BC's Only Points at Duke Came on a 100-Yard Blocked-Kick Return. Fifteen Penalties and 213 Yards Explain the 47-2 Loss
A week after scoring 49 at Georgia Tech, the Eagles fell to 4-4. Bill O'Brien called it 'a rough day by everybody.' Florida State visits Chestnut Hill on Saturday.
Boston College went to Durham on Saturday riding a two-game winning streak and the 49-27 win at Georgia Tech. It came home 4-4, 2-3 in the ACC, after a 47-2 loss to Duke, according to the AP recap published by the ACC.
Two points. Not a safety. Carter Davis returned a blocked Duke extra point 100 yards after the Blue Devils' second touchdown, the first defensive extra point Duke had given up since 1999.
BC finished with 213 yards of total offense. Quarterback Mason McKenzie was 9-of-17 for 87 yards. Duke sacked BC six times with 11 tackles for loss, according to the recap.
"Fifteen penalties. Duke did a lot of good things," coach Bill O'Brien said. "It was just a rough day by everybody."
Duke running back Nate Sheppard ran for a school-record five touchdowns, from 1, 2, 54, 4 and 1 yards, on 20 carries for 97 yards. His 18 total touchdowns this season are a Duke single-season record. Walker Eget threw for 201 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown to Jeremiah Hasley for a 27-2 halftime lead. Gavin Strange added field goals from 41 and 24 yards. It was the second-largest margin in an ACC game in Duke history.
The game was 13-2 when BC drove to the Duke 12 and failed on fourth-and-2. "There's always moments," Duke coach Manny Diaz said. "That was a moment." Duke scored the next 34 points.
It was a return to Durham for O'Brien and defensive coordinator Ted Roof. O'Brien was Duke's offensive coordinator about 20 years ago, when Roof was Duke's head coach, the recap noted.
At 4-4 with four games left, BC needs two more wins for bowl eligibility. Florida State comes to Alumni Stadium on Saturday. The ACC's other results the same day show how tough November is: No. 1 Miami needed a rally to beat North Carolina 38-35, and No. 14 Wake Forest beat Virginia 51-7.
I'm not reading too much into one blowout on the road against the defending ACC champions. But 15 penalties is a coaching and discipline number, not a talent number, and that part is fixable this week. Ninety yards of passing is the part that isn't. If BC can't throw against Florida State, the bowl math gets a lot harder.
