How MSU's Next Opponent, Boston College, Looked in Week 1
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Just like Michigan State, the Boston College Eagles took care of their business against a lower-level team in their season opener. Boston College took on Fordham on Saturday to kick off its 2025 campaign, and the Eagles blew the Rams out of the water in a 66-10 rout.
BC is set to take on MSU in East Lansing next Saturday, Sept. 6, at 7:30 p.m. ET and can be viewed on NBC/Peacock. The Spartans will be looking to avenge last season's 23-19 loss in Chestnut Hill.
Game Summary
As most games that end 66-10 go, the contest was over pretty quickly. After Boston College opened the game up with a touchdown on the opening drive, Fordham was able to answer with a field goal on its first possession.
Following that, the Eagles proceeded to score the game's next 52 points, as the Rams didn't reach the end zone until there were about five minutes left in the fourth quarter to make it 59-10. Boston College then tacked on one more touchdown a couple minutes later to get the score to 66-10.
It should be noted that Fordham is a very, very weak opponent. Even by FCS standards, Fordham is not exactly a winning program. Last season, the Rams went an abysmal 2-10. They lost by 24 in an FBS-FCS matchup against Bowling Green that year, too.
Top Performers for Boston College
QB Dylan Lonergan
An Alabama transfer and Boston College's starting quarterback, Dylan Lonergan was fantastic in his debut with the Eagles and first career start. The redshirt sophomore completed 26 of his 34 passes for 268 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions.
While it is a great stat line, it will be interesting to see how much of that extrapolates for the inexperienced Lonergan against a much tougher opponent on the road.
WR Lewis Bond
Lewis Bond was Boston College's leading receiver last year, and the fifth-year senior picked up right where he left off in Week 1. Against Fordham, Bond set career-highs with 11 receptions and 138 yards.
He also caused a lot of trouble for MSU last season, when he caught six passes for 102 yards and a score.
Where Boston College struggled
It's kind of tough to believe, but there was one glaring weakness in Boston College's game on Saturday: The Eagles couldn't run the ball.
As a team, BC only managed 97 yards on the ground all game and averaged just 2.5 yards a carry.
Boston College was an OK rushing team last year, ranking 60th in the FBS in run yards per game. The Eagles are replacing their top two rushers from last year, though, and certainly seem to be having more difficulty early on with that than MSU has had with Makhi Frazier and Brandon Tullis.
Team Stats
Total Yards: Boston College 555, Fordham 168
Pass Yards: Boston College 458, Fordham 152
Rush Yards: Boston College 97, Fordham 16
Penalties: Boston College 1-15, Fordham 2-15
3rd Down Conversions: Boston College 12/18, Fordham 3/16
4th Down Conversions: Boston College 1/1, Fordham 0/0
Turnovers: Boston College 0, Fordham 1
Time of Possession: Boston College 34:05, Fordham 25:55
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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