Boston College football blows another double-digit lead with a loss to Louisville

CHESTNUT HILL – Boston College has proven repeatedly that it is capable of turning a commanding early lead into a heartbreaking defeat.

Louisville rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit to beat BC 31-27 before a crowd of 42,887 in an ACC game Friday night at Alumni Stadium. BC had built a 14-0 lead against Missouri and Virginia early in the season, which ended in losses.

BC fell to 4-4 and 1-3 this season with its third straight ACC loss, while Louisville improved to 5-3 and 3-2. The Eagles will enjoy some rest and recovery in their second bye week, resuming ACC home action against regional rival Syracuse on November 9th.

“We were up 20-7 and I just felt like we were in a good position,” BC first-year coach Bill O'Brien said. “We can’t play for 60 minutes.

“I can’t train them well enough to play 60 minutes and I need to train a lot better. I need to look at the tape and figure out how to fix it. Terrible.”

The game was dominated by two dynamic quarterbacks, BC's Tommy Castellanos and Louisville's Tyler Shough. Castellanos completed 13 of 28 passes for 164 yards and three touchdowns.

Shough destroyed the Eagles' secondary, completing 28 of 38 passes for 333 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Louisville had 461 yards of total offense compared to BC's 318 yards.

(Shough) “did a great job, a great player and a good coaching staff coaching us,” O'Brien said. “Tonight we didn’t do much on offense.”

BC's defense scored its first big play of the game with 9:21 left in the first quarter. The Eagles' pass rush forced Shough to throw an errant pass down the sideline, which was intercepted by defensive end Quintayvious Hutchins on the BC 16.

Castellanos responded to Shough's miscue by completing a 54-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kamari Morales to make the score 7-0 with 7:26 to play. Castellanos completed a similar touchdown pass to Morales in the Eagles' 27-21 loss at Missouri on Sept. 14.

BC got the ball at its own 39 when Cardinals placekicker Brock Travelstead's 56-yard field goal attempt failed miserably. Castellanos completed a 10-play, 61-yard scoring drive that made it 14-0 at 10:24 of the second minute.

The drive appeared to stall on fourth-and-8, but the Cardinals were caught offside before kicker Liam Connor made a 25-yard field goal attempt. O'Brien got the offense back on the field on fourth-and-4 and Castellanos delivered a soft touchdown toss to running back Treshaun Ward.

“In the first half they had the belief and confidence that we could convert with a touchdown,” Castellanos said.

Hutchins made his second big play of the first half when he picked off Louisville wide receiver Ahmari Higgins-Bruce and recovered the Cardinals' 46 fumble. BC gained 46 yards in seven plays and scored its third touchdown on a 4-yard run by Kye Robichaux with 6:28 to play. Connor's PAT kick went wide left and BC led 20-0.

Shough revived his deflated offense with a time-consuming 10-play, 76-yard scoring drive, cutting the lead to 20-7 with 1:17 to play.

“What got us ahead in the first half was a few plays, but we didn't really do anything in the first half,” O'Brien said. “They turned the ball over and we didn’t.

“We did some good things in the first half, but tonight we didn’t do much on offense.”

Shough carried the momentum into the second half. Shough completed four passes for 55 yards in an 11-play, 69-yard scoring drive. The Cardinals' drive went sideways inside the BC 10 and they settled for a 23-yard field goal from Travelstead to make the score 20-10 with 10:42 to play.

Castellanos retaliated with a 58-yard pass to Ward, who was first to field the ball, and 10 from the 11th minute. Castellanos capped the outing with a touchdown to wide-open tight end Jeremiah Franklin, making it 27-10 at 7:58 minutes.

Shough continued the shootout with a nine-play, 83-yard scoring drive that made the score 27-17 with 3:50 left in the third. Louisville cut the Eagles' lead to 27-24 on an 18-yard run by Issac Brown with 10:57 to play. Louisville took a 31-27 lead on a 6-yard pass from Shough to tight end Nate Kurisky with 7:12 to play.

The Eagles got one last chance at redemption when KP Price Shough intercepted at the BC 47 with 3:43 to play.

“I think in the second half we didn’t have the energy we needed to finish the game,” nickel defenseman Cameron Martinez said. “I think that's been a problem for us all year so far, not finishing in the second half, and you saw that today.

“They came out in the second half with their hair on fire and finished the game.”