BOSTON (AP) – Will Blackmon ran across the field and turned the corner for a 41-yard touchdown in the second quarter on Saturday and No. 19 Boston College beat Army 44-7 to remain unbeaten heading into its Atlantic Coast Conference opener.
BC (2-0) hosts No. 11 Florida State next Saturday in the Eagles’ first league game since defecting from the Big East to help make the ACC a 12-team superconference. They’ll bring a Top 20 ranking into the game thanks to an easy victory over Army (0-1) that pleased coach Tom O’Brien, who went to Navy and coached there, too.
Quinton Porter was 15-for-20 for 206 yards and two touchdowns, and backup Matthew Ryan was 7-for-8 for 83 yards after coming off the bench with five minutes left in the third quarter. Brian Toal scored his first two touchdowns since being converted from linebacker, and DeJuan Tribble forced a fumble and intercepted a pass for the Eagles.
Zac Dahman was 17-for-32 for 154 yards and two interceptions, giving Army a 7-0 lead on a 6-yard pass to Jeremy Trimble on the opening drive. But after going 80 yards on that first drive, the Black Knights mustered just one field goal attempt by Joe Riley – a miss from 37 yards – and BC scored 44 unanswered points.
Blackmon injured his left shoulder in the first quarter, but it obviously didn’t affect his legs.
BC led 20-7 early in the second quarter when Tribble knocked the ball loose from Jacob Murphy, and Robert Francois recovered at the Army 41. On BC’s first play, Porter threw it to Blackmon on the right side at the Army 36, but there was nowhere for him to go.
Turning back toward the line of scrimmage, Blackmon sidestepped a handful of would-be tacklers and circled around to the left side of the field. Getting a pick from a blocker to help him turn the corner, Blackmon went the last 40 yards due North and scored easily.
Army, which has played football for 116 years, opened on the road for just the sixth time. The Black Knights are 0-6 starting away from home.
The teams traded touchdowns on their first possessions and Porter hit Tony Gonzalez for a 31-yard touchdown, finding him wide open in the middle on a fourth-and-9. L.V. Whitworth scored from 2 yards out early in the second quarter to make it 20-7.
AP-ES-09-10-05 1612EDT
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