Grosel comes on to help BC complete 45-28 win over UMass
Sep 11, 2021, 4:15 AM | Updated: 4:58 pm
AMHERST, Mass. (AP) — Dennis Grosel replaced injured starter Phil Jurkovec in the first half and passed for 199 yards, ran for a touchdown and passed for another and Boston College beat UMass 45-28 on Saturday.
Pat Garwo ran for 160 yards on 15 carries for the Eagles (2-0), who won their 11th straight against UMass.
Travis Levy ran 20 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter and returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown in the fourth. Jaiden Woodbey scooped up a fumble on a punt return, taking it 41 yards for a touchdown that put the Eagles up 34-14 with 3:04 left in the third quarter.
Grosel completed 11 of 14 passes after taking over for Jurkovec who was taken to the locker room late in the first quarter with an undisclosed injury. Although BC officials said he was “questionable” at halftime, he didn’t return.
Jurkovec completed 3 of 4 passes for 22 yards. A redshirt junior who transferred from Notre Dame before last season, was the ACC co-quarterback of the week after throwing for 303 yards and three touchdowns in a little more than three quarters in a 51-0 victory over FCS Colgate in the season opener.
Brady Olson completed 14 of 29 passes for 214 yards and three touchdowns for the Minutemen (0-2). He also threw a pair of interceptions as BC took advantage of three turnovers by UMass; none bigger than Eric Collins’ costly fumble on a punt return late in the third quarter.
Collins got as far as his own 41 before getting hit hard by Vinny DePalma, causing the ball to pop out and right to Levy, who took it all the way to the end zone.
THE TAKEAWAY
Boston College: The outlook is going to depend somewhat on the medical report Sunday.
The Eagles were in control throughout the game despite the injury to Jurkovec, and could still be OK next weekend against Temple, but the competition picks up from there with a visit from Missouri followed by a trip to Clemson.
Defensively, the Eagles let the Minutemen back in a game they led 34-14 after Woobey’s touchdown with 3:04 left in the third quarter. It took Levy’s 96-yard kickoff return after UMass had pulled within 38-28 to seal it.
UMass: For a team that scored just 12 points in four games last year in a pandemic-shortened season and was shut out in the opener by Pittsburgh 51-0, there were a lot of positives Saturday. The Minutemen rallied after falling behind by three touchdowns and made it close, at least for a little while.
UP NEXT
Boston College: Travels to Temple on Saturday
UMass: Hosts Eastern Michigan on Saturday.
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