CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — Boston College sophomore running back Montel Harris’ longest run Saturday was 8 yards.

But in workhorse fashion, Harris still had a productive game, gaining 136 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries. He was instrumental for the Eagles, particularly in the second half, in beating CMU 31-10 at Alumni Stadium.

“He was very good at letting the play develop and seeing where the holes of the defense occurred, and then hitting it,” said junior linebacker Matt Berning. “It put us, as linebackers, in a bind a lot of times, having to read a lot.”

Freshman quarterback Dave Shinskie had only 21 passing yards after the first quarter. At halftime, he was shy of 100, and Boston College was ahead 7-3.

But when Harris got going — he gained 66 rushing yards in the third quarter — the play-action passing game became effective. Shinskie finished with 262 passing yards.

“When you’re able to run the football, it opens up so many other avenues with your play action and your dropback game,” said coach Butch Jones.

Junior linebacker Nick Bellore said BC’s ablility to establish the line of scrimmage enabled it to control the game.

“We really didn’t help ourselves by not being able to stop the run,” he said. “They were just able to boot on us, and you bite up on those play action plays by them.”

At the end of the third quarter, BC morphed a four-point halftime lead into a 24-3 advantage.

One-dimensional

Once the Eagles began to move the ball offensively, it forced CMU to pass the ball.

“We became one-dimensional,” Jones said. “And anytime you do that, you’re going to struggle against a talented football team like them.”

CMU’s passing game was hindered by windy conditions — similar to last week at Bowling Green — and some self-induced miscues.

Senior wide receiver Bryan Anderson had a drop in the end zone, among many drops by CMU receivers.

“We had some critical drops,” Jones said. “A dropped ball in our offense is like a turnover. It kind of stalls your momentum.”

Dual-threat

Despite catching only two passes out of the backfield, Harris burned CMU in the passing game as well.

On a second-and-nine at the 50-yard line in the third quarter, the Chippewas, down 14-3, brought a heavy blitz with Berning and Bellore pursuing the quarterback.

Harris snuck out of the backfield, settled into the vacated zone and turned a short pass into a 36-yard gain. He capped the drive with one of his two rushing touchdowns.

Whether rushing the ball or catching passes out of the backfield, Bellore said Harris was elusive.
“He was very patient,” he said. “He’d hit the holes, and he can make you miss.”

E-mail the author: Andrew Stover