Boston College 29, Maryland 26: Freese Kick Seals Eagles Comeback

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Andre Williams became the first Boston College Eagle ever to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season as on Saturday afternoon in College Park, the Eagles came back from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat the Maryland Terrapins, 29-26.

With the win, Boston College has their first winning season since 2010 as they move to 7-4 (4-3) and are all but assured a bowl invitation.

The Eagles played a gaffe-filled contest, from bad snaps becoming fumbles to muffed punts to botched extra points giving points to Maryland, but the team found a way to persevere. Chase Rettig also had one completion in the first half with a net of zero passing yards — in fact, Williams had 107 first-half yards, but the Eagles had a net of 89 with no third-down conversions.

With 10:52 remaining in the game, Maryland took a 24-13 lead on a touchdown run by CJ Brown, which followed one of those Eagles turnovers. 19 seconds later, Andre Williams ran 72 yards for a touchdown to make it a 24-20 game; the Eagles had gone for two and converted, but it was called back on offensive pass interference.

When Boston College got the ball back, Chase Rettig threw a deep bomb to a wide-open Alex Amidon for a 74-yard touchdown to give the Eagles a 26-24 lead. That, too, came with difficulties for the Eagles, as Freese’s extra-point attempt was blocked and returned 110 yards for a Maryland two-point conversion, tying the game at 26-26.

The Eagles would stop Maryland and get the ball back; though it appeared that they were playing for overtime, Randy Edsall took a timeout prior to third down. Andre Williams then broke a 36-yard run to put the Eagles right outside of field goal range with under a minute to play. Nate Freese was set up for a 52-yard field goal attempt; he missed the first try, which was negated on a Maryland timeout. Freese connected on the second try to give Boston College the win as time expired.

Andre Williams ran for 263 yards during the game, moving his season total to 2,073 for the season with at least one and most likely two games to go. Williams becomes the first FBS running back since 2008 to accomplish the feat and is giving a credibility boost to his candidacy for the Heisman Trophy. He was again a bright spot for the Eagles, who struggled for long stretches on offense and looked defeated early in the fourth quarter.

Give Boston College all the credit in the world for not giving up, even though they made a number of catastrophic mistakes. With 11 minutes to go, the Eagles losing the game looked like a strong possibility. The defense played a good game and kept the team in it until such time as the offense could come alive and finally push Maryland. Boston College stole a win, which fans in Chestnut Hill will surely appreciate.

The Eagles will play their regular-season finale next weekend at Syracuse.