BOSTON — UMass thought it was ready to battle Boston College this season. The Eagles proved Saturday just how far away the Minutemen were from being competitive with them.
Much like UMass did to Duquesne last week, Boston College demoralized the Minutemen in the first half with 455 yards of total offense and seven scoring drives on nine possessions. The Eagles took advantage of every mistake the Minutemen made, punishing UMass for each missed assignment and miscommunication it had defensively en route to a 55-21 home victory.
The always fiery Bryton Barr was still just as frustrated after the game about the performance.
“We just weren’t prepared enough,” Barr said. “Mentally, physically, we weren’t all there as a team, and as you guys saw, it hurt us.”
Boston College (1-0) came out of the gates riding their workhorse running back AJ Dillon. The sophomore ran for 37 yards on four carries on the opening drive before capping it with a 15-yard touchdown reception for his first collegiate catch. Dillon finished with 98 yards on 20 carries as quarterback Anthony Brown stole the show for the Eagles.
The sophomore signal caller didn’t need to dissect the UMass defense too much because he was given wide open throwing lanes. Most of his 15 completions went to wide open receivers, who helped him accumulate 279 yards passing before being removed at halftime.
Kobay White was unmarked on a 34-yard touchdown grab to make it 14-7, then Ray Marten was left open for a 29-yard catch that set up a short rushing score at the beginning of the second quarter. Brown found Marten in open space again later in the quarter for a 33-yard score and capped off his first half with a 27-yard pitch and catch with White, who leaped over UMass junior cornerback Bakhari Goodson for the reception.
“We just had some miscommunication problems and busted coverages really hurt us,” UMass coach Mark Whipple said. “I knew they were going to run the ball pretty well, we really didn’t give up a big run, but giving up a big pass really kind of broke us down.”
The normally reliable UMass offense couldn’t respond to the Eagles’ onslaught as quarterback Andrew Ford looked rattled in the pocket. Ford was sacked three times, but never looked comfortable after absorbing that first tackle. Several times he scrambled into trouble, and other times lacked the confidence to throw the ball when facing the Eagles’ pass rush.
UMass (1-1) accumulated just seven first downs in the first half and didn’t have a drive longer than five plays. The lone bright spots were Ross Comis’ 49-yard toss to Andy Isabella that set up Marquis Young’s 3-yard touchdown run and Young’s 73-yard kickoff return that set up UMass inside the red zone.
“They were playing hard and they came out ready to go,” Comis said. “A couple of mistakes, breaks that we got here or there and we couldn’t capitalize. I think that kind of deflated us and they built momentum off those things.”
The backbreaker on offense came shortly after Young’s long kickoff return. Already down 34-7, the Minutemen started at the Boston College 17-yard line with a chance to cut into the deficit before halftime. Ford began the drive with a 12-yard pass to Kyle Horn, but on the next play, Bilal Ally was stripped by Hamp Cheevers near the line of scrimmage and Cheevers fell on the ball.
Boston College proceeded to drive the 97 yards in 10 plays to extend the lead and then Lukas Dennis picked off Ford and returned it 59 yards on the final play of the half. At that point, all semblance of hope was lost for UMass.
“He doesn’t fumble the ball very often, but that was a huge play,” Whipple said. “They go (97 yards) and then we give it back, and I’m not saying we’re going to win the game, but that’s a 21-point swing.”
The game likely turned for good midway through the first quarter when Tyler Hayes was called for defensive pass interference on a third-down play near midfield.
UMass had stopped Boston College on its second drive and seemed to have halted the Eagles again on their third possession. The score was still knotted 7-7 at that moment when Hayes thought he cleanly batted away Brown’s pass to Tom Sweeney. However, the referees threw the flag, and Boston College later scored on the drive to take a 14-7 lead and never trail the rest of the way.
“We can only control what we can control,” Barr said. “I thought Tyler made a good play, but we just have to keep on playing no matter what. Whatever is thrown at us, we need to control what we can control.”