Film Review: Which Plays Stand Out From BC Football's Loss to No. 16 Georgia Tech

Here is a breakdown of every crucial play with analysis from the Eagles' 10th straight loss.

Nov 15, 2025; Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets wide receiver Eric Rivers (3) catches the ball while Boston College Eagles defensive back Max Tucker (3) defends during the second half at Alumni Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images | Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

On Saturday, Boston College football (1-10, 0-7 ACC) suffered its 10th consecutive loss as the visiting Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-1, 6-1), ranked No. 16 in the nation going into the matchup, kept its College-Football-Playoff hopes alive with a thrilling, 36-34 win.

Here is a breakdown of the film from the Eagles' loss, derived from the condensed version of the game on Youtube, which can be found—and watched—below. Each time stamp in this article is the time stamp of the play during the game.

1st quarter:

• [15:00]: Georgia Tech’s kickoff returner, Trelain Maddox, fumbled on the opening kick before recovering the ball and running it out to the Yellow Jackets’ 31-yard line. Freshman linebacker Zachari Thomas nicked the ball from Maddox, who was popped by Kemori Dixon on first contact. BC has rarely forced turnovers on special teams this season.

• [13:31]: On 1st-and-10 from about the 43-yard line on BC’s side of the field, a simple bubble screen to Malik Rutherford led to an easy first down because Omar Thornton could not shed his blocker and dove for the tackle instead of remaining on his feet. That wasn’t the first time in the game that the Eagles were battered against short-distance screen throws—see Owen McGowan’s missed tackle later in the game, which led to a Rutherford touchdown.

• [12:54]: On the ensuing play, Dixon waited patiently in the flat before an opening appeared with a clear lane to Tech quarterback Haynes King. Dixon smashed into King, who was gearing up for a pass by planting his left foot forward in the pocket, and brought the QB down to earth, which marked the redshirt freshman’s first career sack and forced the Yellow Jackets to punt.

• [10:44]: On 3rd-and-8, backed up in his own endzone, Dylan Lonergan fired a dart over the middle of the field, just above the reach of Georgia Tech’s linebackers, to Reed Harris for a 57-yard completion. That throw set the tone for Lonergan the rest of the game. The Yellow Jackets lined up in cover-four zone, and Lonergan took nearly four seconds to throw the ball, which showed how well BC’s offensive line managed to sustain a clean pocket. Lonergan’s acute pocket awareness was on display all night long.

• [6:15]: This bubble screen to Zion Taylor is a good representation of how BC needs to defend that type of play more consistently. The defensive line, more specifically Edwin Kolenge, identified the screen immediately and bounced off the edge to make the tackle by tripping Taylor, who only gained four yards.

• [5:47]: Dixon was unable to get over to the middle of the field while the Yellow Jackets’ offensive line successfully pulled their right guard and right tackle, building a hole for Malachi Hosley, who picked up 17 yards on the ground. BC’s gaps at the second level defensively have led to explosive gains by opposing offenses all year. The ensuing play saw Tech’s offensive line pulling in the opposite direction, but with a similar result—a 27-yard touchdown run for Hosley.

• [1:18]: This run highlighted BC’s offensive line at its absolute best. It consisted of a basic outside-zone scheme to the left, and the Eagles’ blocking scheme executed correctly to form a gaping hole for Turbo Richard to burst out of, which he did for a 42-yard gain. The Eagles ended up scoring their first touchdown on that drive with Turbo’s one-yard run.

2nd quarter:

• [13:52]: King unleashed one of his deepest balls of the game for a 48-yard pickup to Eric Rivers, but Isaiah Farris could have done more to swat the ball, which was under thrown. Instead—and this has been a constant theme for the Eagles’ secondary this season—Farris did not turn his head, and Rivers was able to come back and pin the ball to his chest. Those 50-50 balls have often gone in the direction of BC’s opponents. Thankfully for the Eagles, Thornton forced a fumble on the following play with a head shot to Maddox’s rib section, where the ball was positioned, and Bryce Steele made the recovery.

• [9:53]: Remember McGowan’s earlier mention? Once again, a very simple bubble screen to Rutherford, which should have easily resulted in a tackle for loss, flipped the other way for a 71-yard, catch-and-run touchdown reception to hand the Yellow Jackets a 14-7 lead. McGowan did not chop his feet and attempted an awkward diving tackle, which allowed Rutherford to juke around him with ease before flying all the way down the field to score.

• [9:44]: The next drive for BC consisted of consecutive elite throws by Lonergan—including a 13-yard pickup to Dawson Pough, a 12-yarder to Lewis Bond, and a second 12-yarder to Kaelan Chudzinski, which did not count—but ultimately resulted in a punt due to an illegal touch-pass penalty on Pough, who was covering up Chudzinski before the snap.

