Recap: Boston College falls late to #14 Georgia Tech, 36-34

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On Saturday afternoon, the Boston College football team played their final game of the season at Alumni Stadium as they hosted the #14 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets for some ACC action. 8-1 GT came into the game trying to secure a win and stay on their path to playing in the ACC championship game, while 1-9 BC was looking to get their first win of the season since their opener against Fordham.

BC started out the game with a promising handful of plays, stuffing the Georgia Tech offense on their first drive and then breaking out for a 67-yard Reed Harris catch-and-run on their ensuing possession. But Dylan Lonergan and the Eagles quickly fizzled from there, punted, and then Georgia Tech went the other way for a rather easy touchdown drive.

BC responded with a touchdown drive of their own. After a series of short gains by Jordan McDonald, Turbo Richard broke tackles and bounced out to the sideline on a 42 yard rush to set up the Eagles with a 1st & goal. They inched towards the goal line until finally on 4th down, Richard punched in the score to tie the game at 7-7 to start the 2nd quarter.

Haynes King threw a rainbow ball to Eric Rivers on the next Georgia Tech drive way downfield, but a fumble on the next play gave BC the ball back immediately. After a Lewis Bond drop and a short run by Richard, BC had a 4th & inches at their own 35 and decided to… punt. In a game against an ACC contender, the Eagles decided not to capitalize on an early turnover and instead played it safe. Almost immediately after, Georgia Tech’s Malik Rutherford took a screen pass 71 yards to the house, avoiding BC’s dispersed secondary.

Lonergan and the BC offense started driving again on their next possession, making their way to the GT 31 yard line, but they were called for an illegal touching penalty after Reed Harris lined up incorrectly on the line of scrimmage. Georgia Tech punted on their following drive also and pinned BC down inside their own 10 yard line.

On that final BC drive of the half, Lewis Bond caught a pass to break Zay Flowers’s Boston College career record for all-time receptions. And then a 40-yard reception by Reed Harris set up BC in field goal range. That was followed by another Reed Harris catch in the redzone, a roughing the passer call, and then finally the drive was capped off by a short pass to Kaelan Chudzinski in the endzone with a defender draped all over him. The 93 yard drive was BC’s longest of the season. Georgia Tech was able to set up a field goal with the several remaining seconds, but the kick missed and the game was tied 14-14 at halftime.

The Eagles came out in the second half just as effectively as they ended the first half. Lonergan hit short passes, Turbo broke out for a 36 yard run on 4th down, and then Jordan McDonald bullied his way into the endzone on a 4-yard TD scamper. BC opened up the half with an early 21-14 lead. It was the first time BC had a led in a game since Week 5 versus Cal.

Georgia Tech changed up their playstyle on their next drive, using more power running with Haynes King to convert short yardage situations. But Jamal Haynes lost his concentration on a 3rd down flat route and couldn’t catch the ball, stalling out the Yellow Jacket drive and forcing them to kick a field goal. The BC lead was cut to 21-17.

The Eagles didn’t slow down there. Lewis Bond immediately grabbed a 32 yard catch on the first play of the next drive. Jeremiah Franklin caught a screen pass and made a man miss to get into the redzone. And then Reed Harris broke through two tackles to make his way to the endzone for an 18 yard score. BC led 28-17 as the third quarter began winding down, a remarkable feat for a team playing for their Seniors in their final home game.

It looked like Georgia Tech would go 3 & out on their next drive, but Haynes King scrambled out of the pocket and pulled a play out of nowhere to get a pass beyond the sticks. It looked like King had made his pass directly over the line of scrimmage, very close to being an illegal forward pass, but the referees didn’t throw a flag. Boston College head coach Bill O’Brien took exception to this, running out on the field to yell at the officials and make his grievance known, resulting in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and 15 extra yards for the Yellow Jackets.

GT capitalized on that momentum and drove all the way down the field. But they couldn’t convert when they got to 3rd & goal on a play that likely could’ve been called for defensive pass interference. BC got a break and Tech had to kick a field goal instead, cutting the Eagle lead to 28-20 with 13:52 remaining.

BC couldn’t get much more than a first down on their following drive and had to punt for the first time in four possessions, a stumble at a crucial moment in the game. Georgia Tech, meanwhile, put together another possession that was bolstered by long passes to Malik Rutherford and Eric Rivers. The Jackets eventually punched in a touchdown with Jamal Haynes, but Haynes King was stuffed on the 2PT conversion to keep BC’s lead at 28-26 with 7:33 remaining.

BC, again, couldn’t meet the moment at first. The Eagles went 3 & out, muffed a punt, and then Georgia Tech’s next play from scrimmage was a 54-yard TD run by Jordan Allen. In just a matter of seconds, BC’s 11-point lead and their hopes of an upset (and their first real win of the season) were fading. But before too long, Lonergan threw to Jeremiah Franklin, who made a terrific catch on 3rd & 19 to keep the next drive alive. Then Turbo Richard broke through the Tech defense for an unexpected 43 yard touchdown run before the BC fans could even grasp what was happening. Chudzinski dropped the tipped 2PT conversion, so BC’s lead was just 34-33 with 4 minutes remaining.

In the end, Georgia Tech managed one final drive. Haynes King took it himself for several runs and the Jackets got the clock all the way down to 0:11 as they marched into the redzone. GT kicker Aidan Birr hit the 23-yarder to take a 36-34 lead. BC got the ball back for two final plays. Lonergan got a pass to Bond at midfield with 4 seconds left, but the final Hail Mary fell incomplete and Georgia Tech squeaked by with a 36-34 victory.

Dylan Lonergan finished the game with 362 passing yards, 26/39, 2 TDs and 0 INTs. Reed Harris was a difference-maker with 5 catches for 142 yards and a TD, alongside the record-breaking Lewis Bond who had 8 catches for 106 yards. Turbo Richard had 11 rushes for 141 yards and 2 TDs. It was a noble effort for the struggling Eagles against a good ACC team, but in the end they couldn’t meet the moment to secure their first real win of the season.

After a BYE week this upcoming week, BC will travel to Syracuse on Thanksgiving weekend to close out the 2025 regular season.

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