CHESTNUT HILL – Grayson James will be Boston College’s starting quarterback when the Eagles (1-7, 0-5) host the SMU Mustangs (6-3, 4-1) at noon on Saturday at Alumni Stadium.
A quarterback controversy has been ongoing at BC since the midway point in the season and Eagles coach Bill O’Brien has not ruled out another QB change in the team’s final two games against Georgia Tech and Syracuse.
“Rest of the year no, but for this game yeah,” said O’Brien after Tuesday morning’s practice inside the Fish Field House. “He (James) competes, he’s doing a good job, he’s fighting. He’s doing a good job and he will start against SMU.”
Alabama transfer Dylan Lonergan started the first six games of the season and enjoyed some early success from a statistical standpoint but that failed to translate into team wins.
Lonergan lost the starting job after consecutive substandard efforts in lopsided losses at Pittsburgh and at home against Clemson. James did well in his first start against UConn but the results were the same, a 38-23 loss.
Against the Huskies, James completed 16-of-28 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns. He ran the ball 17 times for 26 yards, but he lost 36 yards off his rushing total because he was sacked seven times.
In his second start at Louisville, James completed 23-of-46 passes for 244 yards with three touchdowns, two interceptions and two sacks. James played against the Cardinals with a hip pointer which limited his mobility as a dual threat quarterback.
O’Brien went back to Lonergan in last Saturday’s 25-10 home loss to No. 12 Notre Dame. Lonergan completed five of eight passes for 29 yards before being benched after a second quarter interception. James completed 25-of-37 passes for 240-yards with a touchdown, two interceptions and six sacks.
“He’s been around a long time,” said O’Brien. “He transferred here and he’s a very improved player in the time he’s been here. He brings a lot of energy to the huddle, he’s a great competitor, and a better person.”
James started the final five games last season and orchestrated the Eagles’ ACC wins over Syracuse, North Carolina, and Pittsburgh. That stretch run put BC in the Pinstripe Bowl against Nebraska at Yankee Stadium last December.
“I think that Grayson does a good job pulling people and trying to get them to do some extra reps after practice,” said BC senior tight end Jeremiah Franklin. “I think experience definitely comes into play.
“With experience, Grayson knows what to expect out there and he’s been on the team longer. That has helped Grayson a lot in that area.”
Red Bandana Game
In the first 129 years of the BC football program, the Eagles had played the Mustangs just once, a 31-29, loss in Dallas in 1986.
But BC and SMU developed a strange sort of rivalry having faced each other in the last two seasons. BC upset No. 24 SMU, 23-14, in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl on Dec. 28, 2023, at Fenway Park. In SMU’s first season in the ACC, the No. 14 Mustangs beat BC 38-28, at home on Nov. 14, 2024.
The third meeting will coincide with this season’s Red Bandana game. The Red Bandana game is played annually to commemorate former BC lacrosse player Welles Crowther, who lost his life on a rescue mission in the South Tower in lower Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001.
Crowther became known as the “man in the red bandana,” a decorative lucky charm from his lacrosse days at BC. Crowther wore bandana over his face against the dust and smoke while saving dozens from the inferno before losing his life in the process.
“Red Bandana week is huge,” said O’Brien. “What Welles Crowther meant to this university and what he did, he’s a great example of what BC is all about.
“We understand very much what the Red Bandana game is all about. Last year was my first experience in a Red Bandana game and it went pretty well. The kids all understand it. We talked about it this morning and we will talk about it again on Thursday. We owe a lot to Welles Crowther and what he meant to the school as well.”
BC beat Michigan State, 23-19, in last season’s Red Bandana game.
Running on Empty
The BC running game was nonexistent in the loss to Notre Dame and it’s something O’Brien wants to rectify against SMU. The Eagles’ leading rusher was sophomore tailback Turbo Richard, who lugged the rock 16 times for a net gain of 26 yards. With 40 yards lost to sacks and TFL’s, BC finished with 12 net rushing yards.
Senior tailback Jordan McDonald game BC a semblance of a ground attack with 80 yards on 19 carries at Louisville but O’Brien would not say who would be the featured back against the Mustangs
“The running game was terrible against Notre Dame,” said O’Brien. “We are working hard on it and hopefully it’s better. It would be hard to predict, I wouldn’t be able to predict that right now. Jordan has done a good job and Turbo has done a good job and there is no way to predict who will get the carries.”
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