'Terrible Feeling': Everything BC Football Head Coach Bill O'Brien Said After Georgia Tech Loss

The Eagles suffered their 10th straight loss on Saturday but held their own against the No. 14-ranked team in the nation in the AP Poll.

Nov 15, 2025; Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA; Boston College Eagles head coach Bill O'Brien throws his head set after a flag during the second half against Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Alumni Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images | Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — In Saturday’s home finale, Boston College football went neck-and-neck with No. 14 Georgia Tech until the final 11 seconds of the fourth quarter, when Aidan Birr knocked in a 26-yard field goal to secure the Yellow Jackets’ 36-34 road victory.

The Eagles (1-10, 0-7 ACC), who are now on a 10-game losing streak, had been given virtually no shot at winning the matchup by the entire college football universe, but stiffly held their own all game long, and arguably looked like the better team for the majority of the contest. 

BC possessed a 28-17 lead heading into the fourth quarter after redshirt-sophomore Dylan Lonergan threw his second touchdown pass of the game—Lonergan totaled 362 passing yards and two touchdowns on a 26-of-40 completion rate—to Reed Harris for 15 yards.

But the Yellow Jackets came fighting back in the final quarter, ripping off three unanswered scoring drives, and outpaced the Eagles for the rest of the night.

Redshirt-senior wide receiver Lewis Bond broke two records in the contest, BC’s career receptions record of 200, previously held by Zay Flowers, and the single-season receptions record of 78, previously held by Flowers and Alex Amidon. With eight catches for 106 yards in the loss, Bond is now up to 81 receptions this season and 206 in his career.

Here is everything that BC head coach Bill O’Brien said after the defeat.

Q: Really good college football team, just came up short, up two possessions heading into the fourth quarter, just talk about the game?

O’Brien: “Yeah, these guys fought hard. That’s a playoff team, you know, they have a real shot to make the [College Football Playoff]. I’m very proud of this team. They fought hard. Just haven’t been able to get them over the hump, and I feel terrible about that. I love these kids, they practice everyday, they give us everything they’ve got, and I’ve got nothing but great feelings about this team.

Q: I know it’s still raw, just after the game, but just how frustrating is that, not being able to pull it off for the senior class?

O’Brien: “Yeah, no, it’s a terrible feeling. It’s a terrible, very frustrating feeling. It’s a gut-wrenching feeling, you know, to not be able to send those guys out as winners in their last home game. It’s very frustrating.”

Q: Just the passing play on third down where [Haynes] King looked like he passed the line of scrimmage, you were very animated obviously, just what was the rationale that you got from the refs, because up in the box it looked like he clearly passed the line of scrimmage?

O’Brien: “I don’t have one thing to say about that.”

Q: Can you just talk about Turbo [Richard’s] Game?

O’Brien: “Yeah, Turbo, he’s a really good back. He’s a tough kid. He’s a good student. He’s a BC kid all the way. I can’t say enough about Turbo. I thought the offensive line did a great job tonight blocking for him, the tight ends. Jeremiah Franklin’s playing with a bad neck. Zeke Moore, Kaelan Chudzinski, Ty Lockwood, Logan [Taylor], Jude [Bowry], [Eryx] Daugherty, Kevin Cline, they did a really nice job tonight.”

Q: Dylan’s a guy that's faced a lot of ups and downs this year, just what can you say about his performance today?

O’Brien: “Yeah, he played his butt off. He did a great job. I feel like he just did a great job. He played his tail off. He played his tail off.”

Q: Just, can you comment on the effort tonight?

O’Brien: “Yeah, no, great effort. I mean, just great effort. Very proud of these guys, very proud of the team. Nothing but great feelings about this team. You know, I've been doing this 33 years. I think I've only been around like five or six losing teams in 33 years. And like I've told you guys, this team's never quit. They've never, they show up for practice every day. And it's just a bad, it's a gut-wrenching, it's a tough, tough, tough loss.”

Q: Obviously, this doesn’t legitimize how hard these guys have worked, you’ve seen it the entire season, but, just, how much do you feel for them, being heartbroken like this?

O’Brien: “Yeah, no, I feel terrible. I feel terrible. I wish I could have figured out a way to get two more points. I just, I think these guys have given us everything they've got. I got their back the rest of their lives. I just think it's a great group of kids, and I just have not been able to get them over the hump.”

Q: Bryce Steele with the fumble recovery, what was it like to see him have that moment with all he’s been through?

O’Brien: “Yeah, it was a great moment. Great play. Think Omar [Thornton] might have caused that, and with a great hit, and then Bryce was right there, corralled it. We couldn't do anything with it, which, you know, I know it was 4th-and-1, but I was like 4th-and-1 on our own 30, and we were quite obviously having trouble stopping them. I think we gave up 600 yards of offense, or thereabouts. So I didn't think it was a great place to go for it on 4th-and-1. We did go for it on other fourth downs when we were in plus territory, but right there, if we don't get it, we're basically giving them a touchdown. So that was the thought process there, but that was a great play by Omar, and then great, great job by Bryce.”

Q: Obviously, Georgia Tech could potentially go to reach the College Football Playoff. Just wondering what Brent Key said to you after the game, if you guys had any conversation?

O’Brien: “No, I talked to Brent before the game. There's not much to say after the game. You know, he's done a great job with that program. He's a good football coach, and give them a lot of credit. You know, that Haynes King, man, that guy, like I said, he wills his team to win. And you know, they did. They were, you know, they were one-point better than us tonight.”

Q: Just comment on that opening drive in the third quarter, you come back and tie it at the end of the second and come out like that [with a touchdown].

O’Brien: “It was a great drive. Dylan did a good job. At the end of the half, that two-minute drive was really good. The drive to open the second half was really good. There were some, you know, obviously some good runs and some good passing plays. And it was a very efficient drive. Thought we played efficiently on offense, probably our best offensive game of the year. And, you know, we just, you know, we just needed a couple more points.”

Q: So many close games, does it kind of bother your mind that one hasn’t gone your way?

O’Brien: “Yeah, nothing bothers my mind. I've seen a lot. I've been doing, you know, I've been doing this a long time. I've seen a lot, and I just, I feel for the players. I just want the players to, I want the players to get some [and] have some success.”

Q: Did you think about going for the field goal at the end of the game?

O’Brien: “I did. I did, you know, I think it would probably be in the 60-yard range, and I think that's probably a little out of [Luca Lombardo’s] range. I felt like it was a better option to throw a goal post play and see if, you know, we could get it. Dylan did a nice job of getting it to the endzone. We just didn't, we couldn't get it, you know, we couldn't get the bodies there. But, you know, we got Reed [Harris] and [Lewis] Bond going down there. So I thought that that was the best, that was a better, you know, more appropriate play.”

Q: Just comment on Lewis Bond, two milestones tonight, most career receptions, most receptions in a single season.

O’Brien: “Great player, great player. One of the best players, best receivers to ever play here, just did an awesome job for us this year. We just need him one more game. You know, we need him to do another good job against Syracuse, but he's done a great job for us. He's got a great legacy here at Boston College. I wish we could have sent him out a winner tonight, but he did everything he could to help us win.”

Q: Do you feel like this game does anything for, you know, the outlook on Dylan [Lonergan’s] future here with the way he performed?

O’Brien: “Look, I don't want to get into all that. I think Dylan did a great job. That's a long way down the road, you know? I think Dylan did a great job. He fought, he competed, and he threw the ball well, and did a really nice job tonight. No doubt about it.”