Eleven penalties, protection breakdowns, and missed opportunities proved costly for Boston College in its 25-16 loss to SMU on Saturday afternoon. After the Eagles’ second consecutive loss, head coach Bill O’Brien made it clear his team needs to be “more disciplined.”
“We pride ourselves on that,” O’Brien said in his post-game press conference. “I’ve been associated with disciplined teams. [I] think this team has the ability to be disciplined, but we weren’t today.”
The Eagles’ season-high 11 penalties, which included four false starts, were among several issues O’Brien identified after the loss. He also pointed to protection breakdowns and difficulties executing against SMU’s aggressive defensive pressure.
“We got to block better,” O’Brien said. “We got to catch the ball when it’s thrown to us. We got to run better routes.”
Quarterback Mason McKenzie noted the offense needed to capitalize on its opportunities, regardless of the mistakes, including penalties.
“Things happen. It’s not going to be perfect,” he said. “Obviously, you don’t want that to happen. We got to clean that up. But at the end of the day, we can always make more plays to go get those first downs.”
SMU’s defensive pressure presented another challenge for the Eagles. McKenzie stated that the Mustangs frequently crowded the line of scrimmage with six or seven defenders, prompting BC to counter with quick screen passes. But as those plays became less effective in the second half, the Eagles struggled to find an adjustment.
“There was a couple times where it just didn’t really work that well for us,” McKenzie said. “So that was kind of the biggest thing in the second half, just was figuring that out and how we had to adjust to it.”
O’Brien described the team’s progress as “incremental” as the Eagles faced two strong ACC opponents in Virginia Tech and SMU. Despite the outcomes, McKenzie said the team believes they can compete with tougher opponents.
“We played against two good football teams, but it’s tough when we feel like we can win these games,” McKenzie said. “Just got to keep working. … But I think that we’ve shown that we can play with good football teams, too, and that we are a good football team.”
Getting healthy will be part of the work ahead of the Eagles’ game against Pitt in two weeks, both O’Brien and McKenzie noted.
At Tuesday’s post-practice press conference, O’Brien said an illness had been circulating through the locker room on top of dealing with injuries.
Now, the immediate priority is turning the team’s areas for improvement into results on the field. The Eagles have won just one road game in the past three years, O’Brien said, underscoring the need for continued progress.
“We’re not in the business of losing,” O’Brien said. “We’re in the business of winning, and we’re not winning… We’re just going to keep fighting, keep working… Players and everybody got to stick together, which is what we’re going to do and try to improve this week.”
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