Everything Boston College head coach Bill O’Brien said after the loss to Nebraska

NEW YORK – The Boston College Eagles (7-6, 4-4 ACC) football team lost 20-15 to the Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-6, 3-6 B1G) in the 2024 Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

After the game, Eagles head coach Bill O’Brien spoke about what he saw in his team’s performance.

Below is a transcript of everything O’Brien said.

Q. Coach, you were able to provide a spark in this fourth quarter. I know you probably wanted it sooner, but what sparked it in that fourth quarter and got the team going?

O’BRIEN: Yeah, these guys fought hard. We have a strong football team. They never give up. This is what BC is all about. Give Nebraska a lot of credit. They controlled the game well. But in the end we had a chance there. In the end, they couldn’t stop them on the four-minute drive there. But I got the blocked punt and somehow stuck it out. Had trouble scoring in the red zone. I thought we were able to move the ball pretty well, but we had trouble running the ball, had trouble scoring in the red zone.

Like I said, give Nebraska a lot of credit.

Q: You made a great comment about resilience. It’s been a tough season for you all year. Tell me something you learned about your team that you didn’t learn before this game.

O’BRIEN: Yeah, I learned – there were a lot of people who played today who hadn’t played that much, and I really respected the effort with which they played. There were guys like Kevin Cline and Eryx Daugherty, Ryan Mickow and Dwayne Allick who had to go to center. Then of course there were guys on defense that played a lot, Ashton McShane played a lot today, Cam Martinez played a lot. I thought these guys fought, man. I have great respect for this football team. I think we have a bright future at Boston College. Today didn’t go the way we wanted, but today could have been really ugly. That really could be the case because they did a good job at Nebraska. But our boys persevered. They fought and I have only good things – I’m very proud of our performance today.

Q: You mentioned that Dwayne had to fill in for Drew. How much has this changed the offense, if at all, and what do you think of Dwayne’s performance?

O’BRIEN: Didn’t change it at all. We were in the same pieces. Overall, we struggled to get the ball moving. Nebraska’s front line is very big, very physical, and we just struggled to run the football. We threw the ball pretty well. I thought we were productive but we couldn’t score. So that’s a problem because you have to score to win. But Dwayne did a good job. Dwayne is a very tough guy. He is a BC graduate. He’s in graduate school. He is what BC is all about. He rose to the challenge, went in and played hard.

Q. Put it in your words: How did BC fall behind 20-2?

O’BRIEN: Look, we tried 4th a few times. I decided to do this. We had problems kicking the ball. That’s why I didn’t want to oppose it. We were in a zone where you either do a plus-50 punt, which we could have done, but we’re not very good at that, or you try to shoot a 50-yard field goal, which we definitely did can’t be willing to do that. I tried it on 4th down and probably put the defense in some tough positions. Look, Nebraska did a good job. We had trouble running the ball, had trouble scoring in the red zone. We moved the ball. I think at half time we had the time of possession, we had distance but not the score. It was just a combination of things. But we’ll be back. BC will be back.

Q. You mentioned a few times that you would try it. For those of us who haven’t seen you, are you traditionally this aggressive on 4th downs?

O’BRIEN: Yes. Yes.

Q. I know the game is still fresh in your mind, but thinking about it straight after the game, can you think of anything you need to improve on heading into 2025 before the start of next season?

O’BRIEN: Yes, I told the team that there are different categories of players. There are the guys who played their last game, who I have all the respect in the world for. They went through a lot in BC. They believed in what we were doing when we got here and they were great leaders. Played their last game, their heart and soul. Then there are people who are coming back next year and who we feel really comfortable with. A lot of these guys got a lot of playing time today that they hadn’t gotten all year, and I thought they hung in there. So there is a lot to build on. Then we have guys who are brand new and haven’t played in the game yet that just got here a week ago. It’s a transition time in college football. It’s not good to lose. Like we’ll never accept losing at BC, but I thought we showed today and played really hard and I was very proud of that.

Q. What is the positive thing you take away from the whole week and the experience with the team?

O’BRIEN: Yes, the bowl was great. The Pinstripe Bowl did a great job. I’ve been to a lot of bowls. Went to the Sugar Bowl, the Cotton Bowl and two Gator Bowls. I’ve been to a lot of bowls. I’ve been training for a long time. And the Pinstripe Bowl is without a doubt one of the best bowls. Just the people we worked with, everyone from Mark Holtzman on up, did a really good job of organizing some events for us but also understanding that we were preparing for a game. I thought everyone was treated well. The hotel was great. Columbia University was great in letting us intern there and we thank them. It was a really good experience for our entire program.

