Boston College seeks a more balanced offense, and other keys to its late-night football showdown at Stanford

In Bill O’Brien’s first year at Boston College, the Eagles finished with the second-most rushing attempts and fewest passing attempts in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Through two games in 2025, BC is 12th in rushes and 16th in yards per rush, compared with second in passes and first in completions and completion percentage.

The benefits of a pass-heavy attack are obvious, as the Eagles are leaning on a steady diet of Dylan Lonergan darts and moving the ball with fluidity. The next step is finding the sweet spot, where the run game complements the passing game and makes BC multidimensional and even more potent.

“We strive for balance, but we also do what we believe it takes to win the game,” O’Brien said. “In the last game, we had to throw the football to move the ball, but the running game has to improve. We go into every game wanting to be 50/50.”

The Eagles (1-1) will have an opportunity to find consistency in that area when they face Stanford on Saturday at 10:30 p.m. Eastern. Yes, it’s an ACC matchup 3,122 miles across the country that will likely end at close to 2 a.m. back home.

O’Brien isn’t sure of the last time he stayed up that late, but he acknowledged it’s been a long time.

BC’s players embrace the challenge and are eager to start conference play convincingly against the Cardinal (0-2).

Here are three keys to victory for Boston College:

⋅ Lonergan to Lewis. While it’s important to not become one-dimensional, that doesn’t mean the Eagles should veer away from what’s working.

Lonergan is the second ACC quarterback this century to post eight-plus touchdown passes and no interceptions in the first two games of a season. O’Brien is largely pleased with what he’s seeing, but he made sure to put the scorching start into perspective.

“It’s only two games,” O’Brien said. “We’re not sending him quite yet to the BC Varsity Club Hall of Fame. We’re not sending him to Canton just yet. But he’s off to a good start. We’re thrilled that we have him.”

Twenty-two of Lonergan’s 60 completions have gone to star receiver Lewis Bond, who leads the nation in receptions.

Bond is a master route runner who has a knack for creating separation in tight windows. He has 147 career catches, putting him on track to eclipse Zay Flowers’s school record of 200.

“Give a lot of credit to Lewis Bond,” O’Brien said. “He’s one of the best players to ever play at Boston College, no doubt about it.”

⋅ Goin’ to Owen. Senior captain Owen McGowan, a Canton native and Catholic Memorial product, has excelled in an increased role.

O’Brien credited McGowan for keeping the Eagles in last Saturday’s double-overtime loss to Michigan State. His sack of Aidan Chiles gave BC a chance, and he added eight tackles.

“If you’re not physical, you’re not going to make them,” McGowan said. “You have to have the mind-set that you’re not going to miss tackles.”

The Eagles are well aware that they missed some tackles they should have made against Chiles and Co.

BC’s top three tacklers this season are defensive backs, which is a double-edged sword that illuminates a strength and a weakness.

“We do have to tackle better,” linebacker Daveon Crouch said. “So we obviously incorporated that a lot into our practice this week.”

Stanford quarterback Ben Gulbranson has completed just 51.6 percent of his passes and thrown three interceptions, but the Eagles know that doesn’t mean they can sleep on him or a potential replacement.

Putting pressure on the quarterback, and creating chaos defensively, could go a long way in ensuring BC takes care of business.

⋅ Put it in the past. The Eagles started last season 4-1, before dropping three straight in an uninspiring stretch against Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Louisville.

The loss to the Spartans was just one game, but BC needs to ensure it doesn’t spiral into more. Right tackle Kevin Cline said the Eagles are focusing on converting the feeling of losing into fuel and expelling the emotion they have through each rep.

“Win or lose, it’s coming,” Cline said. “Next week is coming. You’ve got no time to sulk in it or glorify yourself in it. You’ve got to keep moving, keep your head down, keep being persistent.”

BC enters as a 13½-point favorite, which is rare for the program on the road in conference play. O’Brien said he believes the Eagles “can be a good football team,” but they have to “go do it.”

It’s up to BC’s players to rise to the occasion and not let a winnable game slip away.

“Not a lot of us have been out West, so it will be a fun trip,” said wide receiver Luke McLaughlin. “I think we’re all excited to get the ACC games going.”

Trevor Hass is a sports producer for Boston.com, where he writes and edits stories about Boston’s professional teams, among other tasks.