Boston College spoiled SMU’s coming out party in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Eagles quarterback Thomas Castellanos rushed for 156 yards on 21 carries with two touchdowns to lead BC to a 23-14 upset over No. 17 SMU in the second annual Wasabi Fenway Bowl on a soggy Thursday afternoon at Fenway Park.

The sophomore from Waycross, Ga., also completed 11 passes for 102 yards to secure offensive MVP honors. BC linebacker Kam Arnold had six tackles, two TFL’s and the game’s only sack to earn defensive MVP honors. Both players were presented with silver baseball bats for their efforts.

BC improved to 7-6 with it first bowl win since 2016 while SMU fell to 11-3. SMU entered the game averaging 40.62 points and 466.6 yards per game, but the BC defense held them to 309 yards of total offense and 22 rushing yards.

“To end the season like that with a bowl win over a ranked team like that when really nobody gave us a chance, let’s just be honest it is special,” said BC coach Jeff Hafley. “It will build momentum for guys that will be back and the right way to send off some seniors.”

SMU captured the American Athletic Conference title in its final season in the league and had an opportunity to win 12 games for the first time in program history.

SMU, along with California and Stanford, will become full members of the ACC next season and the Mustangs will host BC in Week 9 at Gerald J. Ford Field in Dallas.

“We didn’t make ourselves hard to beat, something we’ve done a lot this year and we didn’t make plays to win the game and that is a bad combination,” said SMU coach Rhett Lashlee. “The accomplishments of this team are not diminished. They won a championship but Boston College played better than us and they deserved to win.”

SMU scored the first touchdown of the game on a masterful 78-yard, 15-play drive fueled by quarterback Kevin Jennings, who completed 24 passes for 191 yards in his second start of the season. The Mustangs converted on third down twice and once on fourth and four to extend the drive. Tailback LJ Johnson punched it in from the one to make it 7-3 with 9:14 to play in the second.

BC countered with a 10-play, 77-yard drive to make it 10-7 with 3:08 to play. Castellanos ran the ball five times for 49 yards and tailback Kye Robichaux scored from the six for his eighth of the season. SMU went ahead 14-10 when Jennings hit tailback Jaylan Knighton for a six-yard score with eight seconds to play in the half.

BC scored the first touchdown of the second half at 12:22 of the fourth. Castellanos capped an eight-play, 72-yard drive with a 15-yard rush. Castellanos recorded his 12th rushing touchdown of the season, breaking the school record he shared with QB Tyler Murphy, who ran for 11 in 2014.

The Eagles defense made a huge stop when SMU gambled on fourth and three from its own 42. BC strong safety John Pupel broke up Jennings’ pass attempt to Micah Hilts with 11:07 to play. BC went up 23-14 on a 14-yard run by Castellanos with 9:48 to play.

The Turnover

Jennings had the Mustangs on the move in SMU’s opening drive with his effective implementation of the run pass option. On a second and 12 from the BC 38, Jennings was popped behind the line of scrimmage by linebacker Sione Hala and the ball came out. Defensive end Neto Okpala fell on the loose ball. BC converted the miscue into a 3-0 lead when Lytton beat the wind, rain, and the SMU rush on a 45-yard field goal with 6:21 to play in the first.

No Doubting Thomas

Castellanos established his place among elite dual threat quarterbacks in ACC history on his seventh rush of the match. Castellanos entered the game with 957 rushing yards and reached 1,000 on the season with a one-yard run in the second quarter.

The transfer from Central Florida became the sixth ACC quarterback since 1996 to have 1,000 rushing yards and 2,000 passing yards in a season. Louisville’s Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson accomplished the feat in 2016 and 2017 and his successor, Malik Cunningham, did in 2021. Clemson had the other two, Deshaun Watson in 2015 and Woody Dantzler in 2001.

Over Priced

BC freshman defensive back KP Price made the special teams play of the game with 1:21 remaining in the third. SMU drove the ball 60 yards on 13 plays but the drive stalled on the BC 28, setting up a 45-yard field goal attempt by Collin Rogers. The snap and the hold were fine, but Price batted down Rogers’ bid for his 21st field goal of the season.