Bill O'Brien, Lewis Bond Weigh In on What Boston College Needs to Do to Win Close Games

The Eagles have found themselves in a couple of close games, but have not been able to turn those contests into wins.

Nov 1, 2025; Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA; Boston College Eagles wide receiver Lewis Bond (11) catches a pass against Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Adon Shuler (8) and defensive back Leonard Moore (15) in the fourth quarter at Alumni Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Edward Finan-Imagn Images | Edward Finan-Imagn Images

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — On Saturday, in a packed Alumni Stadium for the latest edition of The Holy War, Boston College football found itself in the midst of a close contest with the No. 12 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, however could not pull out the victory and lost 25-10. 

The loss was the Eagles’ eighth consecutive defeat, but not all of the games have been blowouts. 

During the stretch, Boston College has lost three games by ten points or less: 42-40 to Michigan State in double overtime, 30-20 to Stanford, and 28-24 to Cal. On top of that, three additional games were lost by just two possessions: 38-23 to UConn, 38-24 to No. 16 Louisville, and 25-10 to Notre Dame. 

After the game, Eagles head coach Bill O’Brien was asked about the close games and what he thinks needs to happen for the team to break through. 

“Turnovers, moving the ball better on offense, scoring in the red area,” said O’Brien. “If you think back to those games, there were interceptions, there were fumbles, this game [had] interceptions. So it comes down to that. Last year, we were a lot better at that, taking care of the ball, taking the ball away. This year, it’s been the opposite and we have to fix that. We want to try to keep fixing it this year, but we definitely have to fix it moving forward.” 

Wide receiver Lewis Bond also weighed in on the question and had one simple answer on what needs to change. 

“We just got to play better,” said Bond. “Individually, as a team, as an offense, as a defense, we just got to play better. We can’t make mistakes that hurt ourselves, basically. We got to be on our P’s and Q’s and we gotta play the best game that we can.” 

With the loss, Boston College falls to 1-8 on the year and stays at 0-5 in ACC play. Next up, the Eagles have three more games in 2025 against SMU, No. 7 Georgia Tech, and at Syracuse. 

Next week’s game against SMU will be next Saturday afternoon at noon ET on ACC Network.

Boston College Football 2025 Schedule:

Aug. 30: vs. Fordham- W 66-10

Sept. 6: at Michigan State- L 42-40 (2OT)

Sept. 13: at Stanford- L 30-20

Sept. 20: BYE

Sept. 27: vs. Cal- L 28-24

Oct. 4: vs. Pitt- L 48-7

Oct. 11: vs. Clemson- L 41-10

Oct. 18: vs. UConn- L 38-23

Oct. 25: at Louisville- L 38-24

Nov. 1: vs. Notre Dame- L 25-10

Nov. 8: vs. SMU

Nov. 15: vs. Georgia Tech

Nov. 22: BYE

Nov. 29: at Syracuse