BC Bulletin

Boston College Eagles vs. Pittsburgh Panthers: Three Stars

These players willed the Eagles in their Overtime victory. Find out who we chose here.

Brett Rider

3rd Star - Grant Carlson

Last week, we broke down the elevated level of the special teams play. This past weekend saw a continuation of that unit's success, especially with Carlson's seven punts, four of which landed inside the 20. His pinnacle moment came when the team successfully downing a beautifully place ball inside the one yard line. This play set up Josh Deberry's first career interception and gave the Eagles an opportunity to cap the game late in the forth. Although they were unable to convert, this win, as Coach Hafley put it, was not possible without Carlson.

2nd Star - Hunter Long/Phil Jurkovec 

The previous three installments of this segment have all included Hunter Long and Phil Jurkovec, and rightly so. This week being no different but with various other contributors deserving to be listed as well. We decided to group together the catalysts of the Eagles offense that has developed into one of the hottest pass catching duo in the country.

A Pittsburgh native, and Boston College quarterback showed up against his home town team to the tune of 358 yards on 19/35 passing three touchdowns and no interceptions. The quarterback's lone blip came on a strip fumble loss deep in Pitt territory in the fourth quarter. But his latest "late game heroic" moment made up for it, on his laser of a touchdown to Flowers on third down in over time.

It has been no secret just how good Jurkovec has been for the Eagles this season. The numbers thus far although in a smaller sample, have him in a category of his own.

Pass catching tight end Hunter Long continues to impress. His play has been so strong that opposing teams are keying in on him game plans on a week to week basis. The tight end had another very productive day with six receptions for 93 yards. Long is the leading receiver nationally for all tight ends with 34 catches.

1st Star - Zay Flowers

Six catches for 162 yards, tying a school record with three touchdown receptions including what would become the game winner. This is a case where the gaudy numbers can and will speak for themselves. The sophomore steadily is proving he is more than a "jet sweep guy" and is starting to show that he is one of the top receivers in the ACC.

After torching the vaunted Pitt secondary on scores on 44 and 77 yards respectively, the Eagles receiver showed a new clutch gene Jurkovec connected with him on third down in OT from 25 yards out.

Flowers now has logged two contests with 160 yards receiving or more and now leads the ACC in receiving yards at 405 for the season.

Honorable Mention

As a Boston College site, mentioning Pitt Kicker Alex Kessman can come off odd. Furthermore, missing the extra point allowing for the Eagles to prevail in OT makes for a troll job. The fact of the matter is the Pitt kicker is the reason the game even went to the extra session. His big moment caused BC fans to collectively groan as the senior kicker nailed a 58 yard field goal with mere second remaining to tie the game up. It was a big time moment, if things went different in overtime, it would be the play we would all be talking about. Although the Panthers kick came up wide right, his clutch kick in the fourth quarter is worth merit.

Published
Brett Rider
BRETT RIDER

BC Maven Contributor, Boston College undergrad and follower of everything Eagles.

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