Boston College heads to Dallas this weekend as a heavy underdog, with FanDuel installing No. 21 SMU as a 20.5-point favorite. The Mustangs are -1800 on the moneyline, while BC comes in at +920, and the over/under is 56.5 points.
It’s the largest spread Boston College has seen all season. The Eagles were 7.5-point underdogs against Cincinnati and 14.5-point underdogs against Virginia Tech, and they were favored against both Rutgers and Maine. Now they draw an SMU team that has piled up more than 37 points per game and arrives at 3-1 after a 34-24 win over Missouri State.
Kickoff is set for noon ET Saturday at Gerald J. Ford Stadium.
Saturday at Alumni Stadium produced a moment that had nothing to do with the final score. Boston College Athletics and Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island surprised 18-year-old Daelan Gallagher of Norton with a trip to the College Football Playoff National Championship.
Gallagher was brought onto the field in the second quarter thinking he was taking part in BC’s usual passing contest promotion. Once he finished, a prerecorded message from Bill O'Brien appeared on the video board and delivered the surprise: Gallagher was headed to Las Vegas for the January 2027 national championship game at Allegiant Stadium.
The wish is part of a broader effort from Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island, which expects to grant about 400 wishes during its current program year. After the game, O'Brien also pointed to BC’s ties to groups such as Make-A-Wish, Team IMPACT and the Campus School, connecting the moment to the university’s mission of being men and women for others.
Boston College men’s golf will get one final shot at the UConn Invitational at GreatHorse after Monday’s second round was washed out by inclement weather. The event has been cut from 54 holes to 36, leaving the Eagles with 18 holes today.
BC begins the final round in sixth place, two shots out of the top five. William Musson opened with a 2-over 74 on Sunday and is tied for 11th, while Thomas Wang, playing as an individual, also shot 74. Kieran Low is one stroke back after a 75.
Markus Lam will lead the Eagles off the tee at 9:30 this morning, with Boston College grouped with St. John’s and Fairfield.
There’s also a look back to September 29, 2007, when No. 12 Boston College beat UMass 24-14 at Alumni Stadium to move to 5-0, the program’s best start since 1954. Matt Ryan passed for 204 yards and a touchdown, and Andre Callender ran for 115 yards and two scores on a career-high 32 carries.
BC led 17-0 at halftime, then UMass made things tense by scoring twice in the third quarter to cut the margin to 17-14. Ryan answered with a 61-yard touchdown drive, completing five of seven passes and scrambling 14 yards for a first down before Callender finished it off with his second touchdown.
In Other News...
Boston College Heads To SMU With A Defensive Concern Growing
Boston College heads to No. 21 SMU on Saturday carrying a few familiar personnel questions, and the latest ACC availability report only sharpened the concern on defense. The Eagles are 2-2 as they prepare for the trip to Gerald J. Ford Stadium, but the list of unavailable players includes defensive back Cameron Martinez and defensive tackle Chris Marable Jr., leaving the group short on depth before it gets a major road test.
Linebacker Bodie Kahoun remains unavailable, continuing a stretch that has forced Boston College to adjust without one of its defensive pieces. The report also listed Torrence and Clough as questionable, adding another layer of uncertainty as the Eagles try to sort out who will be available against an SMU team ranked 21st and playing at home. [Read more 🡒]
Boston College Has A Mason McKenzie Problem It Must Solve Fast
Four weeks into the season, Boston Colleges offense is still searching for answers, and Mason McKenzie has become one of the clearest signs of how much the Eagles are leaning on their quarterback to keep things moving. McKenzie ranks 12th nationally in rushing attempts and is second among quarterbacks with 74 carries, a workload that reflects both his ability to create with his legs and the pressure on BC to manufacture offense any way it can. Bill OBrien has already acknowledged the need for the unit to get better, and the numbers back up the concern: the Eagles have struggled to score, complete passes and pile up yards in ACC play.
The timing is tough, too, because Southern Methodist brings a very different kind of challenge. Kevin Jennings and the Mustangs have a passing game that can stress a defense quickly, which means Boston College may need its own offense to do more than simply survive drives and hope McKenzie can extend plays. For the Eagles, the immediate question is whether they can find a more balanced answer before the season slips further away. [Read more 🡒]
Boston College Fans Get A Flutie Nostalgia Hit Before A Huge SMU Test
As Boston College heads into a major early test against SMU, there is at least a little nostalgia in the air for Eagles fans who remember when Doug Flutie was the standard for football celebrity in Chestnut Hill. Flutie Flakes are making a return to Tops Markets starting Oct. 4, a small but fitting reminder of one of the programs most recognizable alumni, with proceeds going to the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism.
The timing lands in the middle of a wider college sports conversation, too, after the U.S. Senate passed the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act, which would create a federal framework for NIL compensation and put guardrails around conference size. For BC, the bigger immediate focus is still SMU and what the Mustangs have shown through four games on both sides of the ball, which is why the old Flutie buzz feels like a nice backdrop rather than the main event. [Read more 🡒]