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Commodores put a stop to Eagles' bowl winning streak

NASHVILLE - So, this is the way it ended for Boston College. Not with a bang, nor a whimper, but with a pair of uncharacteristic defensive penalties, with a punt that bounced off safety Paul Anderson and ended up as a Vanderbilt touchdown, and with a Dominique Davis pass for a game-ending interception.

Throw the mix into the pot and you have a 16-14 Vanderbilt victory in yesterday's Music City Bowl, which produced two distinctly different reactions.

For Jeff Jagodzinski's Eagles, it was the end of an eight-game bowl winning streak, which had been tops in the nation, and left a bitter taste despite a respectable nine-win season.

For Vanderbilt, playing before a partisan crowd on a 39-degree afternoon at LP Field, it was the Commodores' first winning season (7-6) since 1982 and their first bowl victory since the 1955 Gator Bowl.

All of this unfolded in a bizarre sequence of events that turned the momentum against the Eagles (9-5) and their small group of fans among the crowd of 54,250, when Vanderbilt's Bryant Hahnfeldt booted a 45-yard field goal (his third of the game) with 3:12 remaining to give the Commodores a 16-14 lead. The Eagles lost despite holding the Commodores to no offensive touchdowns, 200 total yards, and 1 of 15 third-down conversions.

"When you turn the ball over, you have a hard time," said Jagodzinski. "They had a total of 200 yards and they end up getting more points than we did. You have to find a way to get one more point, and that's what counts."

Vanderbilt came out throwing the ball, led by freshman Larry Smith, a surprise starter over senior Chris Nickson in what turned into a game of rotating quarterbacks for coach Bobby Johnson.

Smith, who completed 10 of 17 passes overall for 121 yards, proved Johnson's hunch correct when he triggered quick drives to field goals that produced a 6-0 lead.

For most of the first half, BC's offense looked as anemic as it had often this season, with neither direction nor production. "A little bit of rust," said tight end Ryan Purvis. "It took us a while to get going."

Finally, midway through the second quarter, the Eagles started to look like a team reading the same playbook. Despite playing without wide receiver Rich Gunnell (shoulder) and center Matt Tennant (elbow), the Eagles put together a textbook 17-play, 63-yard drive that consumed 6:51 and ended with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Davis to freshman running back Montel Harris, giving BC a 7-6 halftime lead.

Despite its slim advantage, BC felt confident it could continue a bowl winning streak that had begun on Christmas Day 2000.

The Eagles had appeared to stop Vanderbilt's first offensive possession of the third quarter before a Brett Upson punt nicked Anderson, who was on the coverage team since Gunnell had been injured in the first half. The free ball rolled to toward the goal line, and Vanderbilt's Sean Richardson recovered it in the end zone for a a 13-6 lead.

Offense was lacking on both sides from that point until midway through the fourth quarter when Davis, making only his third career start, found his rhythm with two unlikely targets. On third and 6 from the Eagles' 15, Davis connected with Justin Jarvis for a 30-yard completion. Two plays later, Davis saw freshman Colin Larmond Jr. streaking down the right sideline and completed a 55-yard TD pass.

And just like that it was 14-13 Eagles, with the clock ticking in their favor. All the Eagles had to do was rely on a defense that had carried the load for most of the season in propelling them to their second straight Atlantic Coast Conference title game.

Not this time, although you could make an argument that it was out of the defensive unit's hands.

On the next series, BC defensive end Jim Ramella hooked Smith's facemask and was tagged with a 15-yard penalty. Three plays later, with the Commdores needing 2 yards for a first down, BC linebacker Mark Herzlich hit Mackenzi Adams (the third quarterback used by Vanderbilt) and was called for roughing the passer.

"I don't know what they saw on that one," said Jagodzinski. "[Herzlich] was trying to make a play."

The play Vanderbilt made soon thereafter was Hahnfeldt's third field goal.

"We love being on the field at crunch time," said Herzlich. "We wanted to be out there because we had momentum. We ended up stopping them on third down and made them kick a field goal. That's how it went."

And when Davis tried to create magic for the second time in the fourth quarter, his pass to Larmond was picked off by cornerback Myron Lewis.

"He made a good play," said Davis, who completed 15 of 36 passes for 190 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. "He just made a good play."

And with that, Vanderbilt's streak of losing seasons was over. And so was BC's bowl winning streak.

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