Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

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Boston College Suffers First Setback of the Season

W. LAFAYETTE, Ind. (bceagles.com) - Boston College suffered its first loss of the season, 30-13, at Purdue.  

Boston College scored its first touchdown on its second drive of the game, as Tommy Sweeney hauled in a 15-yard pass from Anthony Brown with 4:32 left in the first quarter to tie the game 7-7. The TD pass to Sweeney capped off a nine-play, 38-yard drive. The Eagles got good field position on the drive after a 60-yard return by Michael Walker.

The Boilermakers scored 16 unanswered points in the second quarter. Purdue's defense held All-American running back AJ Dillon to a first half season-low 21 yards on 11 carries.

BC's defense forced and recovered a Purdue fumble to start the second half, as Brandon Sebastian forced the ball loose and Will Harris covered it up.  But the Eagles came up empty on their next drive and the Boilermakers tacked on another score with just under six minutes to play in the third quarter, making it 30-7.

Brown was intercepted on three consecutive drives - including a Purdue pick in the endzone near the end of the third after one of BC's best drives of the game to that point.

With 18 seconds to play, quarterback EJ Perry found the end zone from one-yard out, making it 30-13.  The drive was set up by rushing plays from Ben Glines (17) and Travis Levy (11), while Perry connected with CJ Lewis on a 38-yard strike to set up the score.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • AJ Dillon finished with a season-low 59 rushing yards on 19 carries.  It was the lowest single-game rushing total for the sophomore All-American since Oct. 7, 2017 when he had just 35 yards against Virginia Tech.
  • Anthony Brown was 13-for-27 for 96 yards.  The redshirt sophomore threw for one touchdown but had four interceptions on the afternoon.
  • EJ Perry entered the game late in the fourth quarter and was 2-for-2 for 48 yards.  Perry's rushing TD was the first of his career.
  • Ben Glines carried the ball three times for 27 yards.
  • CJ Lewis hauled in three passes for 65 yards - including a 38-yard connection late in the contest.
  • Tommy Sweeney caught three passes for 26 yards - including a 15-yard TD strike from Brown in the first quarter.
  • On special teams, Michael Walker was outstanding.  He registered 213 yards on three kick returns - including a 60-yard scamper in the first quarter that helped set up a touchdown drive.  The 213 kick return yardage ranks as second-most in BC single-game history.
  • As a team, Boston College registered five sacks.  Connor Strachan, Isaiah McDuffie, Tanner Karafa, and Taj-Amir Torres each tallied one sack, while Wyatt Rayand Zach Allen combined for another.
  • The Eagles had a total of nine tackles for a loss of 48 yards.
  • Strachan, Hamp Cheevers, and Will Harris led the way for BC, with six tackles apiece.
NOTABLES
  • Boston College registered 14 first downs en route to totalling 229 yards of offense.  The Eagles entered the game averaging over 577 yards of offense per game.
  • The Eagles were 3-of-12 in third down conversions, while Purdue was 8-of-17.
  • Despite the four turnovers, BC yielded just three points on the mishaps.
  • BC was flagged for seven penalties, accounting for 60 yards.
WHAT'S NEXT
  • Boston College returns home on Saturday, Sept. 29 when it hosts Temple at Alumni Stadium.  The kickoff on Parents Weekend in Chestnut Hill is set for noon and the game will air live on ESPN2 or ESPNU.  The BC IMG Sports Network will air the game on 850 WEEI AM, beginning with the pregame show at 11:30 a.m.