Today’s game against Virginia Tech was always going to be a messy one in Chestnut Hill, with 50 mile-per-hour windgusts and torrential downpours promised by the forecast. However, the Eagles certainly were not expected to hang in this game as well as they did, leading by as much as eight points, before Tech scored touchdowns on back-to-back drives in the fourth quarter, en route to their 21-14 victory over the Eagles. 

Ted Roof’s defense, led by captains KP Price and Anthony Palano, held the Hokies to a remarkable three points in the first half. Virginia Tech ended the first half with five punts and a fourth-and-out. The BC-faithful could not have asked for a better start to the game defensively. 

Unfortunately, as stymied as the Hokies’ offense was, the Eagle’s offense was worse, failing to score a single point in the first half. This afternoon, the Eagles seemed to have one key philosophy: trust quarterback Mason McKenzie to figure it out. And in the opening half, they did not find much success. The Eagles had as many punts as they had first downs in the half, and put up just 117 total yards as a team. 

However, coming out of the locker room, McKenzie and the Eagles seemed to find a bit more of a rhythm offensively. On their second possession of the third quarter, McKenize connected with receiver Javarius Green for a 19-yard gain, before breaking off a 45-yard QB draw to the right. And the following play, McKenzie would scamper into the endzone, before Luca Lombardo’s extra point gave the Eagles their first lead of the game. 

Roof’s defense remained steadfast, forcing a fumble and a turnover on downs on their two subsequent possessions, giving the Eagles possession with the lead going into the fourth quarter. What followed was the Eagles’ best series of the afternoon, a 9-play 67-yard drive highlighted by a 20-yard red zone connection between McKenzie and Dawson Pough. Then, McKenzie was able to get in the endzone for his second rushing touchdown of the day, giving the Eagles a 14-6 lead with 11 minutes to play. 

Unfortunately, the Boston College defense ran out of steam, as the next six minutes of gametime saw them concede a gutting 10-play 80-yard touchdown drive, a two point conversion, and an overwhelming 76-yard rush to Tech’s Jeffrey Overton (featuring a potential missed hold on Palano). Overton’s score would ultimately serve as the nail in the coffin for the Eagle’s second loss of the young season. 

While teh Eagles came into this game fresh off of an embarrassing 22-16 win against FCS opponent Maine, and were 14-point underdogs against the Hokies, their performance was marred by 89 penalty yards, a poor 2-13 third-down conversion rate, and only 13 non-McKenzie yards. 

The Eagles will continue their season next Saturday with a road game against 22nd-ranked SMU. And while this afternoon’s performance against the Hokies was far from perfect, BC should have some positive momentum to build off of heading into Dallas. 

By MIKE DiMAURO

Here’s one from your humble narrator whose vocation has been the written word for the last 35 years:

Don’t believe everything you read. 

(I know. A ringing endorsement of the profession. But the truth is the truth.)

The latest example was The Athletic’s recent foray with publishing ballpark figures for every college football program in the Power Four (ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12) that listed Boston College’s spending as last in the country, between $8 million and $13 million for the 2026 season.

After some research that went beyond coach Bill O’Brien’s assertion that the number was erroneous, I can confirm that O’Brien is correct. Campus sources support what O’Brien said last week and what athletic director Blake James said a while ago: BC is a full participant in revenue sharing, which is capped at little more than $21 million this year per school.

People Who Know tell me football receives roughly 75 percent of that. On revenue share alone, the number is more than $16 million, which would make it under the ACC average, per the Athletic, but more palatable. The average spending range in the ACC is between $21 million and $25 million, although 11 of the 17 teams spent about $25 million per year or less.

My concern with O’Brien’s comments last week came later in his weekly meeting with reporters. O’Brien said that the program must bolster third-party initiatives (the second way to compensate athletes after revenue share) to provide additional sources of compensation.

“Those things can come from different entities,” O’Brien said. “It can come from a business. It can come from a booster. We’re working through that as we move forward.”

It’s the “we’re working through that” part that sounded the siren. 

“Working through that?” Shouldn’t this have already been worked through, given how most of the other Power Four universities seem to have this managed, at least based on how they’re spending? 

And what became of Friends of the Heights, BC’s official third-party foray that was doing quite well? Friends of the Heights was instrumental in helping keep Zay Flowers, Ozzy Trapilo, Donovan Ezeiruaku and Quinten Post at BC, also while supporting a number of players on the 2024 Frozen Four hockey team and 2024 women’s lacrosse national championship team.

