<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0vkJcn_0vo7POTZ00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0vkJcn_0vo7POTZ00" width="1200" height="628" ><p>The <a href="https://247sports.com/college/boston-college/">Boston College Eagles</a> came away with a victory Saturday over the <a href="https://247sports.com/college/western-kentucky/">Western Kentucky Hilltoppers</a>, however it did not come easily. The Eagles went down 20-7 entering the fourth quarter and did not have much momentum on their side, and yet they were able to pull off a close win on the back of some phenomenal late defensive play, the offense improving in the second half, and coaching prowess. After the game, all four press conference attendees had one thing or another to say regarding the comeback and how they got to that point. Here is some of what they had to say in regards to the comeback win:</p><h2>Coach Bill O'Brien</h2><p>Coach O'Brien was first asked if this game was almost a perfect coaching moment, in that they won but also had the ability to teach lessons and be challenged, to which O'Brien responded, "First of all, give Western Kentucky a lot of credit. They're very difficult to prepare for, had won three in a row coming in, I really don't care what happened in the <a href="https://247sports.com/college/alabama/">Alabama</a> game. Alabama's a good football team. They're a good football team, Western Kentucky, and they gave us, obviously, everything we could handle. They got a great coaching staff, lot of respect. Look, we have to do better. You know, we can play better. We need to start faster. We've got a chance to have a good football team, but we have to show up and be ready to go right from the get-go. And I think that's something we're going to work hard on, but we're very resilient team. Give our guys a lot of credit. <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/donovan-ezeiruaku-46100546/">Donovan Ezeiruaku</a> came up with a big strip sack, and that was huge in the game. I thought <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/grayson-james-46093940/">Grayson James</a>, for the most part, he's a calm, poised guy and he did a good job. So it's a resilient win. Give our give our guys a lot of credit, but I just think we have a higher ceiling or no ceiling I mean. We did, we can play better. That's all I'm saying."</p><p>Then when asked to discuss the touchdown at the end of the first half, and how it impacted their breathing space entering halftime, he said, "Yeah. I mean, we needed something, was almost a goose egg there at halftime, which would have been thoroughly embarrassing. So it was a little less embarrassing that we were able to score a touchdown. But look, again, like I tell you, I give Western Kentucky a lot of credit. They did a really good job. We have to study this film because a lot of teams will copy kind of some of the things that they did and we have to figure it out and get better. But yeah, our guys hung in there. They're very resilient. They're a tough group of guys, they practice hard, they work very hard. They don't feel good at halftime when they come in like that. They look in the mirror and they self assess and they go out there and they try to play better in the second half. So I'm very proud of that. I'm proud of the resiliency of the group."</p><p>He then was asked about how the run game differed from the first half to the second, and why they were able to be more effective in the second half in that regard, to which he responded, "I think we got big guys up front and I think eventually they wear people down. Some teams, not every team because other teams have big guys too, but I think in this case, I thought our guys hung in there, and they kept...the two-yard gain in the first half became a six-yard gain in the second half and that's what I always say, if you have a good offensive line which we do, eventually just stick with it. Don't abandon a run at Boston College. Do not abandon a run, because eventually it'll break through and I think it did today."</p><p>The last question he was asked was about the message at halftime, and what the message was in the locker room when they were down (as well as if it was similar to last week), and he responded, "Yeah. I mean, it was similar. It was similar. Yeah, it wasn't a real happy locker room at halftime. I'm just speaking for myself here, but we have very, I have very high expectations for the team, so I look at it as definitely my fault when we don't play well in the first half and I see that crowd, especially the students. I see the students and I feel bad that, we've got to play better in the first half of these games, and I know we can and so I've got to figure it out. I've got to figure out what I can do better to get these guys playing better in the first half because I take that to heart. And so what I talked about at halftime is we don't blame each other. We're a team. It's all about the team. That's the great thing about football. You can talk about NIL, transfer portal, all this other stuff. In the end, it comes down to the team. And I think these guys are really starting to realize that and that's what you saw in the second half. We played complimentary football. We played together as a team. That's what we have to continue to try to do."