CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — As Tom O’Brien walked off the field that once was his home after a 37-17 loss to Boston College on Saturday, he put his two arms up for the crowd that was booing him.
It was something of a surrender that said he may not have won this time, but he expects to come back with different results in the future.
That won’t do much for N.C. State now, though, after a turnover-marred defeat at the hands of the Eagles.
“Anytime you turn the ball over seven times, you don’t give yourself a chance to win,” O’Brien said. “And we certainly didn’t give ourselves a chance to win.”
Quarterback Harrison Beck, a redshirt sophomore, made his first career start, going 26-for-50 passing for 321 yards, five interceptions and no touchdowns. He also rushed for a touchdown and lost a fumble.
At times, especially in the first quarter, Beck hit receivers in the open field for big plays. He even hit senior wide receiver Darrell Blackman six times for 128 yards in the first quarter.
But it was his turnovers that loomed larger — six of them. He started early, getting picked off on his fourth attempt, which led to BC’s first touchdown.
“I’ve just got to stay within the structure of the offense and [what] coach Bible wants me to do,” Beck said. “When I do that and we do that as an offense, we do what we want. We move the football up and down the field.”
Blackman said the team always tries to have a short memory about turnovers and mistakes, but that it was difficult to take that approach Saturday.
“It’s very hard, but you’ve got to roll with the punches and keep going,” Blackman said. “And if it happens, just have a short memory and just hope and pray that the defense goes out there and gets the ball back for us so we can go out there and try to make a better play.”
It was also one of Beck’s five picks that gave the Eagles the lead for good. After Beck led the team to a 10-7 lead, he threw the ball right to BC’s Jolonn Dunbar, who ran the ball 14 yards for a touchdown and a 14-10 lead his team never relinquished.
A couple of Beck’s interceptions came as he threw the ball while being sacked.
“He has a very strong arm,” O’Brien said. “He’s got a lot of faith in his arm, and he thinks he can throw the ball through a wall. And that was part of the thing in pre-season that we saw.
The second half of the game last week he didn’t do that. But sometimes the thought was to keep him in there to see if he could work himself out of it, but he has to learn to play in the offense, to take what the defense gives him. He certainly has to take better care of the football if we’re going to be any good.”
Despite the turnovers from Beck, he stayed in the game until the game’s final minutes, when redshirt junior quarterback Daniel Evans came in and hit senior receiver John Dunlap for a touchdown with less than two minutes left.
Just as a week ago, when Evans struggled, O’Brien said he would have to look at film before making any decisions about the team’s starter for its game this upcoming Saturday against Wofford.
“I think we better look at the tape and talk about things,” O’Brien said.
Even with the struggles, Blackman said the team hasn’t forgotten how to win.
“It’s hard not winning, but all we [have] to do is keep grinding and keep grinding. And it’ll happen,” Blackman said. “As long as we keep our heads up and keep practicing and stay focused, it’ll happen.”
N.C. State v. Boston College — By the Numbers
5 — Interceptions thrown by redshirt sophomore quarterback Harrison Beck7 — Total turnovers by N.C. State in the 37-17 loss to BC9 — Consecutive losses by the Wolfpack dating back to last season56 — Rushing yards for the game by the Pack’s stagnant ground game321 — Passing yards for Beck in his first career start
Source: NCSU Athletics
