Coach Bill O’Brien echoed a sentiment that resonated with many Eagles fans following their 30-20 defeat to Stanford on Saturday, Sept. 13: “We are not a good football team right now, print that, write that. We’re going to work hard to be better. Hopefully we improve. We’ve got a long way to go.”
The Eagles hoped to capitalize off a promising season in which they made tremendous strides, finishing with a 7-5 record, excluding a narrow loss in the Pinstripe Bowl to Nebraska. After an emphatic 66-10 victory against Fordham in week one, BC football fans felt optimistic that the program could experience a breakthrough and exceed a win total of eight or more games—a feat that has not been achieved in more than 16 years.
Going into their third game of the season against Stanford, the team hoped to rebound from a heartbreaking 42-40 loss to Michigan State in overtime. Despite the loss, a sense of hope and excitement surrounded the program as new starting quarterback Dylan Lonergan, a transfer from Alabama, put up a strong stat line of 34-of-45 passing, with 390 yards, 4 touchdowns, and an outstanding quarterback rating of 87.3. After all, Michigan State is not a bad team, so fans expected the Eagles to cruise to a win against Stanford the following week.
In the 2025 ACC preseason media poll, Stanford was predicted to finish dead last at 17th. This ranking was no surprise. Stanford was coming off back-to-back 3-9 seasons, and head coach Troy Taylor was dismissed following an investigation into alleged bullying towards members of the Stanford athletic department. In their first two games, Stanford lived up to the ranking. The Cardinal lost to a Hawaii team that has historically been below par in week one and fell flat against BYU in week two, losing 27–3.
After a scoreless first quarter that left the Eagles trailing 6-0, the team rebounded, jumping out to a 17-6 lead by the two-minute warning. However, it all went downhill from there. By the end of the half, the game was tied at 20 after a 69-yard touchdown reception by the Cardinal’s tight end Sam Roush and an interception thrown by Lonergan, which was returned for a score, on the following possession.
The Cardinal shut out the Eagles in the second half. BC’s offensive struggles included a failed 4th down conversion in the red zone toward the end of the third quarter. Running back Turbo Richard fumbled the ball and Stanford recovered for a touchback. Richard’s fumble was the third and final Eagles turnover of the night. The game ended with a score of 30-20 in favor of Stanford, as the Cardinal rushed the field to celebrate their first win of the season. On the Eagles’ side, a sense of frustration and disappointment surrounded the team as they fell to 1-2.
So what went wrong? The Eagles have struggled mightily on defense so far. After losing key defensive players—including star edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku to the draft, senior cornerback Khari Johnson, and defensive tackle Cam Horsley —the defense has not looked the same. Last season, the Eagles allowed an average of 114.9 rush yards per game, ranking fifth in the ACC. This is a stark difference from the Eagles’ performance the past two games, in which they allowed 149 yards on the ground to Michigan State and a whopping 213 to Stanford. In the previous game, Stanford only rushed for 19 yards.
In addition, the Eagles have struggled mightily with tackling, leading to many explosive plays by their opponents. This was offset by the tremendous offensive performance put forth by the Eagles during their game against Michigan State, but when the offense struggles as it did against Stanford, it causes a myriad of issues. Defensive coordinator Tim Lewis must make adjustments to salvage the season as the Eagles look forward to their next game.
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