• [1:57]: Sedarius McConnell and Quintayvious Hutchins showed promise by splitting off the line to contain—and eventually tackle—Jamal Haynes on a jet sweep to set up a 2nd-and-11 for the Yellow Jackets, who were forced to punt. The Eagles responded with a 10-play, 93-yard scoring drive, capped off by Lonergan’s three-yard touchdown pass to Chudzinski. The scoring drive lasted just 1:04—promising for a quarterback who has still not started a full season at the collegiate level in a crunch-time scenario.

3rd quarter:

• [15:00]: The first drive of the third quarter was orchestrated flawlessly by Lonergan and the Eagles’ offense. The drive lasted seven plays, 75 yards and 2:55, and Lawing’s play calling was terrific. Lonergan went 3-for-4 for just 25 yards, but running backs Richard and Jordan McDonald carried the load, combining for 52 rushing yards and a touchdown. McDonald finished it off with a 14-yard score on the ground in which he rumbled through a clean hole through a gap scheme to make it 21-14 Eagles.

• [4:35]: Bond, who broke BC’s program record for most career receptions and single-season receptions in the same game, has shown time and again why he is considered the best player on the Eagles’ roster. His 32-yard reception on the first play of this touchdown drive put more emphasis on why the redshirt-senior wideout feels the game in a way that is inexplicable to most players. Bond sat on his route after making an in-cut to create separation between two of Georgia Tech’s defenders in coverage and hauled in a dime for Lonergan for a chunk play.

• [1:27]: Harris is one of those offensive playmakers who is simply unstoppable in open space because of his size. This 18-yard touchdown grab Harris made to increase BC’s lead to 28-17 before the fourth quarter showcased his ability to bulldoze defenders in one-on-one battles—he did it twice on the catch-and-run score—and break out of first contact to manufacture additional yards after catch.

• [0:47]: Arguably the most controversial play of the game came at this late juncture in the third, when King was pressured on 3rd-and-15 but miraculously completed a last-ditch throw for a 35-yard gain to Hosley. Only half of King’s body was across the line of scrimmage, which should have been reviewed for a potential illegal forward pass. But, according to the NCAA rule book, as long as even a small part of the passer’s body remains behind the line, the pass is legal. BC head coach Bill O’Brien was still infuriated—and rightfully so—because the officials did not review the play, throwing a tantrum on the sideline and slamming his headset on the turf. The Eagles ultimately held Georgia Tech to a field goal, which decreased the Yellow Jackets’ deficit to 28-20.

"A forward pass is illegal only if the passer's entire body is beyond the line of scrimmage at the moment they throw the ball. As long as even a small part of the passer's body remains behind the line, the pass is legal."

Even if O'Brien had challenged this throw, it was legal. pic.twitter.com/Kqrny4jjnv

— Graham Dietz (@graham_dietz) November 17, 2025

4th quarter:

• [9:33]: Another brutal McGowan missed tackle. On 3rd-and-6 from the Tech 36-yard line, King tossed a short pass to Rivers over the middle on a crosser, and McGowan could have blown up the receiver with a massive hit, or at least wrap Rivers to the ground. Instead, Rivers evaded McGowan by running downfield before turning upfield, picking up the first down. The Yellow Jackets proceeded to score four plays later to inch closer to BC’s lead, 28-26, after a failed two-point conversion. Hutchins, who made the tackle after McGowan's miss, injured his right knee and was forced out of the contest for good.

• [8:40]: Right before Haynes—the running back—ran in for a two-yard score, King lifted a ball into a one-on-one-fade matchup between BC defensive back Max Tucker and Rivers. The ball could have likely been knocked down by Tucker, but he turned his head too late, and Rivers came down with the contested catch to set up the touchdown. Another costly mistake for BC’s defense.

• [6:23]: The Eagles went three-and-out on the following drive, and just one play later, freshman wide receiver Jordan Allen took a jet sweep to the left and all the way to the house for a 54-yard score. Tucker did his job of keeping the ball carrier to the inside of the field by establishing outside leverage, but there were no players in the deep half of the field to halt Allen from sprinting to the endzone, which asserted Tech's 33-28 lead.

• [5:27]: This Jeremiah Franklin catch on 3rd-and-19 kept BC in the game until the very end. Lonergan gave Franklin the opportunity to make a contested catch in double coverage, and he threw the ball on a rope. Franklin came down with it to establish a 1st-and-10 for the Eagles on their 45-yard line—a 30-yard gain through the air.

• [4:18]: Richard cemented one of the best performances of his career with this 43-yard touchdown run, which brought his rushing total to 141 yards and two scores on 11 carries. But it wasn’t enough to get the job done, as Chudzinski dropped the ensuing two-point pass attempt, which was another beautiful throw by Lonergan—a drop that’ll keep appearing in Chudzinski’s nightmares for a very long time. If he had caught it, the Yellow Jackets would have needed a touchdown, instead of a field goal, to win the game.

• [0:04]: Should O’Brien have let Luca Lombardo, who has not missed a field goal this year, attempt the 63-yarder for the win instead of going for the Hail-Mary throw? We'll never know.