Boston College Athletics
Photo by: Anthony Garro
The Replay: Michigan State
September 22, 2024 | Football, #ForBoston Files
The walk-off winner moved BC to 3-1 on a special Red Bandanna night.
Lewis Bond was wide open.
The Boston College offense only needed one yard to gain a key first down in the closing minutes of Saturday's Red Bandanna Game against Michigan State, but quarterback Thomas Castellanos spied his receiver gaining separation on a slant route to the middle of the field. Bond's defender was on the turf, and safety Malik Spencer was far enough behind the play to open a window for Castellanos to deliver the most perfect strike in his arsenal.
Spencer made the most of his opportunity, but Bond shook him quickly as he looked towards an open end zone. The rain that fell throughout the entire night pelted his helmet for the final 10 yards of a 42-yard touchdown for the ages, and as he ran towards a final, game-winning score, Bond listened to the din and roar of the sell-out crowd of 44,500 screaming BC fans.
For the first time in three years, Boston College was about to win the Red Bandanna Game, and his score went into the program's record books as the game-winning touchdown of a 23-19 victory over Michigan State.
"There was a TV timeout before that play," said head coach Bill O'Brien, "and Tommy loved that play. Will Lawing made a great play call there. Lewis Bond was open a lot, and we needed to hit Lewis more [because] he was wide open quite a bit. But that was a great play, and Lewis did a great job. He's a very smart player and tried to use as much of the clock as he could. He skated the goal line, and that was just a really nice play by both of those guys with great protection from the offensive line."
The play capped a Red Bandanna Game rife in pregame pageantry and the emotion associated with celebrating the memory of Boston College's Welles Crowther. An Alumni Stadium awash in Crowther's signature paisley motif packed itself to the rafters ahead of a night honoring the heroism and sacrifice of a single person associated with saving more than a dozen people during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City. The cold and stinging rain had no impact on their enthusiasm ahead of the nationally-televised matchup against Michigan State, and the sight of a competitive matchup against a Big Ten opponent formed the ultimate tribute to a former lacrosse player who played his games within the stadium's cozy confines.
The partisan crowd stretched perfectly around the square-shaped lower bowl, but the three-plus hour game turned into a gritty, slogging affair after both teams battled mistakes and miscues. That it boiled to a final stand and turnover after Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles attempted to throw a game-winning touchdown of his own felt poetic, especially since the Eagles spent the previous four quarters tormenting the Spartan offense by capitalizing on its own brand of turnovers.
"We preach a lot about taking care of the ball," O'Brien said. "We had one fumble [in the first quarter], but we took the ball away a lot. Special teams, too, were a big factor in the game, even though that didn't always generate the points that we wanted, and I think that's something we have to keep doing. We had some penalties, but overall, I thought we played a cleaner game. We're not as clean as we want to be, but we won that battle tonight."
Max Tucker's pick in the end zone on essentially the final play of the game capped a three-interception performance by a BC defense that boxed Chiles into uncomfortable downfield plays. He connected for a 40-yard pass to receiver Montarie Foster Jr. while completing six of Jack Velling's targets for 77 yards, but he couldn't punch a score into the end zone beyond a "tush push" run in the second quarter.
The defense largely deleted his ability to look at intermediate passing routes and forced him into downfield throws, which in turn led to the first career interception for redshirt freshman Carter Davis. A later pass down the right sideline found its way to Amari Jackson, but Tucker's pick in the back of the end zone built a coup de grace into a night riddled with little mistakes.
"I thought [defensive coordinator] Tim Lewis did a really good job tonight," O'Brien said. "They had some plays where they made some plays, but I think those were more about our lack of execution than the call themselves. He did a good job of mixing coverages, and while they hit some things, our guys were able to hawk the ball and get some interceptions that were huge and a big, big factor in the game."
Stopping Michigan State allowed BC to overcome the self-inflicted mistakes by imposing a rash of mistakes on the opposite sideline. A couple of shanked punts aside, the Eagles forced a fourth turnover when Davis slammed through Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams to force a fumble within his own 10-yard line. After later stopping BC at its own goal line and continuing towards midfield, a first down sack by Donovan Ezeiruaku forced Michigan State to convert its own fourth down play before the defense held against its own 10-yard line. After having gone 89 yards in just under 10 minutes, forcing the Spartans to walk back to their sideline with three points ultimately undid their effort after Bond scored the go-ahead touchdown.
"Coach Lewis allows us to play within the scheme," said Ezeiruaku. "He gives us the freedom to go make plays, and I think that's been showing up as we've been making more plays up front. He puts us in great position to make plays, and we just execute our job."
Finding ways to finish helped BC gain its third win ahead of next week's visit from Western Kentucky, but it offered a bigger victory to a night steeped in tradition and service. Wearing the red bandanna uniform for their only time in 2024, the Eagles found a way to vanquish a Big Ten opponent clearly on the rise under new head coach Jonathan Smith. They won their annual game for the first time in three years and honored a hero with a celebration of the competitive spirit that he embodied as a member of a program long lost to the history books.
They did it with respect and pride, and they did it in front of an adoring crowd willing to stand in a drenching rain as nighttime sank into its darkness. The understanding of getting back to work on Sunday wasn't lost, but for one night, the moment satisfied even the most hardened BC observer.
"This is a special night," said O'Brien. "It really is, and the crowd, the students, [everyone] just made it a special place and a great tribute to Welles Crowther and his family. I saw Alison Crowther [Welles' mother] before the game, which was pretty cool. So it was a special night, but it's a night where it's one of those games where you have to win. You have to win to make it a special night. So I was happy that our guys were able to pull it out."
