Notes and Quotes From Bill O'Brien and Players as Boston College Gears up For SMU Road Trip

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — On Thursday morning inside Fish Fieldhouse, just two days before Boston College football takes on the No. 21 SMU Mustangs on the road, Eagles head coach Bill O’Brien spoke with the media along with senior safety KP Price and junior running back Evan Dickens.

O’Brien reiterated some of what he said in Tuesday’s post-practice media availability about offensive improvement, gave some more insight into the sickness being spread around the team, and highlighted how BC needs to learn how to finish games after a disappointing outcome against the Virginia Tech Hokies this past weekend.

Here are some of the key things he said, as well as Price and Dickens.

Notes and Quotes From Bill O’Brien’s Two Days Before SMU Matchup

- Looking at how his team has performed through a third of the season, O’Brien sees a tremendous amount of improvement since the beginning of training camp, but there is still plenty to improve, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.

Despite quarterback Mason McKenzie’s incredible rushing numbers — his 363 rushing yards through Week 4 is the most by a BC quarterback since 2014 — the Eagles are one of the least efficient teams in the ACC offensively, especially in terms of scoring after the first quarter.

Impacting the offense pic.twitter.com/GpsoSwq08E
— Boston College Football (@BCFootball) September 30, 2026

While BC has outscored its opponents 30-3 in the first quarter, it has been outscored 89-49 the rest of the game, including 38-22 in the fourth.

That was primarily what hurt the Eagles most in their loss to the Hokies, who scored 15 in the final 15 minutes of regulation to just a touchdown and an extra point for BC.

“I do think we’re improving,” O’Brien said. “I think offensively, it’s been a struggle, no doubt about it. I know, you know, everybody sees that. But there’s some things that we’ve done well. We’ve tried to tweak a lot of things this week.”

- One of the main concerns for the Eagles offensively is how they can spark their passing game, which has been quite underwhelming so far — BC averages just 189.8 yards through the air.

O’Brien harped on the fact that it takes every player on that side of the ball, not just the wide receivers and tight ends, to get the passing attack going.

“The passing game is very involved with every position,” O’Brien said. “The line has to protect. The backs have to protect sometimes. The quarterback has to be reading it correctly. The routes have to be precise."

- While sickness has been spreading through the team this week, O’Brien said that those who have been affected by the minor outbreak should be ready to go by Saturday.

“We are dealing with illness on the team this week, just to give you a head up on that,” O’Brien said. “I think we’ve got the flu, [which] has traveled through this team. I think we’ll be at full strength by game day. But these guys have battled this week, and I think we’ve done a lot of improvement.”

O’Brien also provided injury updates for two key starters who are currently out — linebacker Bodie Kahoun and center Michael Crounse.

"Yeah, they're doing well,” O’Brien said. “I would say after the bye week, maybe, for Bodie. I think Crounse is probably a little bit longer than that, but they're definitely getting better."

- The Eagles’ defense has been elite at forcing turnovers, and SMU is one of the more turnover-prone offenses despite how many total yards it consistently generates in games.

O’Brien sees that as something BC certainly needs to take advantage of, but it won’t be the only factor that goes into slowing down the Mustangs.

Locking it down on defense🔒 pic.twitter.com/vENYkIrJ5z
— Boston College Football (@BCFootball) September 29, 2026

“Yeah, that’s a big deal,” O’Brien said. “I mean, it’s a big deal for us, too. We’ve got to take care of the ball. Yes, they’ve turned the ball over, but they’ve also been very productive, right? So, like, it’s a little bit of understanding who they are. They have a lot of speed, great athleticism. They’re good up front, and we have to do the best we can to stop them, to minimize gains on first down so they’re not in a bunch of third and twos and ones.”

“And then also, when the ball’s there for the taking, we have to get it. But both teams, you know, that’s a key for both teams, is to take care of the ball.”

Safety KP Price, Running Back Evan Dickens Speak After Thursday’s Practice

- This game marks the fourth time that senior captain KP Price will take on SMU in his BC career.

The first time he played against the Mustangs happened to be in his first-ever career start for the Eagles, in the 2023 Fenway Bowl.

“Yeah, it meant everything to me,” Price said, reflecting on that game. “My first-ever college football start. So, you know, as a freshman, it was amazing. Something I always dreamed about. And leading on from it, we played them every year. Syracuse, Pitt are our rivals, [but] we welcomed SMU to the ACC. It’s another big game for us, something that will carry along for the years, for sure.”

- Dickens, who has registered 214 yards and three touchdowns on 45 carries this year, said that he has no issues playing with a run-first quarterback, even though it means he gets carries taken away from him some of the time.

“Yeah, it’s amazing,” Dickens said of playing with McKenzie. “I mean, at the end of the day, I’ve got to do my job out there. What my role is, you know, whether that’s protecting Mason or blocking for Mason on those quarterback runs. But, I mean, it’s amazing. I think by him being a dual-threat as he is, it really opens the playbook a lot. He really makes off-schedule plays to help our offense be explosive.”

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