Stinging setback for Eagles

BC surrenders lead to Georgia Tech

Anthony Castonzo signed autographs outside of the Boston College locker room, but instead of congratulations and words of praise, there were pats on the shoulder and words of encouragement about doing better next time.

"We thought we had them," said the Boston College left offensive tackle. "And then we didn't."

No, they didn't, as Georgia Tech scored 9 fourth-quarter points in a two-minute burst to pin a 19-16 loss on the Eagles yesterday in their Atlantic Coast Conference opener yesterday afternoon.

The Yellow Jackets (2-0) stunned the Alumni Stadium crowd of 40,106 by wiping out a 16-10 BC lead with a two-minute highlight film that included sacking Eagles quarterback Chris Crane in the end zone for a safety to make it 16-12. Georgia Tech then immediately got the ball and scored on a 43-yard run by running back Jonathan Dwyer to make it 19-16, and force the Eagles into comeback mode for the first time this season - and for the first time under the direction of Crane, a fifth-year senior.

And on a humid, late-summer afternoon, Crane and the Eagles' offense had neither the magic nor moxie to recover.

"I don't know if there is any one key to the game," said BC coach Jeff Jagodzinski. "I just don't think that we made enough plays, and Georgia Tech made the plays they had to make. We did not make enough of them, obviously."

The Eagles started slowly, getting three Steve Aponavicius field goals for a 9-7 halftime lead.

When Georgia Tech responded with a third-quarter field goal to make it 10-9, the Eagles quickly answered on Crane's first TD pass of the season, capping a 10-play, 69-yard drive with a 7-yard toss to Ifeanyi Momah, who used his 6-foot-6-inch frame to win a jump ball against 6-0 cornerback Jahi Word-Daniels.

But that jump ball was the last thing BC would win in this one, being sent into their off week with plenty of uncertainty.

"We've got to go back and keep working on our fundamentals and learn from this setback," said Jagodzinski, who had hoped to see a quantum leap forward from the opener (a 21-0 win over Kent State) and game two.

The frustration of the 6-5 Crane was evident. After waiting patiently for his chance behind Matt Ryan, Crane yesterday completed 18 of 35 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown, but was intercepted twice, lost one fumble, and was sacked in the end zone when he waited too long for his receivers to get open. There were also passes that landed in empty areas of the field following miscommunications with his receivers, and flat-out misses of those who were open.

"We did everything we wanted to do on the field," said Crane. "But when we got to the red zone, it seemed like things stalled out."

Still, the Eagles managed to get on the scoreboard with three field goals from Aponavicius, who missed a fourth wide right as the first half ended.

In the second half, other than the touchdown drive, there were few signs of anything positive offensively. The turning point came when Georgia Tech defensive tackle Vance Walker grabbed Crane in the end zone for the safety. "I never had a safety," said Walker. "It's a good feeling."

The Eagles had a bad feeling after Georgia Tech quarterback Josh Nesbitt, working coach Paul Johnson's triple-option offense to perfection, scampered right and then pitched the ball to Dwyer, who used sprinter's speed to motor into the end zone for the eventual winning score.

"It's tough because I said before the game that if one person makes a mistake on their assignment there's no backup for them, and that's what happened on that run play," said BC linebacker Mark Herzlich.

The Eagles were in tough situations many times last season, and more often than not Ryan found a way to make something positive.

Yesterday, Crane had his first chance in such a predicament. He brought the Eagles as far as the Georgia Tech 34, but on fourth and 6, a pass intended for wide receiver Brandon Robinson bounced to the Alumni Stadium turf.

There was still enough time (4:08) for the defense to get the ball back for the Eagles, but this time it didn't happen. And the Eagles walked out of the locker room shaking their heads in dismay, rather than with a sense of satisfaction.

Mark Blaudschun can be reached at blaudschun@globe.com.