Boston College quarterback Dylan Lonergan made an extraordinary debut against an ordinary opponent.
The redshirt sophomore transfer from Alabama completed 26-of-34 passes for 268-yards and four touchdowns in BC’s 66-10 victory over Fordham in the season opener on a sun-splashed Saturday afternoon at Alumni Stadium.
“He played in some blow out games at Alabama but this is his first start,” said BC coach Bill O’Brien. “I thought he did a lot of good things and there is a lot to work on and he would be the first to tell you that. “
Fordham is a mid-level FCS program from the Patriot League that went 2-10 in 2024. The last time BC scored over 60-points was a 62-14 win over Holy Cross in 2018. BC rolled up 555-yards of total offense with 26 first downs while holding the Rams to 168 with 13 first downs.
“I thought we did a good job of getting into a rhythm,” said O’Brien. “But there were three or four series that we have to look at. We’ve got to fix those because those can’t happen in the games we have coming up.”
BC will begin FBS play next Saturday night when they travel to East Lansing, Mich., to face Big 10 opponent Michigan State at Spartan Stadium. The Eagles beat the Spartans 23-19 last season on Sept. 21 in the opener of the home and home series.
“We have to watch the film and learn from the mistakes and take that into next week,” said Lonergan, who started his first game since his senior year at Brookwood High School in Snellville, Ga.
Lonergan completed passes to eight different receivers, but his primary target was redshirt-senior wide receiver Lewis Bond, who caught 11 passes for 138 yards. Bond led BC with 67 receptions for 689 yards and three touchdowns last season.
“I think we are both smart football players,” said Bond. “We both know what the defense is trying to do so that kind helps and I feel like I am always in the right spot, being in the right spot for Dylan or whoever the quarterback is.”
BC scored on the opening drive of the game, a methodical 13-play, 71-yard, march that consumed 6:24 from the clock. Lonergan was masterful executing the short and medium range passes. He completed 6-of-7 passes for 54 yards that included an 11-yard touchdown toss over the middle to tailback Jordan McDonald to take a 7-0 lead with 8:31 remaining.
“Making that first pass always makes the rest of the game easier,” said Lonergan. “It gets you into a rhythm and I started out the right way.”
Lonergan opened the Eagles’ second possession with a 27-yard pass to Bond, a combination that would routinely befuddle the Rams secondary. Lonergan followed with a 32-yarder to Bond to set up his second scoring throw of the game, an 11-yarder to Jaeden Skeete that made it 14-3 with 3:19 on the board.
BC’ first quarter dominance inexplicitly dissipated in the second, as the Eagles offense inexplicably sputtered on four subsequent possessions that went nowhere.
Lonergan regained his form on BC’s final drive of the half, completing 8-of-10 passes for 82 yards. The drive ended with a 13-yard toss to Skeete, who scored his second of the game to make it 21-3 at the intermission. Lonergan completed 21-of-29 to finish the first half with 225-yards, two touchdowns and a stellar 171.7 quarterback rating.
“That was an important drive, that was a two-minute drive and the guys did a great job,” said O’Brien. “It was a good drive, well executed and Dylan did a good job as did the receivers and the tight ends and good pass protection.”
BC went up 28-0 on the second play of the third quarter when senior linebacker Daveon “Bam” Crouch intercepted Fordham quarterback Gunnar Smith and returned it 28-yards for a touchdown.
“I just trusted the defense and trusted the coach’s call and read my keys and made a good play,” said Crouch. “I was just reading the quarterback’s eyes and made a good play.”
Place kicker Luca Lombardo made it 31-3 with a 48-yard field goal that bounced off the crossbar and over with 10:52 to play in the third.
“He had a really good training camp, Luka really won the job in training camp,” said O’Brien. “I was happy to see him hit that field goal but it was by the skin of his teeth.”
Lonergan made it 38-3 on a17-yard touchdown toss, his fourth, to Reed Harris with 5:21 to play in the third. Grayson James replaced Lonergan at the start of the fourth quarter. James completed 5-of-5 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown in the mop up role.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
