CHESTNUT HILL — Thomas Castellanos’ 42-yard touchdown pass to Lewis Bond with 1:42 remaining propelled Boston College to its latest signature win of the budding Bill O’Brien era.

The Eagles rallied to defeat Michigan State 23-19 on a wet, rainy night at Alumni Stadium to improve to 3-1 on the season. It was BC’s first win over a Big Ten team since 2019 and its first at home since 2004.

Max Tucker’s end-zone interception sealed the victory and sent the BC student section streaming onto the field.

BC leaned on its powerful rushing attack for most of the game. Treshaun Ward finished with 102 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, and Turbo Richard added 10 carries for 46 yards and one score.

Castellanos had little success through the air through the first three quarters but delivered in crunch time, going 3-for-3 for 65 yards — all to Bond — on the game-winning drive. The junior quarterback finished 10-for-16 for 140 yards and one touchdown.

Michigan State’s QB, Aiden Chiles, gave BC problems with his legs and arm but struggled with his accuracy, going 17-for-35 for 241 yards with three interceptions.

BC’s first three offensive plays gained a total of -3 yards, resulting in a swift three-and-out. A subpar 27-yard punt by Ivan Zivenko gave Michigan State possession on the Eagles’ 49 and set up the game’s first scoring drive.

Chiles rushed for a first down on a QB keeper and converted a third-and-10 — slotting a pass to tight end Jack Velling between a pair of BC defensive backs — before misfiring on a pair of throws into the red zone. Michigan State settled for a 41-yard Jonathan Kim field goal that opened the scoring.

The Eagles started their second possession with a negative play (a holding penalty on tight end Jeremiah Franklin) but overcame it by leaning into their ground-and-pound strength. An 11-yard Castellanos scramble followed by five consecutive handoffs moved them deep into Michigan State territory, with a 15-yard late hit flag aiding in that effort.

The drive ended with a costly miscue, however, as Ward had the ball ripped out of his hands inside the 10-yard line. The Spartans recovered the fumble — BC’s first red-zone turnover of the season.

BC was similarly efficient on its next drive — which followed a Michigan State three-and-out — and that one found paydirt. Despite his earlier ball-security lapse, Ward featured prominently, rushing four times for 29 yards and catching a 5-yard pass from Castellanos to move the chains on fourth-and-4.

Ward’s true freshman understudy, Richard, finished the job, bouncing a handoff outside and racing 11 yards for his first collegiate touchdown. The snap on the ensuing extra point was high, and Luca Lombardo missed it wide left.

Richard had been the third option behind Ward and Kye Robichaux in BC’s first three games, but he jumped up a spot Saturday night. Robichaux, the Eagles’ lead back last season, did not touch the ball and hardly played.

A big play by Chiles helped Michigan State pull back ahead.

After misfiring on several downfield shots to wide receiver Montorie Foster Jr., the Spartans’ athletic quarterback scrambled for a first down on third-and-10, then finally connected with Foster on a 40-yard bomb. Cornerback Ryan Turner bit on a play fake, and Foster motored past him down the seam. He was dragged down at the BC 1, and Chiles burrowed his way into the end zone one play later to put the visitors up 10-6.

Castellanos and the BC offense went nowhere the rest of the half, losing yards over their next two series and failing to capitalize on a Carter Davis interception. Michigan State, meanwhile, ripped off gains of 12, 14, 18 and 9 yards on consecutive plays on its final drive before halftime. That drive stalled at the BC 8, and Kim kicked a 26-yard field goal.

The Eagles faced a seven-point deficit entering the second half. It took them less than three minutes to erase it.

Davis drilled UMass transfer Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams on the second-half kickoff to force a fumble that freshman defensive back Omar Thornton recovered. BC only turned that prime field position into a 39-yard Lombardo field goal, but it quickly gained another possession deep in Michigan State territory when Amari Jackson picked off a Chiles pass that was well behind his intended receiver.

One play later, Ward took a sweep 36 yards for a touchdown, shaking multiple tackles as he raced down the Michigan State sideline.

After a game-tying 51-yard field goal by Kim, Castellanos missed an open Bond on third down, and the teams traded punts. Facing another third-and-long on the next BC possession, Castellanos connected with sophomore wideout Jaedn Skeete for 27 yards — his longest completion of the night to that point.

Castellanos then converted a third-and-1 on a QB keeper, but he was stuffed on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line.

Michigan State responded with an 18-play, 89-yard drive that drained 9:24 off the clock and included three third- or fourth-down conversions. BC’s defense again stiffened in the red zone, but Kim’s 27-yard field goal put the Spartans ahead 19-16.

That’s when the Castellanos-Bond connection — an afterthought for much of the night — took over. Bond led all receivers with 102 yards on six catches.

This was the 11th annual Red Bandanna Game. The tradition was established in 2014 to honor former BC lacrosse player Welles Crowther, who is believed to have saved more than a dozen lives on 9/11 before dying in the World Trade Center collapse.

Players wore uniforms with red bandanna accents and the words “FOR WELLES” on their nameplates. The Crowther family was recognized on the field after the first quarter. The announced attendance at Alumni Stadium was 44,500 — a sellout, though the nasty weather resulted in some empty seats in the upper deck.

“It was a special night,” O’Brien said. “It’s one of those games, though, where you’ve got to win. You’ve got to win to make it a real special night, so I was happy our guys were able to pull it out.”

BC hosts Western Kentucky next Saturday (12 p.m. ET) before beginning its ACC schedule with a trip to Virginia on Oct. 5.