Â
The Boston College offense only needed one yard to gain a key first down in the closing minutes of Saturday's Red Bandanna Game against Michigan State, but quarterback Thomas Castellanos spied his receiver gaining separation on a slant route to the middle of the field. Bond's defender was on the turf, and safety Malik Spencer was far enough behind the play to open a window for Castellanos to deliver the most perfect strike in his arsenal.
Spencer made the most of his opportunity, but Bond shook him quickly as he looked towards an open end zone. The rain that fell throughout the entire night pelted his helmet for the final 10 yards of a 42-yard touchdown for the ages, and as he ran towards a final, game-winning score, Bond listened to the din and roar of the sell-out crowd of 44,500 screaming BC fans.
For the first time in three years, Boston College was about to win the Red Bandanna Game, and his score went into the program's record books as the game-winning touchdown of a 23-19 victory over Michigan State.
"There was a TV timeout before that play," said head coach Bill O'Brien, "and Tommy loved that play. Will Lawing made a great play call there. Lewis Bond was open a lot, and we needed to hit Lewis more [because] he was wide open quite a bit. But that was a great play, and Lewis did a great job. He's a very smart player and tried to use as much of the clock as he could. He skated the goal line, and that was just a really nice play by both of those guys with great protection from the offensive line."
The play capped a Red Bandanna Game rife in pregame pageantry and the emotion associated with celebrating the memory of Boston College's Welles Crowther. An Alumni Stadium awash in Crowther's signature paisley motif packed itself to the rafters ahead of a night honoring the heroism and sacrifice of a single person associated with saving more than a dozen people during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City. The cold and stinging rain had no impact on their enthusiasm ahead of the nationally-televised matchup against Michigan State, and the sight of a competitive matchup against a Big Ten opponent formed the ultimate tribute to a former lacrosse player who played his games within the stadium's cozy confines.
The partisan crowd stretched perfectly around the square-shaped lower bowl, but the three-plus hour game turned into a gritty, slogging affair after both teams battled mistakes and miscues. That it boiled to a final stand and turnover after Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles attempted to throw a game-winning touchdown of his own felt poetic, especially since the Eagles spent the previous four quarters tormenting the Spartan offense by capitalizing on its own brand of turnovers.
"We preach a lot about taking care of the ball," O'Brien said. "We had one fumble [in the first quarter], but we took the ball away a lot. Special teams, too, were a big factor in the game, even though that didn't always generate the points that we wanted, and I think that's something we have to keep doing. We had some penalties, but overall, I thought we played a cleaner game. We're not as clean as we want to be, but we won that battle tonight."
Max Tucker's pick in the end zone on essentially the final play of the game capped a three-interception performance by a BC defense that boxed Chiles into uncomfortable downfield plays. He connected for a 40-yard pass to receiver Montarie Foster Jr. while completing six of Jack Velling's targets for 77 yards, but he couldn't punch a score into the end zone beyond a "tush push" run in the second quarter.
The defense largely deleted his ability to look at intermediate passing routes and forced him into downfield throws, which in turn led to the first career interception for redshirt freshman Carter Davis. A later pass down the right sideline found its way to Amari Jackson, but Tucker's pick in the back of the end zone built a coup de grace into a night riddled with little mistakes.
"I thought [defensive coordinator] Tim Lewis did a really good job tonight," O'Brien said. "They had some plays where they made some plays, but I think those were more about our lack of execution than the call themselves. He did a good job of mixing coverages, and while they hit some things, our guys were able to hawk the ball and get some interceptions that were huge and a big, big factor in the game."
Stopping Michigan State allowed BC to overcome the self-inflicted mistakes by imposing a rash of mistakes on the opposite sideline. A couple of shanked punts aside, the Eagles forced a fourth turnover when Davis slammed through Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams to force a fumble within his own 10-yard line. After later stopping BC at its own goal line and continuing towards midfield, a first down sack by Donovan Ezeiruaku forced Michigan State to convert its own fourth down play before the defense held against its own 10-yard line. After having gone 89 yards in just under 10 minutes, forcing the Spartans to walk back to their sideline with three points ultimately undid their effort after Bond scored the go-ahead touchdown.
"Coach Lewis allows us to play within the scheme," said Ezeiruaku. "He gives us the freedom to go make plays, and I think that's been showing up as we've been making more plays up front. He puts us in great position to make plays, and we just execute our job."
Finding ways to finish helped BC gain its third win ahead of next week's visit from Western Kentucky, but it offered a bigger victory to a night steeped in tradition and service. Wearing the red bandanna uniform for their only time in 2024, the Eagles found a way to vanquish a Big Ten opponent clearly on the rise under new head coach Jonathan Smith. They won their annual game for the first time in three years and honored a hero with a celebration of the competitive spirit that he embodied as a member of a program long lost to the history books.
They did it with respect and pride, and they did it in front of an adoring crowd willing to stand in a drenching rain as nighttime sank into its darkness. The understanding of getting back to work on Sunday wasn't lost, but for one night, the moment satisfied even the most hardened BC observer.
"This is a special night," said O'Brien. "It really is, and the crowd, the students, [everyone] just made it a special place and a great tribute to Welles Crowther and his family. I saw Alison Crowther [Welles' mother] before the game, which was pretty cool. So it was a special night, but it's a night where it's one of those games where you have to win. You have to win to make it a special night. So I was happy that our guys were able to pull it out."
Â
Players Mentioned
WR
/ Football
DB
/ Football
DE
/ Football
DB
/ Football
DB
/ FootballBoston College Athletics Live Stream
Wednesday, April 01
Boston College Men's Basketball - Head Coach Luke Murray Introductory Press Conference
Wednesday, April 01
#22 Baseball Defeats Maine (March 31, 2026)
Tuesday, March 31
Baseball: Series Win vs. No. 9 Virginia
Tuesday, March 31
