Final: Boston College 35 Virginia Tech 28. Defense, Anthony Brown Lead Way For Eagles
The Boston College Eagles needed to come out strong against the Virginia Tech Hokies and that is what they did in front of roughly 35k fans at Alumni Stadium. Quarterback Anthony Brown had a very strong throwing for 2 touchdowns and running for one, while running for another. AJ Dillon stumbled home a touchdown as well in the first half on a neat misdirection but for the most part was held in check by the Hokies defense. Zay Flowers looked incredible to start the game with an incredible catch on a nicely thrown ball by Anthony Brown.
The big story of the game was the play of the BC defense. Even though they let up some long drives, they caused five turnovers that effectively killed the Hokies. Joe Sparacio had big interception in the end zone to finish off the first half, while Marcus Valdez, Brandon Sebastian, Nolan Bergersen added turnovers. John Lamot, the inside linebacker, also had a strong game leading the team with six tackles, looking ferocious and sticking some big hits.
The second half looked like we were heading towards a typical Boston College collapse as they allowed VT to score quickly on a Ryan Willis pass to tight end James Mitchell. BC's offense suddenly was mired again in a mix of predictable play calling, and poor execution as they went three and out on three consecutive drives, sometimes giving up the ball in a matter of a minute. But BC did what they needed to do and David Bailey scored a physical one yard touchdown run to put the lead up to 35-21.
VT never gave up though, as Kaleb Smith scored an acrobatic touchdown with just over two minutes remaining. VT however took a long time on the drive, taking over 3 minutes off the clock as they slogged down the field.
The Hokies attempted a poor onside kick, that was easily recovered by Mike Palmer, and then it was AJ Dillon. On two straight runs he was stuff, but with everyone waiting for him to run it, he still blasted ahead on a Tyler Vrabel block effectively ending the game for the Eagles.
Quarterback Anthony Brown ended the game throwing the ball for 275 yards and two touchdowns, while running for one as well. AJ Dillon ended up rushing it only 23 times for 81 yards and a touchdown.
Editor and publisher of BC Bulletin. '06 graduate of Boston College, who has followed the program as long as he can remember. Has been covering the Eagles for the past nine years, giving expert analysis, recruiting news and breakdowns. Also the host of Locked on Boston College, a daily BC podcast that is part of the Locked On Podcast Network. When he is not writing or producing content on the Eagles, he can be found running, skiing, enjoying craft beers, or spending time with his family. You can follow AJ Black on Twitter @AJBlack_BC and our official site Twitter account is @BulletinBC