'We're Not Anything Special Yet': Boston College Football Staying Grounded Ahead of Maine Matchup

After capturing their first win of 2026 last week against Rutgers, the Eagles take on Maine this Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.

Sep 11, 2026; Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA; Boston College Eagles quarterback Mason McKenzie (10) throws a pass while running during the second half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Alumni Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Heading into Boston College football’s Week 3 matchup against Maine, quarterback Mason McKenzie is keeping it honest about where the Eagles stand at this current juncture of the season.

While the energy has shifted in a positive direction after defeating Rutgers to claim the team’s first victory of 2026, it is only just one win.

There are still 10 games to go.

“The energy is always higher after a win,” McKenzie said. “So I think it’s just, we have to do a good job of staying focused at times, too. Like, we won one game. We’re not anything special yet. So we just got to go out there and still work, and then good things will happen as well.”

QB Mason McKenzie on @BCFootball’s energy this week after beating Rutgers:

“The energy is always higher after a win. We have to do a good job of staying focused at times, too. We won one game, like, we're not anything special yet. So we just got to go out there and still work.” pic.twitter.com/AOT1M4aO62

— Graham Dietz (@graham_dietz) September 17, 2026

With an FCS program as their opponent this week, the Eagles are automatically considered heavy favorites — ESPN’s matchup predictor, for instance, gives BC a 96.9 percent chance of winning compared to Maine’s 3.1 percent chance.

But that doesn’t mean the Black Bears are a team to just cast aside, either.

Take it from a player who was at an even lower tier of college football just last year:

“There’s no reason to sleep on anybody,” McKenzie said. “I know a lot of guys on our team are from the FCS. Like Anthony Palano played at South Dakota State. He’s an FCS guy, and now he’s one of the best players on our team. So, I mean, there’s a lot of guys on this team that have come from that level and are good contributors on the team.”

“I think that is just an eye opener to not really take anybody for granted, because you never know what could happen, and there’s a lot of good football players everywhere.”

This week, BC head coach Bill O’Brien has also been preaching the fact that BC only gets 12 guaranteed opportunities a year to actually see its hard work pay off, and that not a single one of these can be taken for granted — no matter who the opponent is or how the matchup looks on paper.

“This is Boston College, so we need to understand that every opportunity [is important],” O’Brien said. “It was a great job last Friday, but we only got 12, so every game is vitally important to us. No game is any more important than any other game. You can say, ‘Oh, he’s full of it on that.’ I don’t really care what you say. Every single game at BC is very, very important.”

“It’s not like baseball where there’s 162 games, or NBA basketball where there’s 82 games. Only 12 guaranteed opportunities. So there should be no problem being ready to play on Saturday.”

Going 1-0 every week has remained the mantra that every player inside the facility is clutching onto, whether that’s this week or on the road against Notre Dame or Miami.

“Every win is big,” safety Carter Davis said. “It don’t matter if it’s back-to-back, one at a time, like, it doesn’t matter. Like every win is big. We want to collect our wins. We stay here in a race to prove it to ourselves, and to prove to ourselves that we are who we are and who we want to be. And just taking it one day at a time. Each win is counted the same.”

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