Boston College
Boston College is 4-5 and No. 71 of 138 in the machine's ratings, 1.8 points below an average FBS team. Last game: lost 31-24 vs Florida State in Week 10.
Week 11: at Notre Dame, Saturday, Nov 14: the matchup, unit by unit
Why Boston College is No. 71
- Boston College's rating is −1.8: the machine's estimate that Boston College is 1.8 points worse than an average FBS team on a neutral field. That is No. 71 of 138. For scale, 0 is an average FBS team: right now the closest to it is No. 68 Arizona State (0.2).
- It started the season at −2.7, ESPN's preseason Football Power Index from July. Its results since have moved it up 0.9.
- The biggest weekly moves: −3.6 after Week 9 (L 2-47 at Duke) and +2.8 after Week 8 (W 49-27 at Georgia Tech).
- Its record is 4-5. The 5 losses were to No. 25 SMU, No. 28 Duke, No. 32 Florida State, No. 49 Virginia Tech, No. 61 Cincinnati, by 17.4 points on average. The 4 wins came by 10.2 points on average; the best was over No. 45 Pittsburgh. The rating weighs how much a team won or lost by and against whom, not just the win-loss count.
- Its FBS opponents so far average No. 50 in the machine's ratings.
- Just above is No. 70 Oregon State (−1.4); just below is No. 72 Fresno State (−2.2).
The rating, week by week
Strengths and weak spots
Head coach
Bill O'Brien is in his 3rd season at Boston College (since 2024). This season: 4-5. At Boston College overall: 13-21, counting this season.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Team stats
Season totals and averages over 9 games, each with its national rank among 138 FBS teams (No. 1 = best). The game-by-game story is in the season, week by week.
Passing
| Completions-attempts | 138-243 |
|---|---|
| Passing yards | 1670 |
| Touchdowns-interceptions | 10-9 |
| Yards per attempt* | 7.0No. 91 of 138 |
| Explosive pass rate | 11.1%No. 53 of 138 |
| Sacks allowed (rate) | 7.6%No. 113 of 138 |
Rushing
| Carries-yards | 330-1493 |
|---|---|
| Yards per carry | 4.5No. 52 of 138 |
| 10-plus-yard runs (rate) | 19.5%No. 3 of 138 |
| Stuffed at or behind the line (rate) | 20.5%No. 114 of 138 |
Scoring
| Points per game | 21.9No. 109 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play | 5.61No. 91 of 138 |
| Third-down rate | 37.4%No. 92 of 138 |
| Red-zone TD rate | 43.3%No. 130 of 138 |
| Giveaways | 14No. 110 of 138 |
Defense
| Points allowed per game | 27.0No. 91 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play allowed | 5.22No. 40 of 138 |
| Yards per pass attempt allowed | 6.8No. 49 of 138 |
| Yards per carry allowed | 4.0No. 63 of 138 |
| Sack rate | 5.7%No. 71 of 138 |
| Takeaways | 15No. 19 of 138 |
| Third-down rate allowed | 38.3%No. 66 of 138 |
Totals are the official box score. * Yards per attempt and the rates come from the play-by-play, where passing yards count on completions only, so they can differ from the box score by a play or two.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Player leaders
The top 3 in each category over the same games. Passing yards count every completion (official box score).
Passing
- Mason McKenzie131-228, 1616 yds, 10 TD, 8 INT
- Femi Babalola3-5, 49 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT
Rushing
- Mason McKenzie145 carries, 676 yds, 5 TD
- Bo MacCormack III74 carries, 373 yds, 5 TD
- Evan Dickens66 carries, 296 yds, 4 TD
Receiving
- Javarius Green31 catches, 322 yds, 2 TD
- John Montague15 catches, 241 yds, 2 TD
- Landon Wright9 catches, 209 yds, 1 TD
Tackles
- Anthony Palano76
- KP Price67
- Marcus Upton59
Sacks
- Demetrius Ballard4.5
- E'Lla Boykin4.5
- Anthony Palano1.5
Interceptions
- Charlie Comella4
- KP Price3
- Anthony Palano2
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Who's playing
Based on who has actually played this season, from the box scores, not the team's published depth chart. Each bar is that player's share of the team's attempts, carries (quarterbacks left out), catches or tackles. The box score lists no positions, so there is no offensive line here.
Throwing
- Mason McKenzieMost passes in the last game9 games228 attempts94%
- Grayson Wilson2 games8 attempts3%
- Femi Babalola1 game5 attempts2%
Carrying
- Bo MacCormack III7 games74 carries43%
- Evan Dickens7 games66 carries38%
- Mekhi Dodd5 games16 carries9%
- Nolan Ray3 games7 carries4%
Catching
- Javarius Green9 games31 catches22%
- John Montague7 games15 catches11%
- Dawson Pough6 games13 catches9%
- Evan Dickens6 games12 catches9%
Tackling
- Anthony Palano9 games76 tackles13%
- KP Price9 games67 tackles11%
- Marcus Upton9 games59 tackles10%
- Carter Davis8 games47 tackles8%
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
The season, week by week
- Week 1 L 15–34 at Cincinnati. The pass defense was the strength: Cincinnati got 5.3 yards an attempt, 2.8 under what it usually gains. Lost the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 2 W 28–21 vs Rutgers. The run game struggled: 4.7 yards a carry, 0.8 less than Rutgers usually allows.
- Week 3 W 22–16 vs Maine. Maine is an FCS team, so there is no FBS baseline to grade this one against.
- Week 4 L 14–21 vs Virginia Tech. The pass defense was the strength: Virginia Tech got 4.2 yards an attempt, 4.1 under what it usually gains. Its fewest yards an attempt of the season.
- Week 5 L 16–25 at SMU. The pass defense was the strength: SMU got 5.2 yards an attempt, 4.4 under what it usually gains. The fewest yards a carry it has allowed all season.
- Week 7 W 27–21 vs Pittsburgh. The passing game was the strength: 10.5 yards an attempt, 3.0 more than Pittsburgh usually allows. The machine had Pittsburgh by 7.0 (67%), so this was a win it did not see coming.
- Week 8 W 49–27 at Georgia Tech. The run game was the strength: 8.5 yards a carry, 3.7 more than Georgia Tech usually allows. The machine had Georgia Tech by 6.1 (66%), so this was a win it did not see coming; Boston College won the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 9 L 2–47 at Duke. The pass defense gave ground: Duke got 9.3 yards an attempt, 2.4 over what it usually gains. The offense gave up 5 sacks.
- Week 10 L 24–31 vs Florida State. The passing game struggled: 5.5 yards an attempt, 2.7 less than Florida State usually allows.