BC Set to Face Former Starting Quarterback Dylan Lonergan in 2026 Red Bandanna Game

Boston College’s Red Bandanna Game is more than just a football matchup, and this year’s edition falls directly on the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, the day the Twin Towers were struck by hijacked commercial airplanes, killing nearly 3,000 — including a man by the name of Welles Crowther.

Crowther, who graduated from BC in 1999 and worked as both an equities trader and a volunteer firefighter in New York City, sacrificed his own life to save as many as 18 in the crumbling South Tower. He became known as the “man in the red bandanna,” because that was what he used to cover up his face from the debris as he ran back in to save more lives.

For the game each year, the Eagles wear red-bandanna-themed jerseys with a patch that says “For Welles,” and Crowther’s family, including his mother Allison, come onto the field to say a few words about his legacy and how it persists on the Heights.

This year, BC will host Rutgers for the game, which will start at 7:30 p.m. ET, and it appears that a familiar face to the program is going to be the one leading the Scarlet Knights’ offense, which makes for an even more entertaining environment that night.

That would be former BC quarterback Dylan Lonergan, who transferred to Rutgers this offseason after one year with the Eagles, in which he passed for 2,025 yards and 12 touchdowns over nine starts.

On Monday morning, Lonergan was named the Scarlet Knights’ starting quarterback after a months-long battle between the former Eagle and AJ Surace, who lost the job despite serving as the school’s backup in 2025 to Athan Kaliakmanis (quarterback for the Washington Commanders now).

𝗤𝗕𝟭 🪓

𝘿𝙮𝙡𝙖𝙣 𝙇𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠. pic.twitter.com/VsNwjglkAz
— Rutgers Football 🪓 (@RFootball) August 24, 2026

Barring some injury or abysmal play in his first start of the year, which will come against UMass, ironically, on Thursday, Sept. 3, Lonergan is now slated to face his former team on arguably the biggest night of the season for the program — a game that he knows the meaning of well, as he started in it last year.

While BC’s roster has transformed extensively since last season with over 50 new players, 27 of which are transfers, there are still a few current starters who were teammates with Lonergan, and that will likely add some extra fire to the matchup — especially for Lonergan.

The night game will be aired live on ESPN2, and Alumni Stadium is surely going to be filled to the brim with fans of both programs, as Piscataway, N.J., is not too far from Chestnut Hill, Mass.

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