EA Sports College Football 25 Season Simulation: Boston College
With predictions season in full swing, experts around the country are filing in their picks to decipher where the Boston College Eagles will finish in the new-look ACC this season.
Hardly anyone, though, is using the most widely available tool to the college football lanscape - EA Sports College Football 25. It's worth a look, then, to see what a season simulation looks like for the 2024 Eagles squad.
Week One - Florida State
BC - 31, FSU - 20
The simulation shows love to BC right out of the gate and rewards the Eagles with a win over Florida State in week one.
Junior quarterback Thomas Castellanos threw for 330 yards and two scores in the game, while senior running back Kyle Robichaux added another two touchdowns on the ground and 49 yards rushing. The Eagles started the simulation off strong to get to 1-0.
Week Two - FCS East (Duquesne)
BC - 49, FCS East - 16
Since Duquesne is not actually in the game, FCS East took its place and got a shellacking for it. Castellanos tossed another gem with 369 yards and four touchdowns en route to the slaughter.
Jerand Bradley took three jet sweeps for a total of 91 yards and a touchdown while Robichaux added another score on the ground as part of BC's rushing efforts. The Eagles and O'Brien improved to 2-0 on the young season with many more surprises in store.
Week Three - Missouri
BC - 21, Missouri - 28
The Eagles suffered the first heartbreak of the season in the form of a one possession loss to the SEC's Missouri Tigers in week three of the simulation.
Castellanos was bottled up as he finished with zero touchdown passes and two picks to end the game. In the end, it was the BC rushing attack that kept the Eagles in the game. Robichaux and fellow running back Treshaun Ward combined for the team's lone three touchdowns.
Week Four - Michigan State
BC - 42, MSU - 13
After taking a loss to an SEC team, O'Brien and the rest of the Eagles decided to take out their frustrations on a member of the Big 10.
In an absolute trampling of the Spartans, Castellanos threw for five touchdowns, two picks and 257 yards while rushing for another 72 yards. Ward scored the only rushing touchdown on the day for the Eagles en route to the week four blowout to put BC at 3-1 on the season.
Week Five - Western Kentucky
BC - 31, WKU - 0
The Hilltoppers never stood a chance. Boston College completely shut out the dynamic in-game offense of WKU and put on a show of its own in doing so.
After Castellanos exited with an injury, junior quarterback Grayson James lit up the scoreboard for three touchdowns, 188 yards and no interceptions. The BC rushing attack was alive and well, too, as Robichaux added another score to lift the Eagles to 4-1.
Week Six - Virginia
BC - 38, Virginia - 24
With Castellanos back healthy, BC got back to business and handled Virginia without much sweat. The junior quarterback threw for 288 yards and three scores en route to the team's second conference victory of the season.
Robichaux had a breakout game for the record books as well on the way to piling up 121 yards on 11 carries despite not finding the end zone. At 5-1, bowl eligibility was right around the corner for the simulated Eagles.
Week Eight - Virginia Tech
BC - 35, VT - 45
The Hokies proved to be more formidable than what the simulated Eagles thought, and handed BC its second loss of the season.
Bowl eligibility would have to wait at least one more week for O'Brien and the Eagles as they came out of the week seven bye a bit too flat.
Week Nine - Louisville
BC - 31, Louisville - 21
After waiting nearly three weeks at five wins, the simulated Eagles finally found paydirt against the Cardinals and secured a postseason berth.
Castellanos threw for three scores and no picks on just 191 yards through the air while Robichaux added 106 yards on the ground and a touchdown of his own to lift BC to a 6-2 record.
Week 11 - Syracuse
BC - 17, Syracuse - 30
In one of the nation's oldest rivalries, the Orange got the last laugh to knock Boston College down a peg to a 6-3 record.
With SMU, North Carolina and Pittsburgh next on the schedule, the simulated Eagles had their work cut out for tem over the course of the next three weeks.
Week 12 - SMU
BC - 45, SMU - 35
The Eagles and O'Brien rebounded from the crushing week 11 defeat to Syracuse in the best way possible - winning the next one.
Castellanos torched SMU for a whopping six touchdowns and zero interceptions on 30/35 completions. Robichaux made his own mark on the game as well, going over 100 yards yet again en route to a handy victory to push the squad to 7-3.
Week 13 - North Carolina
BC - 45, UNC - 17
The Tar Heels were no match for Boston College late in the season, as the in-game O'Brien was able to coach his team to a trampling win in week 13 to put a statement piece on what had already been a great season.
Castellanos tossed another five touchdowns without a single turnover while Robichaux added yet another on the ground to thump North Carolina at home and improve to 8-3.
Week 14 - Pittsburgh
BC - 38, Pitt - 21
BC closed out the simulated regular season on a high note by taking care of business on senior night against Pitt to improve to 9-3 on the year. Castellanos tossed another four touchdowns without a turnover and Robichaux put a bow on his career with 79 yards and his own rushing touchdown.
With that, the 2024 season was over with a bang. Boston College finished the simulated 2024 season third in the ACC and 10-3 (6-2) and ranked 19th in the country after a 28-14 win in the Boca Raton bowl over the Tulane Green Wave.
It's safe to say that if EA's simulations ring true, there will be plenty of happy fans in Alumni Stadium in 2024.
TANNER MARLAR