Despite Penalties and Turnovers, BC Outlasts Louisville in Seesaw Matchup

Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkovec raised eyebrows by throwing both a backward and illegal forward pass Saturday afternoon against Louisville.

But he dropped jaws with a trio of 50-yard passes, two of which resulted in wide receiver Zay Flowers touchdowns, and a pivotal 33-yard scramble that set up Connor Lytton's game-winning, 26-yard field goal.

It was that kind of roller coaster day for Jurkovec and BC, which—despite missing two Week 1 starting offensive linemen, and having a third limited with a knee injury—recorded its longest rushing and passing plays of the season while posting 449 yards of offense.

The Eagles entered as the least penalized team in the ACC yet committed 13 penalties, not to mention three turnovers. Still, they outlasted Louisville, 34-33, in a back-and-forth Alumni Stadium affair that ended with BC’s first league win of 2022.

"This wasn't the best win we've ever had here," third-year Eagles head coach Jeff Hafley said. "It's just stuff we had to overcome to get it. Throughout the week, injuries, throughout the game. And then to finish like that.

"That's a special moment for those guys."

BC (2-3, 1-2 ACC) has been plagued by slow starts this season. Naturally, it took a bit for the Eagles to truly kick it into gear against Louisville (2-2, 0-3). The Eagles won the coin toss but deferred to the second half, and their Atlantic Division foe promptly marched 70 yards in 12 plays for the game-opening touchdown.

Running back Tiyon Evans got the Cardinals to the end zone's doorstep, and quarterback Malik Cunningham finished the job, scoring the first of his three rushing touchdowns.

BC had combined for 42 total yards on the opening drives of its first four games. Jurkovec cleared that number with one play: a perfectly-placed, 50-yard pass to wide receiver Jaelen Gill. The problem was, on the very next snap, fellow wideout Jaden Williams made a costly error.

Jurkovec's pass for the streaking Williams popped right off the sophomore's pads and into the arms of Louisville linebacker Monty Montgomery.

Luckily for BC, its defense stepped up after turnovers Saturday. The Eagles gave up a mere nine points on their three giveaways.

BC matched Louisville's score on its next drive, in large part thanks to a newfound run game. The Eagles came into the game tied for 128th nationally in rushing yards per game yet finished with 145 versus the Cardinals. BC running back Pat Garwo III ripped off a 26-yard run—one of seven Eagles rushing plays that went for 15 or more yards—and Flowers wisely tucked an intended double pass for a gain of 22 more yards.

At the goal line, Jurkovec lofted up a 1-yard touchdown pass to 6-foot-4, true freshman wide receiver Joe Griffin.

"He boxed out," Jurkovec said. "That's really what it was. It was like throwing to somebody posting up. He just had the guy, and I tried to give him a high ball. And he just made that play."

Louisville's James Turner cashed in on a 24-yard field goal after the Eagles' second turnover of the game: a Jurkovec fumble caused by Montgomery, who blew right by BC right tackle Jack Conley and jarred the ball loose in the process.

The Eagles reclaimed the lead with what Jurkovec believes is the best catch Flowers has had in his illustrious collegiate career. Hafley took it one step further.

"I don't even know if I've seen one like that ever," he said. "That was ridiculous. I had to look up on the screen to see how he caught it. ... He's gotta be one of the best players in college football."

Flowers, who wound up with five catches for 151 yards and two scores, split double coverage and leapt for a 57-yard touchdown that staked the Eagles to a 14-10 advantage.

The teams swapped a few punts before BC's final turnover. This one was certainly the most head scratching of the three.

Trying to avoid a sack, Jurkovec threw the ball away, except it went backwards. Garwo tried to recover the now-fumble. Rather than hopping on it, though, he circled the football, leaving time for Louisville defensive end YaYa Diaby to swoop in for the recovery.

Louisville was gifted with brilliant field position. The Cardinals started at the BC 17-yard line and quickly found the end zone to go up, 16-14. Cunningham called his own number and scrambled into the paint from six yards out.

Gill helped BC answer. A pair of catches from the redshirt senior vaulted the Eagles into Louisville territory. From there, true freshman running back Alex Broome broke two arm tackles en route to a 40-yard touchdown.

Cunningham's legs and a couple of BC penalties played a significant part in Louisville orchestrating a response of its own. Cunningham capped the series with an option play on 3rd-and-Goal that saw him fake the handoff and then the pass before galloping into the end zone to make it 23-21 prior to intermission.

More dirty laundry, including a defensive pass interference penalty on cornerback Elijah Jones and a targeting call on linebacker Jaylen Blackwell, moved along Louisville's first drive of the second half, which culminated in a 48-yard field goal from Turner.

Flowers' second touchdown of the day got the pep back into BC's step. Jurkovec hit the future NFLer in stride for a 69-yard, catch and run score.

The seesaw matchup carried on, though. Louisville struck with a seven-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. Cunningham dialed up back-to-back dots to wide receiver Ahmari Huggins-Bruce. The second went for a 12-yard score.

More of Flowers' magic after the catch was the catalyst for a BC scoring series at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Lytton put a bow on it with a 37-yard field goal. It was a much-needed make for the sophomore after his 2-of-5 start to the season.

Louisville didn't have a counter to Lytton's first field goal or, eventually, his second. And that's partly because Cunningham, who appeared to suffer an undisclosed injury on Blackwell's targeting infraction, missed most of the final frame.

Backup Brock Domann replaced the electrifying Cunningham and couldn't get the Cardinals to the red zone.

Jones, who was getting dinged with pass interference penalties all day, delivered a pass break-up when it mattered most. He deflected Domann's 4th-and-4 pass with under five minutes to go.

"I went up to him, and I told him he was gonna make a play that was gonna change the game, Hafley said. "And he did. But that's DB. That's not me looking ahead. ... You're going to give up plays, it happens. ... Just go play—that's honestly what our team did today."

On the ensuing Eagles drive, Jurkovec used his wheels to slingshot BC 33 yards upfield. Jurkovec piloted the Eagles to the goal line, but they couldn't punch it in. Hafley called on Lytton, and the underclassman drilled the 26-yard chip shot to put BC ahead, 34-33.

A string of incompletions from Domann turned the ball over on downs for the Cardinals, and BC milked the clock. Unfortunately for the Eagles, however, there was still one second left after Jurkovec's final kneel down on 4th Down.

Even after BC's student section streamed onto the field, the officials called everyone back to their sidelines and seats, respectively.

Domann ran the final play: a Hail Mary pass that was intercepted by BC linebacker Kam Arnold, and the Eagles officially entered the win column in conference play.

Up to the final whistle, it wasn't pretty. At times, it was ugly. And, throughout, it was a weird football game.

Nonetheless, it was a win. The Eagles can't erase their 1-3 start, but they can still rewrite the narrative of their 2022 season. Saturday was a good first step.

"You can't change certain things, but there are things you can change," Jurkovec said. "For the rest of the year, I hope we can just focus on things we can change and leave the rest to God."