Boston College scored on five of six trips to the red zone and possessed the ball for 38:02 en route to a dominant 41-21 win over visiting North Carolina in Atlantic Coast Conference action Saturday in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Grayson James finished 18-of-27 passing for 192 yards and a touchdown while rushing for another score to lead the Eagles (6-5, 3-4 ACC), who had a 420-212 advantage in total yards.
James connected with Reed Harris for a score, while Lewis Bond caught a team-high nine passes for 81 yards. Kye Robichaux paced the Eagles’ run game with 93 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.
The win lifted Boston College to bowl eligibility for the second straight year and eighth time in the last nine seasons.
Chris Culliver’s 95-yard kickoff return was North Carolina’s (6-5, 3-4) lone touchdown before Davion Gause rushed for two in the fourth quarter.
Jacolby Criswell threw for 176 yards (16-of-309), but the Donovan Ezeiruaku-led defense sacked him seven times and intercepted three passes, including a Ryan Turner return for a touchdown.
Omarion Hampton rushed for only 53 yards on 11 carries for the Tar Heels, who were 3-of-13 on third downs and committed eight penalties.
The Eagles put together a 13-play scoring drive in 6:15 following the opening kickoff. After Robichaux’s touchdown catch out of the backfield was nullified due to offensive pass interference, Liam Connor snuck a career-long field goal of 49 yards just over the crossbar.
Following Boston College’s quick stop, James faked the Tar Heel defense and scored on a 3-yard run to the left. A key third-and-9 conversion to Harris set up the 10-0 score.
Boston College got the ball back after stopping a fourth-and-2 and scored again in three plays on John Montague’s 24-yard end-around run to the left with 9:05 left before halftime.
Culliver’s ensuing kickoff return was Carolina’s longest since 2017, cutting the deficit to 17-7.
An incompletion on fourth-and-2 turned the ball back to the visitors with 1:55 left in the half, but Joe Marinaro’s interception three plays later set up James’ 18-yard, over-the-top connection to Harris to set the 24-7 halftime score.
Turner’s sack forced UNC into a three-and-out immediately following the intermission, and after Isaiah Farris busted out a 52-yard punt return, Connor booted a 27-yard field goal to extend the Eagle lead to 27-7.
After Hampton’s 15-yard run on fourth-and-2 moved the chains, Neto Okpala’s pressure forced Criswell to hurry a throw that Turner picked off for a 78-yard touchdown with 12:38 left.
Robichaux took a direct snap and scored on an 8-yard run with 5:51 left, capping a nine-play, 64-yard drive in 5:48.
Gause scored twice in the final 2:09.
–Field Level Media