CHESTNUT HILL, Massachusetts — The University of Maine defense was on the field far too long on Saturday afternoon — 32 minutes, 46 seconds, to be exact.
As a result, the Black Bears could not stand up to Boston College’s relentless ground assault and the Eagles pulled away for a 24-3 victory in their mutual football season opener in front of a lackluster crowd at sun-drenched Alumni Field.
Boston College of the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Bowl Championship Subdivision again wore down a gritty but outmanned UMaine squad. The Eagles held the Bears to 91 total yards, including only 7 via the run.
BC ranked No. 11 in the nation last season in total defense and was second in rushing defense (94.5 yards per game).
“They gave us a hard time,” said UMaine head coach Jack Cosgrove.
Coach Steve Addazio’s Eagles outgained UMaine 359-91 overall as BC beat the Black Bears for the third time in four seasons.
Cosgrove, who utilized a host of players to help keep them fresh, said fatigue was not the issue as BC distanced itself in the fourth quarter.
“It was more I think just the physicality of the game,” he said, pointing to a diverse quartet of BC running backs. “We didn’t tackle as well as we had earlier in the football game … we were fighting.”
The Bears were unable to muster any semblance of an offensive attack. Not only could UMaine not run the ball, junior quarterback Dan Collins (12-for-29, 84 yards, interception) was under relentless pressure and was sacked four times.
“I think we got some opportunities to move the chains and we didn’t,” said Collins, who on Friday was named UMaine’s starter.
“We need to be more consistent and be able to put drives together,” he added.
The Bears were without sophomore tailback Nigel Beckford, who was serving a one-game suspension for an undisclosed violation of the student-athlete conduct code.
Senior Cabrinni Goncalves, UMaine’s No. 2 tackler in 2014, carried 10 times for 29 yards. He did not play on defense.
“There were some times we didn’t block anybody very well, so that doesn’t make anybody look very good,” Cosgrove said.
“(Goncalves) went in there and fought his fanny off in a new role for us and gave us everything he had,” he added.
Maine’s Micah Wright paced the receiving corps with five catches for 28 yards while Connor Strachan made six tackles to lead BC.
Tyler Rouse provided a big presence in the backfield for the Eagles, netting 81 yards on eight carries. That included a pair of fourth-quarter scoring runs that ended any threat of a UMaine upset.
Boston College piled up 204 rushing yards, while sophomore quarterback Darius Wade went 14-for-25 passing for 155 yards and a TD. The hosts ran 74 plays to 49 for the Bears and built a nine-minute edge in time of possession.
Trevor Bates, along with linebackers Randy Samuels, A.J. Dawson and Zach Hume led the UMaine defense with six tackles each, while 26 players registered at least one tackle.
The contest was still very much in doubt until the Eagles scored twice during a span of 2:09 early in the fourth quarter.
Rouse provided a spark, breaking a couple of tackles on a 21-yard touchdown run to close out an eight-play, 9-yard drive that made it 17-3 with 13:51 to play.
Five plays later, an interception by William Harris on a ball tipped by Gabriel McClary set up a 45-yard scamper around right end by Rouse, whose run put the Eagles in command at 25-3.
“The second half we gave up two big plays, basically missed tackles,” Bates said.
“We’ve just got to be more consistent in the second half and come out and play better,” he added.
The Bears opened the game with an 11-play, 54-yard drive. Sean Decloux converted a 39-yard field goal with only 3:55 gone.
The key play was a 22-yard pass from Collins to tight end Jeremy Salmon on third-and-6 from the 43-yard line.
The Eagles seized control after that. They limited the Bears to nine plays from scrimmage over the last 26:05 of the half and scored 10 unanswered points to grab a 10-3 halftime lead.
BC tied it with an 18-play, 66-yard drive that consumed almost 10 minutes. The Eagles got to the UMaine 4-yard line, but Bates’ sack of Wade and a nifty read of a screen pass by Winslow’s John McCabe forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal.
Alex Howell’s 31-yarder was good with 11:30 left in the second quarter.
The Bears stumbled on their next possession and punted on fourth-and-38 from their 17. BC moved inside the UMaine 20, Howell’s 35-yard field-goal try missed to the left, leaving the game tied with 3:03 left.
However, UMaine went three-and-out and punted and the Eagles had 2:40 with which to work.
BC surged 55 yards on 10 plays, capped by an 11-yard scoring strike from Wade to Bobby Swigert in the front left corner of the end zone.
“They turned the game around a little bit with field position and finally we gave up the score before the half,” Cosgrove said.
UMaine suffered an early loss when junior middle linebacker Chris Mulumba Tshimanga, its top tackler a year ago, left the game with a left ankle injury. X-rays were negative, but he did not return.
UMaine has plenty of time to regroup as it does not play until Sept. 19 at Tulane.