Boston College Football Drops Ninth Consecutive Loss in Blowout Against SMU

The Eagles were marred by numerous chunk plays for the Mustangs' offense, which generated 574 total yards of offense.

John Sexton / Boston College Eagles On SI

Some turnovers in football can be an unlucky break. Others are baffling. Redshirt-sophomore quarterback Dylan Lonergan’s interception in the third quarter against SMU was of the latter category, and it ultimately cemented another Boston College football loss—the program’s ninth in a row.

On 2nd-and-6 from the Eagles’ 45-yard line, Lonergan lifted the ball to a pair of pass catchers streaking down the field. Once the ball reached its apex, however, it became clear that Lonergan’s pass was not going to land into the hands of a receiver. Just the opposite, in fact.

SMU’s Tyren Polley Jr. didn’t have to move an inch from his stance to pick off Lonergan, which he did to force BC’s third turnover of the game—all by the Eagles’ quarterbacks. The pass was intended for Reed Harris, who was bumped off his route, letting the ball fly right into the hands of Polley.

First career INT for Tyren Polley 🎉 pic.twitter.com/h7nwX8bqvb

— SMU Football (@SMUFB) November 8, 2025

The Mustangs (7-3, 5-1 ACC) scored on the ensuing drive via Matthew Hibner’s 37-yard touchdown reception, making it 31-6 in favor of the visitors. SMU ultimately came out on top in the ACC matchup by a final score of 45-13 over the Eagles (1-9, 0-6).

In the first quarter, in which BC registered just 46 total yards of offense to SMU’s 147, redshirt-senior quarterback Grayson James made two costly errors which resulted in turnovers.

Initially, on 3rd-and-6 from BC’s 33-yard line, James was strip-sacked in his throwing motion, and the ball trickled into the hands of Ahmaad Moses on the ground. The play was sent to further review by the officials, but the fumble recovery by the Mustangs’ defense was upheld.

SMU drove down to the Eagles’ three-yard line, but Kevin Jennings’ incomplete pass on fourth down brought the field-goal unit out, and Sam Keltner drilled a 20-yard field goal to increase the Mustangs’ lead to 10-0.

Redshirt-freshman running back Derrick McFall notched SMU’s first touchdown of the game with a one-yard rushing score at the 8:58 mark of the first quarter.

On the drive after his first fumble, James let the ball drop again to the ground on 2nd-and-1 at the Mustangs’ 45-yard line, which made BC head coach Bill O’Brien furious and forced James out of the game for Lonergan, who started BC’s first six games of the year before his benching.

After going three-and-out on his first series under center, Lonergan gave BC’s offense the spark it needed, completing three passes for 42 yards and rushing for another 16, but his incompletion on 4th-and-3 from SMU’s four-yard line turned the ball over on downs.

Lonergan had Jeremiah Franklin open in the back of the endzone, but he hesitated before throwing the ball, which sailed too far out of reach for the senior tight end to grab onto it.

O’Brien stayed aggressive on fourth downs, going for a 4th-and-2 on the Mustangs’ 25-yard line with 4:25 left in the half instead of attempting a field goal, but it hurt the Eagles again. 

Jennings orchestrated a four-play, 68-yard scoring drive in 1:17, capped off by Jordan Hudson’s 25-yard touchdown reception on a dart from the redshirt-junior signal caller, who manufactured 326 yards and three touchdowns, including an interception, on 16-of-32 passing in the game.

BC did not go into halftime scoreless, as Luca Lombardo drilled a 31-yard field goal with 1:11 left in the second quarter to decrease the Eagles’ deficit to 14 points. That wasn’t all.

With 10 seconds remaining, Josiah Griffin tipped a Jennings’ pass attempt high into the air, and he came down with it for an interception on the Mustangs’ 37-yard line. 

Josiah making plays 👊 https://t.co/tBTNFFbHOL pic.twitter.com/gZGkXnOjzB

— Boston College Football (@BCFootball) November 8, 2025

Lonergan had time to complete just one more pass before a field-goal attempt, and he threaded the needle with a 19-yard pickup to Lewis Bond on a deep out. Lombardo kicked his second field goal of the game, a 36-yarder, to make it 17-6 as the first-half clock expired.

But BC was outscored 28-7 in the second half thanks to Yamir Knight’s 61-yard touchdown reception, Hibner’s 37-yard touchdown catch, and McFall’s second and third rushing scores of the game, a six-yard scurry and a 48-yard scamper, both in the final quarter.

All season long, explosive plays against the Eagles’ defense have been a result of poor execution in the secondary and a lack of pass rush, and BC once again proved why it has not done enough to resolve this issue in the second half against SMU.

Facing a 24-6 deficit with 9:04 left in the third quarter, Lonergan’s turnover ultimately sealed the loss, but the Eagles were at least able to tack on points on the back of Lonergan’s five-yard touchdown pass to Jordan McDonald with 8:59 remaining in the fourth—his first touchdown pass since BC’s 30-20 loss at Stanford on Sept. 13.

Lonergan finished the game with 232 yards passing on a completion rate of 67.6 percent with a touchdown and an interception.

Redshirt-senior wide receiver Lewis Bond led the Eagles with nine receptions for 94 yards, continuing his dominance in the passing game despite BC's lack of success in the win column—Bond is now three catches away from the program record in total receptions, held by Zay Flowers with 200.