How Boston College Football is Impacted by Angeli's Injury, Cal's Lackluster Passing

The Eagles were on a bye, but there were some headlines over the week that may have impacted the BC football team later down the road.

Sep 13, 2025; Stanford, California, USA; Boston College Eagles linebacker Daveon Crouch (1) during the third quarter against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

While the Eagles did not play this week, there are still a surplus of headlines from the fourth week of the college football season to keep track of as BC prepares to host the California Golden Bears on Saturday in Chestnut Hill, Mass., at 3:30 p.m.

Here are some points to take notice of as Bill O’Brien prepares his squad to rebound from a road loss at Stanford in Week Three, which brought BC’s record to 1-2 on the season and 0-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.

California Blown Out, Shutout in San Diego

After a 3-0 start in their 2025 campaign, the Golden Bears were unable to produce a single point in their Week Four contest against the Aztecs. That was in part due to the poor play of freshman quarterback Jaron Keawe-Sagapolutele, who was named the ACC Rookie of the Week prior to facing SDSU.

Late in the third quarter, San Diego State cornerback Chris Johnson stepped in front of Cal sophomore wideout Jaiven Plummer to intercept the true freshman, Sagapolutele, and then raced down the sideline for a 97-yard pick-6 to increase the Aztecs lead to 27-0 late in the third quarter.

97-YARD PICK SIX!!

Make that two Aztec defensive TDs on the night 😤

📺 @CBSSportsNet pic.twitter.com/5AGzFaj5DG

— Mountain West (@MountainWest) September 21, 2025

Earlier in the quarter, Cal running back Kendrick Raphael lost control of the ball when Dalesean Staley knocked the ball loose in the B gap, which Dwayne McDougle returned for a 35-yard score.

On Sagapolute’s interception which resulted in the SDSU touchdown, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound lefty sat in the pocket for an extended period of time before heaving the ball to the left sideline, but Johnson jumped on the ball and brought it to the house in the opposite direction.

Sagapolutele totaled 208 passing yards (17-of-38) and tossed two interceptions for a QBR of 17.4. This was not the same player who started the season with 780 passing yards, six touchdowns, one interception and a 7.4 yards per attempt average through his first three career starts.

It will be interesting to monitor how Sagapolutele resets his mindset ahead of Cal’s matchup at Alumni Stadium in six days. 

The Eagles secondary was battered and bruised heading into their Week Three contest on the road against the Cardinal, but after a bye week, there is hope that BC’s two starting cornerbacks, Amari Jackson and Syair Torrence, will at least have a better chance to suit up when gametime approaches.

Syracuse’s Angeli out for Season

Looking much further down the road, when BC goes on the road up north at Syracuse on Nov. 29, it turns out that the Eagles will not face Notre Dame transfer quarterback Steve Angeli, who was trending to be one of the highest-producing quarterbacks in the NCAA this season.

On Sunday afternoon, ESPN’s Pete Thamel announced that Angeli suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the Orange’s win at Clemson on Saturday, which is a major blow for head coach Fran Brown, who is in his second year at the helm of the program and led Syracuse to a 10-3 record in 2024.

Major loss for the Orange, who host @BCFootball on Nov. 29.

Angeli transferred from Notre Dame—where he served as the backup for three years—this offseason, so there is a similarity to BC quarterback Dylan Lonergan there. Logan served as the backup for the Tide for two years. https://t.co/vyvFvAtbGC

— Graham Dietz (@graham_dietz) September 21, 2025

The junior Angeli, a 6-foot-3, 212-pound right-handed signal caller, racked up 1,316 passing yards—good for second in the country—10 touchdowns, two interceptions, and a completion rate of 62.8 percent in his first four starts in the orange, blue, and white, showing real promise for a legitimate, up-and-coming program.

Angeli was the Fighting Irish backup for two years before transferring to Syracuse in the 2024-25 offseason, and he was named the starting quarterback over LSU transfer Rickie Collins on Aug. 18.

Collins “played well” during fall training camp, according to Thamel, and registered 34 passing yards and a touchdown pass against the Tigers to close out the 34-21 road win. Collins has manufactured 99 yards through the air, two touchdowns, and an interception this season so far.

Nevertheless, the loss of Angeli will somewhat change the dynamic of the Orange offense as Collins adjusts into the starting role.

The Eagles do not face Syracuse until late November, which means by then, Collins will have ample experience in the system of offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon. But only time will tell if Collins can carry his weight in the scheme as well as Angeli did through four games before his abrupt injury cost him another season, forcing him to once again sit on the sidelines.

See more: How Boston College football's future opponents fared in Week Four of the college football season.