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Boston College dug itself a hole it could not find its way out of early on Saturday, amid unseasonably perfect weather for New England. The Eagles fell behind 21-0 before 10 minutes ticked off the clock and, though they made it a game for a while, they fell to the visiting Tar Heels 31-13 on Senior Day. The loss eliminated BC from the Atlantic Division Title race, ensuring that Clemson would make their first appearance in the ACC Championship Game before they even took the field. The Eagles fell to 7-4, which coupled with Florida State’s win, likely means they will be traveling to San Francisco for the Emerald Bowl. BC completed its home schedule 6-1 and sits at 4-3 in league play.

BC’s Turnover Problems Seal Their Fate

UNC won the toss and elected to kick off to Boston College who quickly went three and out, punting the ball to Carolina. The Heels marched down the field with very little resistance from the Eagle defense for the 7-0 lead. Then, it really fell apart for the Eagles. On the ensuing possession, Montel Harris (23-132 rushing, 2-9 receiving) dropped the ball in traffic and Cam Thomas returned the ball 20 yards and a 14-0 lead for the boys in blue. On the second play of the next possession, Dave Shinskie (12-28, 101 yards, 1 TD, 4 INT, 5 sacks, 44 yards lost) threw a duck to Kendric Burney for a 30 yard score. Unfortunately, Burney plays for North Carolina, so the lead was 21-0. At this point, BC had run seven plays for seven yards with the two turnovers and 14 UNC points.

BC managed 19 yards and a field goal on the next possession to end the first quarter down 21-3. At this point, North Carolina got sloppy as well, which is the only reason BC stayed in the game. The Tar Heels fumbled it away on their next possession and BC capitalized with another field goal, leaving them down 21-6. Shinskie and T. J. Yates (23-24, 182 yards, 3 INT) traded picks and the Eagles finally sustained a drive to get within eight at 21-13. Shinskie found Rich Gunnell (6 receptions, 60 yards, 1 TD) in the end zone for a two yard score to cap the 66 yard drive. That drive alone exceeded the sum total of the Eagles first seven possesions, which accounted for only 60 yards.

BC and UNC Play Hot Potato

Neither team seemed very interested in scoring in the third quarter as the teams exchanged turnovers and punts in a scoreless frame. North Carolina finally finished the Eagles off with a sack and and interception of Shinskie late in the fourth. The Eagle quarterback looked lost in the pocket and had no awareness of breakdowns, taking sacks instead of attempting to throw the ball away. On this drive, Shinskie was dropped for a 10 yard loss and the interception that followed was returned to the one. Ryan Houston’s (18 rush, 45 yards, 2 TD) second one yard touchdown put the game away at 28-13.

Mike Marscovetra (0-2, 1 INT) relieved Skinskie and on his first play, he threw an interception, which led to a UNC field goal and 31-13 final score. An absolutely ugly day for turnovers saw 10 balls change hands! BC committed six with five interceptions (four for Shinskie and one for Marscovetra) and a fumble while UNC lost four on three Yates picks and one fumble. In addition, each team punted seven times. BC did not even make 200 total yards as they were outgained 278-198. The Eagles won the rushing battle 97-96 and the Heels outpassed BC 182-101.

Looking Forward

BC will travel to Maryland next weekend for their final regular season game of the season. The Eagles are 4-2 all time against the Terrapins, including 3-1 since joining the ACC five years ago. BC is 2-1 all time at College Park with the loss coming in the last meeting there two years ago.

Tags: Boston College, College Football