel to record four tackles against the limited number of UConn series.
"They were a pretty gameplan-based team," DePalma said, "so what they do week-in and week-out is not always the same. They kind of look at their opponent and think about what they can take advantage of. So you can guess and make a game plan out of that, but we knew going into [the game] that it was going to be a fundamentals and technique game. We wanted to line up, get set, read your man, key on the gaps, and go tackle or cover your guy."
The numbers lent towards a certified blowout, but BC spotted UConn a touchdown lead in the first quarter after Castellanos lost a fumble by the midfield logo. He later threw a fourth down conversion pass to Joe Griffin that resulted in a turnover-on-downs when Griffin landed out the back of the end zone, and with time winding down in the quarter, a deep pass for Griffin was intercepted by Malik Dixon-Williams while the Eagles were in field goal range.
"I wish we played cleaner," Hafley said, "but now we can turn on the tape and get on [the team]. We haven't lost in five weeks because of the bye, but we have to go hard and look closely at the film. I have to look closely at some of the calls that I made, too, but that's football. Win or lose, you have to show up and do it again. The beauty of it is that for four weeks, our guys found a way to win."
Any of those miscues would have pushed the game to the 40-point blowout range, but the Eagles overcame the mistakes to hold UConn without points. BC was 10-for-16 on third down conversions and 3-for-4 on fourth down, and a third quarter transition to Emmett Morehead resulted in the former starter completing 4-for-5 passes for 36 yards while Castellanos dealt with a medical issue in the locker room. The Eagles also lost Lewis Bond to an injury during the game, but Jaedn Skeete caught all four targets for 61 yards and Griffin broke out for four catches for 45 yards.
"Skeete's a guy that keeps showing up," Hafley said. "He shows up in practice, and I think he's really, really talented. I'm glad he got his moment today, and I think he has some of the best hands on this team. He's got good length and can accelerate. Lewis had to come out of the game with an injury, and Skeete went in, and I thought he played really, really well."
In the end, BC averaged nine plays per drive with three drives that lasted over five minutes and held UConn to three three-and-outs and only one sustained, 70-yard drive. It also won for the fifth time this season, a fact that wasn't lost on a team that pulled within one win of bowl eligibility with a short week looming before Friday's trip to Syracuse.
"A win is a win in college football," DePalma said. "Week-in and week-out, you're [reminded] about how hard that is, and that's not what everyone wants to hear all the time. But winning college football games is hard, and across the country from the best team to the worst team in the country, when you win a game, you're excited.
"Are we satisfied with how we played?" he asked. "No. We know we have to get better, and we will improve. We have a short week, so we're already talking about taking care of our bodies and getting ready for a good week of practice."
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Everyone, it felt, avoided the term "revenge" because they didn't want to reverse the clock from the progress of BC's three-game winning streak, but the aftermath of the Eagles' 21-14 win struck a defiant tone and let a redemptive emotion spill to the forefront of their conversation.
"It's a game we should win when we play," Hafley said, "and that's exactly what I told the team. We have to clean up the game because there were mistakes made, but the production's there…we kept UConn in the game, and that's no disrespect [to the Huskies]. We made the game closer than it should have been, [but] ultimately, we won the game, which is what we should do when we play UConn. I say that with no disrespect, but when we play them, that's the expectation."
The seven-point win represented BC's smallest margin of victory in the series since D. Leo Daley captained Stephen Mahoney's football team to a 7-6 win over the Connecticut Aggies during the 1915 season, but the result masked the Eagles' dominance against the overmatched Huskies. They ran 83 plays to UConn's 43 and dominated time of possession two-to-one over a UConn team that didn't gain its tenth minute of offense until the fourth quarter, and nearly every number tilted the field towards a ludicrous performance across all four periods.
The Eagles outgained UConn by over 200 yards, and the BC running game gained 246 yards, which in turn was more than the 222 total yards gained by the Huskies. Kye Robichaux gained 4.9 yards per carry en route to 112 yards and two touchdowns, and Alex Broome broke for over five yards per rush for his 80-yard day.