Q: Ended up getting called for that late hit against Raiola. What did you see? Apparently it seemed like you weren’t particularly comfortable with this call.

O’BRIEN: No, I didn’t. I don’t really want to comment on the office if that’s a good answer for you.

Q. I’m just wondering if you were obviously around Tom Brady. You’ve obviously competed against a lot of good quarterbacks as well. What did you notice when you saw Dylan Raiola live for the first time?

O’BRIEN: Yes, I’ve known Dylan for a long time. Dylan came to the Alabama camp when I was coaching there. I have great respect for Dylan. He plays the game very calmly. The game is pretty easy for him. He has been involved in football his whole life. His father was a great player. He manages the game well. He has a great future in football. Watching him on film, preparing for the game and seeing a lot of great things from him. I spoke to him right at the end. Have a lot of respect for Dillon. He did a really good job today. Give him lots of credit.

Q. The blocked extra point and the blocked punt, what did they do for you?

O’BRIEN: Yes, it was good. The blocked extra point put us on the list because it was a fight. Gave us two points, which for a while looked like that was all it was going to be. And then the blocked punt was huge. Matt Thurin did a good job, Nick McGriff. And they asked me: Do you want to pursue this? I said, “Hell yeah, I want to try.”

So we went looking and got it. And that was a great job by these guys. We had been practicing this all week. And kind of got us back in the game, but just couldn’t hold them on that four-minute drive.

But just too little, too late. But our guys played hard, like I said.

Q: Of course, it’s not the end of your first season at Boston College like you wanted, but your first season is officially confirmed. How was this year overall for you?

O’BRIEN: Yes, like I said, we were hired in February. We tried to get in there and meet all the guys in person. We tried to hire staff as quickly as possible.

I thought we did a lot of good. Not enough. We can do much more. We can do much better. There are many things we can improve, both on and off the field, and we will work hard to achieve this. But look, it’s not great to come out as a loser in the last game of the season, but I believe the future is bright. I really enjoy the job and I think there are a lot of good players in the locker room who are coming back for 2025. That’s why I’m looking forward to taking a few weeks off. We will be back to start school on January 13th and we will start in 2025.

Q. The guys who played their last game as a coach in the program’s first year, how did they help you adjust as you came in late and then all summer through the season knowing they were going to graduate and perhaps we won’t reap the benefits of 2025 and beyond, but what did they mean in building that foundation?

O’BRIEN: Yes, there is no doubt that they laid the foundation, the foundation of discipline and toughness. Most players just want to be trained. They want to be guided. These guys were very coachable, whether it was winter training, new way of doing things in the weight room, spring training, definitely new way of doing things, or training camp. Our summer training was very good. The training camp was good. A lot of it was thanks to these guys, the captains did a great job. We faced some adversity throughout the year and the captains were always steadfast, good leaders, tough guys. Joe Marinaro, Donovan Ezeiruaku, Ozzy Trapilo, Drew Kendall, Kam Arnold, they just did a really good job. I can’t say enough about the guys who played their last game. I have great respect for them.

Q: Both today and leading up to this game, you have described this game as a preview of the 2025 season. What do you think of what you saw today?

O’BRIEN: Yes, there is a lot to improve. We lost. There are a lot of things to build on. I was really happy with the way some of these guys played. If you look at the offense, like I mentioned, you see the offensive linemen that have been playing, but then it’s obvious that Jordan McDonald will be back, and Turbo Richard will be back, and Lewis Bond will be back, and Reed Harris will be back and Jeremiah Franklin will be back. You go on defense and you look at a lot of those guys, Bam Crouch, I thought he had a really good game, Bryce Steele, the DBs, the three safeties, KP Price, Carter Davis, Omar Thornton, Ashton McShane, Max Tucker. There’s a lot of guys coming back and we’re supplementing those guys with some of the new guys that will be here, whether it’s the freshman class or some guys from the portal. And then the D-line, a lot of those guys are coming back. Q Hutchins, Owen Stoudmire, George Rooks, Sed McConnell. Kwan Williams got hurt there at the end, but he’s a very tough, tough player. I’m really happy about the boys coming back. I look forward to working with them.