'This is our city': Castellanos marches BC football to stunning win over SMU at Fenway Park

BOSTON – It's a hot topic in the college football world around this time of year: do bowl games still have value?

When Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley hoisted the trophy after his team's 23-14 win over No. 17 SMU in the second annual Wasabi Fenway Bowl at Fenway Park on Thursday, he declared, "This is our city."

Say what you want. This bowl game meant something to these Eagles (7-6).

“I don’t think you could ever call a game meaningless. These guys worked way too hard and sacrificed way too (much). So much of their lives. They weren’t home with their families on Christmas," Hafley said. "I think it’s very disrespectful to think, or even say, bowl games are meaningless. Every time you have a chance to go step on the field and play, you’re lucky to do that. You better respect the game and feel honored. These guys showed that today.”

The win seals BC's first winning season since it went 6-5 in 2020.

“We just got that feeling: Go and send (the seniors) off right," said sophomore quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who received the game's offensive MVP award. "For the guys who aren’t going to play football ever again, just to see them smile and see them be excited, that’s what it means to me.”

Castellanos rushed 21 times for a career-high 155 yards and two touchdowns, and completed 11 of his 18 passes for 102 yards despite rainy conditions and a soggy grass field.

The sophomore's first touchdown run (from 15 yards out) put BC ahead, 17-14, with 12:22 left in the fourth quarter. His second (from 14 yards out) came just less than three minutes later to give the Eagles a two-possession cushion.

“That’s what he’s done all year," Hafley said. "We joked last night – I ate dinner with the quarterbacks last night and I said, ‘Man, it looks like it’s going to rain.’ And Thomas goes, ‘I hope not. That means I’m going to carry the ball 35 times.’ I go, ‘Look, buddy. If it’s sunny or rainy tomorrow, you’re going to carry the ball 30-plus times.”

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Castellanos (1,113 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground this season) and junior running back Kye Robichaux (13 carries, 89 yards, 1 TD on Thursday) spearheaded the Eagles' run-heavy gameplan. Castellanos compiled 90 rushing yards and six passing yards at the half as SMU led 14-10.

“The conditions in the first half made it hard to throw and catch, but I thought (in) the second half, the ability to throw and catch was there," Hafley said. "I told these guys this morning – it’s going to rain, it’s going to be wet, it’s going to be cold. It’s not going to feel good, so embrace it. This is a game you play as a little kid; you roll around in the mud because you didn’t have turf at the time. Have fun with it.”

The BC defense held SMU (11-3) scoreless in the second half. The Mustangs won nine straight coming into Thursday's game, and 14 points is the team's fewest output since its 28-11 loss at Oklahoma on Sept. 9.

The Eagles outgained SMU, 364 yards of total offense to 309, despite the Mustangs running 20 more offensive plays (79-59).

“The defense, we played our butts off," said senior linebacker Kam Arnold, who won the game's defensive MVP award. "We didn’t stop fighting to the end.  They made some plays, but we know how to fight through adversity. We didn’t stop.”

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Thursday's matchup decided whether BC finished above or below the .500 mark for the season. The team lost three in a row to Virginia Tech (48-22), Pittsburgh (24-16) and Miami (45-20) entering play, and now cap the campaign with a thrilling upset win staged on its hometown's historic (foot)ballpark.

“I wanted the feeling at Georgia Tech (a 38-23 win on Oct. 21). I wanted the feeling in the locker room at Syracuse (a 17-10 win on Nov. 3). I’m tired of losing," said Hafley. "I think (the team is) tired of losing. I’m tired of living with that feeling for three weeks. It just eats at you if you’re a real competitor. It doesn’t go away. You wake up in the middle of the night, you’re still pissed off. Now, we don’t have that. I’ve never been around a locker room happier.”

“To end the season like that with a bowl win over a ranked team really when no one gave us a chance, let’s just be honest, it was special," Hafley added. "It’ll build momentum for the guys who will be back and the right way to send off a few seniors we had. It was a special moment for us.”