</p><h2>Donovan Ezeiruaku</h2><p>The first notable quote he had regarding the comeback was when Donovan Ezeiruaku was asked if he felt this was one of his better games, and he said, "Yeah I felt like we kindof started off very slow, we didn't really pick it up until the second half and I kindof took that personally. I know the beginning of the game I started off slow personally, didn't feel like I was doing what I needed to do, so kindof just doing a little self talk, I need to be a leader for this team and I need to do that through not just words but through actions, so that was my mindset going into the second half." </p><p>The next question was whether there was something specifically with working against this offensive line that may have contributed to the slow start, Ezeiruaku said, "No I just give credit to those guys, they were prepared, they obviously did their film study as well as I did as well, so credit to those guys. They were kindof on some of my favorite moves early on which is ok, that's the name of the game, but just being able to adjust that's also the name of the game, being able to just go out there and adapt, and learn from the mistakes."</p><p>He also discussed how the team is an emotion driven team, and they feed off of energy and each other. Early on they didn't have the "energy" and "juice" they normally like to play with, and he credited the players and Coach <a href="https://247sports.com/college/brown/">Brown</a>, who is the "juice guy" at practice and in general on the defensive coaching staff. His message to the team at halftime was to not panic, there's no need to panic, and that the team is a resilient team. </p><h2>Grayson James</h2><p>Grayson James was asked about how he felt his progression went throughout the game, and specifically how things developed in the second half, and he responded with, "Yeah I mean obviously didn't start great, definitely some things to clean up, but I feel like I definitely was able to get settled in and just have the guys rally around me, and just know that they have faith and confidence in me, and as you see our defense balled out today, I mean I don't think we get the job done without them making some crucial stops. So I mean really just playing complimentary football and helping each other out was huge, but I mean yeah I haven't been able to be on the field in awhile so just being able to get back out there, get back in the groove, I feel like you can see that I was progressing as the game went on."</p><p>Then a follow up question regarding his confidence/consistency in terms of how the touchdown drive at the end of the first half helped it, and James said, "Yeah I think that really helped us get things going, just getting momentum going, the run game was really working, Kye was running well, all our backs were, our big o-line just trust in them to push things going up front, I've got all the faith in them. Momentum is a really big thing in college football and I feel like we were able to seize the moment once that started happening."</p><h2>Jerand Bradley</h2><p>Finally <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/jerand-bradley-46059409/">Jerand Bradley</a> discussed multiple points including the comeback, and when asked what the message was between players was down 20-7, he said, "Finish. That was the message, is to finish. Play hard, make plays, just do our job, every opportunity we get just make a play."</p><p>Then he was asked what he takes away from this game going forward after the challenges they faced, and he stated, "We've just got to finish, I mean it was an ugly win but we've just got to do better, both sides of the ball, just getting better at the little things, the little details, and just picking up next week."</p><p>It is clear that the players and Coach O'Brien have a clear image of how this game went and what went wrong in the first half, as they were able to adjust and overcome those difficulties with a new quarterback and against an opponent coming off three straight wins. Ultimately it seems putting trust in themselves and their teammates was a critical point of emphasis for everyone at halftime and in previous matchups, which was stressed by these four during their media availability. It is good to hear the cohesion between the players and coaches is growing even stronger over time as the season moves along. </p></div></body>

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O’Brien and players react to comeback win

The Boston College Eagles came away with a victory Saturday over the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, however it did not come easily. The Eagles went down 20-7 entering the fourth quarter and did not have much momentum on their side, and yet they were able to pull off a close win on the back of some phenomenal late defensive play, the offense improving in the second half, and coaching prowess. After the game, all four press conference attendees had one thing or another to say regarding the comeback and how they got to that point. Here is some of what they had to say in regards to the comeback win:

O’Brien and players react to comeback win

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