Hurricanes’ freefall continues with sloppy road loss to Eagles

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – The stakes, they knew, were extraordinarily high.

After a disappointing performance and an upset loss at Virginia two weeks ago, the Hurricanes needed a win at Boston College to try to stay somewhat in control of their own destiny in the unsettled Coastal Division.

Unfortunately for Miami, Boston College was in a similar situation in the ACC’s Atlantic Division, and it was the Eagles who played with the kind of urgency one might expect from a team in a precarious position.

For the second consecutive game, the Hurricanes were undone by mistakes, sloppy play and an overall lackluster effort. The Eagles — who jumped to 10-point lead in the first half — never trailed in a 27-14 win over a struggling Miami team that has now lost six of its past eight games against Power 5 opponents.

And the Hurricanes’ woes away from South Florida were magnified again. It’s now been nearly a year since Miami beat a Power 5 team on the road, that win coming Oct. 28, 2017 at North Carolina.

It has been, for a team that was at one point last season ranked as high as No. 2 in the College Football Playoff rankings, a mystifying decline.

Since a 44-28 win over Virginia last November, the Hurricanes have lost to Pittsburgh, Clemson, Wisconsin, LSU, Virginia two weeks ago and now Boston College.

And in those games, the Hurricanes (5-3, 2-2) have struggled mightily on offense, with coach Mark Richt alternating between quarterback Malik Rosier and N’Kosi Perry, and neither has been successful consistently.

Miami’s offensive line has also struggled in those losses and against Boston College, both of those issues reappeared. Rosier — who regained his status as starter after Perry struggled at Virginia — started the game 8-of-9 and finishing 18-of-35 for 149 yards with two interceptions.

But making things worse on this night was the fact that Miami’s defense — which has been a bright spot for the Hurricanes — struggled, too.

That unit, which came into the game as the top defense in the ACC and the No. 2 defense in the nation, was gashed on Boston College’s very first offensive possession and the problems only continued in the first half.

Boston College running back AJ Dillon — the preseason ACC Player of the Year — returned to the Eagles’ lineup after missing two games with an ankle injury and on his first touch, powered through the Hurricanes defense for a 25-yard gain. That play began a methodical 10-play, 88-yard drive that was capped when Boston College quarterback Anthony Brown connected on a 9-yard scoring pass to Jeff Smith.

Dillon finished with 149 yards on 32 carries.

The Hurricanes tied it on their ensuing possession when Darrell Langham caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Malik Rosier.

After that, though, the Eagles (6-2, 3-1) continued moving the ball nearly at will against the Hurricanes.

By halftime, the Hurricanes trailed 17-7 and had allowed 294 yards. They allowed fewer to FIU, Florida State and Virginia through four quarters.