Boston College Football Surrenders 317 Rushing Yards in 38-24 Loss to No 19 Louisville

The Eagles were able to generate turnovers defensively, but they relinquished too many yards on the ground to stay in the game.

Oct 25, 2025; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals running back Keyjuan Brown (22) runs the ball for a touchdown against the Boston College Eagles during the second half at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images | Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

There is a fine line between suffering a legitimate injury and playing through pain, according to Boston College football head coach Bill O’Brien. 

Senior quarterback Grayson James is aware of this difference, and it showed in the Eagles’ 38-24 loss to No. 19 Louisville on Friday night.

"He managed the game very well,” O’Brien said. “I'm sure there's some plays he wishes he could have back. He was playing injured, but he's a kid that understands the difference between pain and injury. Like he understands that, and there's a big difference there."

James was only sacked twice in the road loss, which sank BC (1-7, 0-5 ACC) to its worst start to a season through eight games since 1989, but he was pressured all game long by Louisville (6-1, 3-1), taking hit after hit while delivering the ball. Every time, he chose to stand right back on his feet like it was no big deal.

James manufactured several back-breaking turnovers, however, throwing two interceptions in the second half—one of which led to points for the Cardinals via Cooper Ranvier’s 41-yard field goal to put the home squad ahead, 31-17, with 8:13 left to play. 

But his grit and tenacity were on display the entire night, which he was commended for by his coach and teammates throughout and after the game.

“I would feel sick to my stomach if I didn’t leave it all out there,” James said. “So you had to keep giving it a go.”

With 3:09 left to play in the fourth quarter, down 31-24 after James’ 21-yard touchdown lob to tight end Jeremiah Franklin decreased the Eagles’ deficit to a touchdown, O’Brien elected to punt on 4th-and-8 from BC’s 44-yard line.

THE EAGLES AREN'T GOING AWAY!@BCFootball is within 1 score in the 4th quarter 🦅

📺 @accnetwork x @BCFootball pic.twitter.com/zi6Tb9Pubb

— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) October 26, 2025

The Eagles still had three timeouts left, including the two-minute timeout, and O’Brien thought it was best for BC’s defense to make an attempt at halting the Cardinals’ offense and give the offense another chance if it could force Louisville to punt.

That punt never occurred, however, and Louisville sealed the win on Keyjaun Brown’s 67-yard touchdown scamper with 1:49 to play in regulation.

KEYJUAN BROWN WITH THE EXCLAMATION POINT‼️@LouisvilleFB pic.twitter.com/8n1upQ5YqX

— ACC Network (@accnetwork) October 26, 2025

"Yeah, it was 4th-and-8,” O’Brien said. “I mean, it was 4th-and-8. I just didn't, 4th-and-8, the chances of us getting a 4th-and-8 with their pass rush and, you know, it wasn't going to be good. So I decided [to punt]. I don't, I don't look back. I thought that was a good decision, [to punt]. We got timeouts. We got three timeouts, see if we can stop them. Couldn't stop them. Couldn't stop."

The Eagles relinquished 317 yards on the ground, including 205 to sophomore running back Isaac Brown, who garnered a 62-yard rushing score and a long run of 73 yards.

"I don't think I've ever been in a game where I've seen that many long runs,” O’Brien said. “So I got to coach it better. I have to. I have to coach a lot better than I'm doing. I have not done a good job this year coaching."

While O’Brien has taken nearly all of the blame for bad defensive performances which have stacked up over the season, safety KP Price, who registered eight tackles (five solos), an interception and a quarterback hit, views the defense’s faults as a team-wide issue.

“Coach O’Brien, he’s a great head coach,” Price said. “He’s the head coach, so he’s going to be the one that the fingers are pointing at every time. But at the end of the day, honestly, the players, we have to have his back. … The coach is going to take the blame for us. … But I don’t see it that way. … Everything [is] going to be pointed at him, but it’s deeper than that.”

BC was able to generate pass rush more fruitfully than it has since its first game of the season, a 66-10 blowout win over Fordham.

The Eagles recorded an interception, a forced fumble, a sack, a tackle for loss, two pass break-ups, and two quarterback hits, all while limiting Louisville quarterback Miller Moss to 187 passing yards on a 15-for-27 completion rate (55.5 percent).

BC showed sparks from its young talent, especially through freshman tight end Kaelan Chudzinski, who caught four passes for 80 yards and a touchdown, and defensive back TJ Green, who notched eight tackles (six solos), a sack, a tackle for loss, and a forced fumble.

Capitalizing on offense 👊

James ➡️ Chudzinski 🙌 pic.twitter.com/ldO7vKGhL4

— Boston College Football (@BCFootball) October 26, 2025

The Eagles possessed a 10-7 lead after Lewis Bond’s six-yard touchdown reception four seconds into the second quarter, but the Cardinals paced the rest of the first half thanks to Moss’s nine-yard rushing touchdown and Brown’s 62-yard run.

Moss threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Caullin Lacy to make it 28-17 Louisville with 7:34 left in the third quarter, and even after Ranvier’s field goal, BC still managed to narrow the gap to seven points, 31-24, with 6:17 left in the fourth.

It wasn’t enough, however, as Brown capped off a five-play, 83-yard scoring drive to officially stick the nail in the Eagles’ coffin in the 38-24 defeat, their seventh loss in a row.

James’ two interceptions, along with an uncharacteristic fumble by Bond at the 8:02 mark of the third quarter, also did not help the Eagles in their quest for an upset triumph on the road.

“We got to take care of the ball better,” O’Brien said. “We did a better job on defense, obviously, of getting the ball back. But the defense was brutal. When you talk about 300 and some odd yards rushing. … Not good. Not good.”