But it turns out that the entire NIL landscape now is more complicated than differential equations.

The two-minute drill version: Friends of the Heights, founded by loyal BC grads Joe Popolo, Brian Tusa, Sam Raia and Scott Mutryn (I call them BC’s Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), still exists but in a lesser role because of the terms of the 2025 House settlement that allowed revenue sharing (direct compensation). 

All NIL deals must be cleared now by NIL Go, the official centralized disclosure and monitoring platform in Division I to report all NIL agreements. NIL Go has several requirements, not the least of which stipulates that the athlete’s compensation must be commensurate within his or her effort. In other words, $5 million for showing up and shaking a few hands for an hour to promote a product is verboten.

The problem is that many schools across the country are seemingly thumbing their nose at NIL Go, gambling on the fact that the entity simply doesn’t have enough investigators to nail the perpetrators. My sources tell me BC’s actions are proper – as we would hope – but it turns out Billy Joel is right: Honesty is such a lonely word. 

So here’s where we are: If you are a BC grad or fan, you must understand that we really are all in this together. Never, ever in college sports history have fans and alumni assumed a bigger impact on their school’s fortunes. If you are a BC grad with a product or business that needs to be promoted, you should consider reaching out. Very seriously. 

I can’t tell you how to spend your money. But if you really want to see BC succeed, you need to be part of the solution – and certainly not feed the moral outrage of moral opposition to NIL that I see repeatedly on social media. Straight up: If you aren’t helping, stop complaining.

BC, too, bears some responsibility here. I get that the new rules of the House settlement that approved revenue sharing in 2025 changed how Friends of the Heights can operate. There is also Van Wagner, the entity which sells sponsorships on behalf of the Eagles, who maintains relationships with many local businesses. I am asking BC, all the way up to Father Jack, to empower these two important groups in exponential ways. These are earnest folks who love BC and want the athletic programs to succeed. 

Lest we forget: We saw the power of sports two weeks ago at Alumni Stadium when BC had a national media window all to itself – and hit one into the upper deck with the entirety of the Welles Crowther tribute. The nation got to see a full stadium in full throat saluting an American hero. It was a four-hour infomercial on what a special place we know Boston College to be. And the arm of the university responsible for such stupefying positive public relations: athletics. They’re important.

To reiterate: BC needs you. They need us. All of us. Now.

Mike DiMauro, a columnist in Connecticut, is a contributor to Eagles Daily and a member of BC’s Class of 1990. He may be reached at m.dimauro@theday.com or on X @BCgenius

September 19th, 2026 should have been a comfortable afternoon in Chestnut Hill. Coming off an emotional win over Rutgers for the Red Bandanna Game, Boston College had an opportunity to clean things up against Maine before conference play. Instead, the Eagles escaped Alumni Stadium with a 22-16 victory that offered more frustration than confidence.

For the opening quarter, BC appeared ready to handle business. Evan Dickens broke free for a 39-yard touchdown, and a safety followed by a Johnathan Montague Jr. touchdown catch gave the Eagles a comfortable 16-0 lead. However, even that start came with warning signs. The Eagles received the opening kickoff and came away empty, then wasted another opportunity with a failed fourth-down attempt near the goal line.

Those missed chances became uncomfortable as Maine worked its way back. The Black Bears cut the deficit to 19-10 before halftime, while BC managed just three points across the final two quarters. What should have become an opportunity to give younger players meaningful snaps instead became another afternoon spent protecting a narrow lead.

Dickens gave the Eagles’ some productive work on the ground, finishing with 102 rushing yards. Mason McKenzie threw for 173 yards, while former quarterback Jonathan Montague led BC’s receivers with 72 yards. For Maine, Eddie Buehler eclipsed McKenzie with 201 passing yards. The Eagles outgained the Black Bears 359-270, but both teams finished with 18 first downs.

Buehler also connected with receiver Nick Laughlin for both Maine touchdowns, keeping the visiting Maine within striking distance.

The concerns for BC go beyond the final margin. The Eagles converted just four of twelve third downs and failed on both fourth-down attempts. Against an FCS opponent, those are possessions an ACC offense should be extending. Scoring six points after the first quarter only makes those shortcomings harder to dismiss.

With Virginia Tech visiting Alumni Stadium next Saturday, Bill O’Brien has plenty to address. BC needs more consistent quarterback play, better execution in short yardage, and an offense capable of finishing games before the final possession. The Eagles got their second win, but this was a game they should have won by much more. Conference opponents will demand better.