Quarterback Thomas Castellanos added 45 yards on the ground while going 16-for-24 for 151 yards and a touchdown, but the limited output added efficiency to a complementary defensive afternoon that held UConn quarterback Ta'Quan Roberson to 4-for-12 passing for 32 yards in the first half. He finished with 11 completions on 24 attempts, but his 130 yards failed to include tight end Justin Joly for the first time this season while leading receivers Cam Ross and Brett Buckman combined for five receptions and 43 yards.
"We were actually pretty simple," Hafley said. "It was working, and we felt good about [the scheme]. We pressured a little bit more later in the game on third down and probably could have pressured a little bit more on the second-to-last drive, but we were pretty vanilla on defense. Guys played hard and played with fundamentals and technique. Tackling was great early on in the game, and I thought we did better at the end. They hit that one big stretch where we got cut out and our safety missed a tackle in the open field, but that was probably the most disappointing run thinking back on it."
The lack of a passing attack forced UConn to rely on running back Cam Edwards, but he failed to gain four yards per carry until he broke a 30-yard touchdown in the second half. Thrust into a featured role due to an injury to feature back Victor Rosa, he failed to consistently break the first level because of an athletic scheme that highlighted BC's front seven.
DePalma finished the game with five tackles while defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku had four takedowns and a quarterback hurry, and both Sione Hala and Cole Batson broke through the three phases with safety John Pupel to record four tackles against the limited number of UConn series.
"They were a pretty gameplan-based team," DePalma said, "so what they do week-in and week-out is not always the same. They kind of look at their opponent and think about what they can take advantage of. So you can guess and make a game plan out of that, but we knew going into [the game] that it was going to be a fundamentals and technique game. We wanted to line up, get set, read your man, key on the gaps, and go tackle or cover your guy."
The numbers lent towards a certified blowout, but BC spotted UConn a touchdown lead in the first quarter after Castellanos lost a fumble by the midfield logo. He later threw a fourth down conversion pass to Joe Griffin that resulted in a turnover-on-downs when Griffin landed out the back of the end zone, and with time winding down in the quarter, a deep pass for Griffin was intercepted by Malik Dixon-Williams while the Eagles were in field goal range.
"I wish we played cleaner," Hafley said, "but now we can turn on the tape and get on [the team]. We haven't lost in five weeks because of the bye, but we have to go hard and look closely at the film. I have to look closely at some of the calls that I made, too, but that's football. Win or lose, you have to show up and do it again. The beauty of it is that for four weeks, our guys found a way to win."
Any of those miscues would have pushed the game to the 40-point blowout range, but the Eagles overcame the mistakes to hold UConn without points. BC was 10-for-16 on third down conversions and 3-for-4 on fourth down, and a third quarter transition to Emmett Morehead resulted in the former starter completing 4-for-5 passes for 36 yards while Castellanos dealt with a medical issue in the locker room. The Eagles also lost Lewis Bond to an injury during the game, but Jaedn Skeete caught all four targets for 61 yards and Griffin broke out for four catches for 45 yards.
"Skeete's a guy that keeps showing up," Hafley said. "He shows up in practice, and I think he's really, really talented. I'm glad he got his moment today, and I think he has some of the best hands on this team. He's got good length and can accelerate. Lewis had to come out of the game with an injury, and Skeete went in, and I thought he played really, really well."
In the end, BC averaged nine plays per drive with three drives that lasted over five minutes and held UConn to three three-and-outs and only one sustained, 70-yard drive. It also won for the fifth time this season, a fact that wasn't lost on a team that pulled within one win of bowl eligibility with a short week looming before Friday's trip to Syracuse.
"A win is a win in college football," DePalma said. "Week-in and week-out, you're [reminded] about how hard that is, and that's not what everyone wants to hear all the time. But winning college football games is hard, and across the country from the best team to the worst team in the country, when you win a game, you're excited.
"Are we satisfied with how we played?" he asked. "No. We know we have to get better, and we will improve. We have a short week, so we're already talking about taking care of our bodies and getting ready for a good week of practice."
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Players Mentioned
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QB
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