The Michigan State Spartans head back to the east coast this weekend for a game against ACC opponent, Boston College. I sat down with Kieran Wilson from BC Interruption to discuss the state of the Eagles football program. Let's see what Kieran has to say.
TOC: Boston College has not had more than 6 regular season wins since 2018. Bill O'Brien was brought in as your new head coach this year. What were your expectations coming into this season?
KW: We're all kind of hoping that Bill O'Brien is able to reverse the 6-win curse. I would say the expectations for this season revolved less around wins and losses and more around changing the way the team plays and the feelings around the program. I don't think BC fans are under the delusion that BoB would come in and immediately help the Eagles win 10 games. But we are all expecting that BC football would play with more passion and purpose and limit the self-imposed mistakes (and those expectations have been largely exceeded thus far). Personally, I'm also hoping that he's able to attract some better recruits, despite the Northeast's dearth of talent. But we might have to wait awhile before we can judge him on recruiting.
TOC: The Eagles currently sit at 2-1 including a win at then-ranked Florida State. What have you learned about this team through 3 games?
KW: Well, we've learned that this is going to be a spunky, plucky group of players who are better than people give them credit for. I would say that very few people expected BC to be 2-1 at this point, but luckily, we're much better than Florida State. We've also learned that Thomas Castellanos is one of the more underrated QBs in the country. However, his receivers haven't been great and I'm still a bit worried about the secondary. This is by no means an elite team, but BoB has already shown the impact he can have in just 3 games.
TOC: This past weekend, B.C. got off to a good start at Missouri, jumping out to a 14-3 lead five minutes into the 2nd quarter. But then Missouri put up 24 straight points and the Eagles did not score again until a late TD got you back within one score. Did Missouri make any adjustments to turn the tide of that game or did B.C. just get off to a really good start which they could not maintain? Did B.C. try making any adjustments once they fell behind?
KW: I'm not sure it was any one specific thing, I just think that Missouri's talent wore down BC as the game progressed and the offense just couldn't find enough answers against the Tigers' defense. BC was helped out early on by some fluky plays -- namely the fumbled snap that ended in a 60+ yard touchdown pass. But after halftime, Missouri just tightened up everywhere and aside from one touchdown drive, the Eagles only possessed the ball for 12 plays in the second half. But I think the entire fanbase was very impressed that the Eagles made it as close as they did because in past years, games against major P4 opponents have usually ended in blowouts for BC.
TOC: Thomas Castellanos is in his second year as starting quarterback. How has his game improved this year?
KW: I think it's a little early to tell just how much working with an offensive guru like BoB has been for Castellanos, but he's still been very impressive in my eyes. Last year, he had a tendency to make some truly questionable throws once he was flushed out of the pocket, which resulted in him throwing 12 INTs in 2023. But this year, he's been much more intentional and smarter with the football; he's thrown 9 TD passes (compared to 15 a year ago) and just 2 INTs. Specifically against FSU, he wasn't as electric as he can be, but he was very efficient and he did exactly what was required of him to help the team win. If he can tap into some more of those explosive plays while continuing to limit turnovers, the sky's the limit for him.
TOC: Give us the name of one player on offense and one on defense that opposing teams need to be familiar with. How should other teams game plan for those two players?
KW: On defense, it's pretty easy: Donovan Ezeiruaku. He's a 6'2, 247 lb defensive end who can be a gamebreaker. While he had a down year in 2023, two years ago he racked up 8.5 sacks and he already has 3 sacks in 2024. On offense, I'll go with Kansas State transfer Treshaun Ward. He's essentially split carries with fellow running back Kyle Robichaux, but he's been more efficient on the ground (5.9 yards/rush) and he can also contribute in the passing game.
TOC wishes to thank Kieran for helping with this article. Let's hope he goes 0-1 on his score predictions this week.