College Football
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Boston College 35, Virginia Tech 28
When: 4:00 PM ET, Saturday, August 31, 2019
Where: Alumni Stadium, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Temperature: 79°
Head Official: Riley Johnson
Attendance: 35213

Anthony Brown threw for 275 yards and two touchdowns, AJ Dillon rushed for a score and Boston College defeated Virginia Tech 35-28 in both teams' season opener Saturday at Chestnut Hill, Mass.

Brown also ran for a touchdown as the Eagles took advantage of two Hokies fumbles in a 21-point second quarter. Dillon ran for 81 yards, and speedy freshman Zay Flowers added two catches for 91 yards and a touchdown for Boston College.

Ryan Willis had 344 passing yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions for Virginia Tech, which had five turnovers total.

The most costly Willis pick came early in the fourth quarter, when Tanner Karafa's interception halted a surging Hokies offense down seven points after a third-quarter score. Virginia Tech got the ball back on a pick five plays later but couldn't convert, and the Eagles went up 35-21 on a 1-yard David Bailey run with 7:53 left.

The Hokies got back within seven when Willis hit Kaleb Smith for an 11-yard score to cap an 18-play drive with 2:13 to go, but Virginia Tech couldn't recover the onside kick, and Boston College ran out the clock.

The Hokies had taken a 14-7 lead early in the second. Tayvion Robinson hauled in a 20-yard pass to cap a nine-play, 88-yard drive.

From there, the quarter was all Boston College, starting with a 75-yard march punctuated by Dillon's scoring run from 17 yards out with 7:58 left. After a Willis fumble, Brown found Kobay White in the end zone less than two minutes later for a 17-yard touchdown pass and a 21-14 lead.

Boston College made it 28-14 when the Hokies muffed an Eagles punt, and Brown ran for a 28-yard score two plays later with 2:08 to go before the half.

In the first quarter, the Eagles struck first when Brown hit Flowers for a 33-yard touchdown at 12:01. The Hokies knotted the score at 7 when Hezekiah Grimsley dove into the end zone on a 55-yard touchdown pass from Willis at 4:43.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Virginia Tech   Boston College
Keshawn King Player AJ Dillon
10 Attempts 23
33 Yards 81
3.3 Avg Yards 3.5
0 Touchdowns 1
0 Long 0
Receiving
Virginia Tech   Boston College
Hezekiah Grimsley Player Zay Flowers
4 Receptions 2
98 Yards 91
24.5 Avg Yards 45.5
1 Touchdowns 1
0 Long 0
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Virginia Tech 442 98 344 4 0 1 1.0 0
Boston College 436 161 275 5 0 3 2.0 1