Here is the basic info you should know about Michigan State's upcoming opponent, the Boston College Eagles.
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RECORDS
Boston College (2-1) upset then-No. 10 Florida State in Week 1 before pitching a shutout against FCS-level Duquesne in Week 2, before losing to No.6 Missouri in week three on the road.
Michigan State is 3-0, including beating an athletic Maryland team on the road in week two with home victories over FAU and Prairie View sandwiched around that impressive road win.
NOTE: Before we go farther, most of the combined stats for this year are for FSU and Missouri only, as Duquesne gives a distorted view of what BC did and MSU will actually see.
BOSTON COLLEGE COACHING STAFF
Bill O'Brien is back leading his hometown team and is off to a 2-1 start. He had a previous collegiate stint with Penn State from 2012-13, earning Big Ten Coach of the Year and National Coach of the Year honors in his first season. O'Brien was a Nick Saban assistant at Alabama from 2021-22, where he fine-tuned his skills. He was the Houston Texans' head coach for six-plus seasons and a Bill Belichick assistant from 2007-2011 and again in 2023. His coaching pedigree is as good, if not better than anyone in college football.
Will Lawning is the offensive coordinator and has spent over ten years with O'Brien learning the ropes by his side.
Tim Lewis -- who will call plays on the defensive side for the Eagles -- is in his first college job since coaching Pittsburgh's defensive backs in 1994. He has since held numerous NFL positions, including seven years as a defensive coordinator for the NY Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers.
BOSTON COLLEGE OFFENSE
UCF transfer Thomas Castellanos is a
dangerous dual-threat QB who started 12 games in 2023 and totaled 2,248 passing yards (189-330, 57.3%) for 15 touchdowns; he added 1,113 rushing yards, third most in the ACC, to become the
first 2,000-yard passer and 1,000-yard rusher in BC history. He averaged 5.2 yards per carry on the ground and ran for 13 touchdowns, which ranked third in the ACC. In the two games vs. FSU and Mizzou this season, Castellanos completed 26 of 44 passes for 355 yards for five TDs and two interceptions.
Running back transfer Treshaun Ward has 18 carries for 98 yards vs. FSU and Mizzou. In 2023, Ward played for Kansas State and ran for 643 yards and five TDS. In 2022, he played at Florida State and ran for 649 yards and seven TDs. Western Kentucky transfer Kye Robichaux has 25 carries for 97 yards vs K-State and FSU. In 2023, he ran for 780 yards and eight TDs. However, the biggest threat might be
speedy QB Castellanos, who has run 27 times for 113 yards and one TD vs. two quality opponents.
Boston College's offensive line is
physical, and left tackle Logan Taylor returned to the lineup against Mizzou. O'Brien calls him "tough, big, athletic, and nasty." As a whole, it's a group that dominated FSU upfront.
Freshman Reed Harris (6'5 229) has the
big-play ability at wide receiver and has hauled in two long TD passes of 67 and 72 yards. Against the two quality opponents, he has two catches for 77 yards and a TD. WR Lewis Bond has caught five balls for 58 yards, Jaedn Skeete caught five balls for 47 yards vs. Mizzou, and Texas Tech transfer Jerand Bradley caught a 12-yard pass for a TD vs. Missouri.
However, the
most significant threat might be the short passing game, as both RBs (Ward and Robichaux) combined for two TD receptions and six receptions against FSU and Mizzou. The tight ends are also significant threats in the O'Brien offense. TEs Jeremiah Franklin and Kamari Morales have a combined five receptions for seventy-six yards (15.2 ypc) and one TD vs. FSU and Mizzou.
BOSTON COLLEGE DEFENSE
The front seven is big and physically dominant, especially in their opening win against Florida State. The interior defensive linemen are Michigan transfer George Rooks and four-year letterman Cam Horsley, who has played a lot of football for BC. However, the stars with NFL aspirations are the defensive ends
Donovan Ezieruaku and
Neto Okpala. Ezieruaku had ten tackles, three sacks, three tackles for loss, and one QB hurry vs. FSU and Mizzou. Okpala has nine tackles, one sack, and 1.5 tackles for loss against the same two opponents.
The linebackers are led by Daveon Crouch, who has ten tackles in two games vs. FSU, and Mizzou's Kam Arnold, who went to high school in Michigan (West Bloomfield, St Mary's) and had eight tackles and a forced fumble vs. Missouri.
The secondary includes Carter Davis, who had 14 tackles, and KP Price, who had 13 tackles, vs. two quality opponents in FSU and Mizzou. Amari Jackson had nine tackles and is making plays on the balls with three pass breakups. Arkansas transfer and Nickleback Khari Johnson had ten tackles and one pass breakup.
BOSTON COLLEGE SPECIAL TEAMS
Boston College has used three different punters, averaging
36.0 yards per punt overall. Sam Candotti has punted eight times for a 37.1-yard average; Sam Stone has two punts for a 28.0 average, and Ivan Zivenko has two for a 40.0 average. They have
not attempted a field goal this year, but their kickoff man is Luca Lombardo. Liam Connor hit 11 of 14 field goals last year, with the longest field goal being 45 yards, and he is back for another year.
BC OFFENSIVE CONCLUSION
Boston College's physical offensive line can grind you and burn the clock with the run game (see: FSU). But don't fall asleep on the passing game. O'Brien dialed up some
gadget pass plays vs. Mizzou and had three TD passes, a couple of which were total busts by the Missouri secondary that went for TDs. The Spartans need to stop the run, make BC one-dimensional, and make Castellanos put it up off schedule; if so, they might have an opportunity to pick some passes off; however, if BC breaks off big chunks in the run game and Castellanos can pick and choose when he wants to throw it, it makes it a more difficult task for the Spartans. And something to remember:
five of the seven touchdowns BC scored on FSU and Missouri came on pass plays.
BC DEFENSIVE CONCLUSION
While FSU had just 21 yards on 16 carries, Missouri had effective runs and ran for 176 net yards on 43 carries (4.1 ypc). Missouri’s top two ball carriers before the net had 179 yards on 34 carries, an excellent 5.3 yards per carry. So, the run game comes down to design, play call, and physicality up front. Aidan Chiles will find openings in the passing game if he
reads the defense correctly. BC likes to show blitz and either back out or bring a linebacker on a delayed blitz. FSU and Mizzou combined completed 42 of 72 passes (58.3%) for two TDs, one interception, and 536 yards (268 yards per game average). So there are some holes in the secondary.
MSU OFFENSIVE KEYS TO THE GAME
1- The offensive line needs to be
physical and assignment sound vs. a very physical front seven for BC.
2- Aidan Chiles needs good defense recognition with the BC front seven regarding whether they are actually blitzing or faking a blitz.
3- Have an effective run game, especially with probing runs that go left.
4- Keep Donovan Ezieruaku and Neto Okpala from wreaking havoc up front.
MSU DEFENSIVE KEYS TO THE GAME
1- Stop the run and make BC one-dimensional; otherwise, BC can control the ball and the clock.
2- Be ready for the gadget pass plays that O'Brien draws up that creates mismatches and blown coverages (BC has five TD passes vs Florida State and Missouri, two quality opponents).
3- Play sound, 11-man football, and be solid on all three levels; Castellanos has thrown
two interceptions and been sacked
five times against FSU and Missouri -- the Spartans need to create some havoc.
MSU SPECIAL TEAMS KEYS TO THE GAME
1- Field position will be important as BC's
punters have struggled. If the MSU defense can pin BC's offense back in its zone and make them punt, the Spartan offense should get good field position.
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