FOXBOROUGH — Late in the second quarter of Boston College’s 26-7 win over UMass on Saturday, the Eagles managed to take a 13-7 the lead, but it was by no means safe. Patrick Towles had his pass picked off by UMass middle linebacker Shane Huber, the Minutemen had the ball 20 yards from the end zone and the momentum in their hands.
UMass quarterback Ross Comis was looking to take advantage of the opportunity when he dropped back on third and 9 and scanned the field, but before he could get rid of the ball, he had linebacker Connor Strachan and a swarm of BC defenders breathing down his neck.
Strachan stripped the ball loose, Zach Allen scooped it up, and the Eagles pulled the plug on UMass’s threat.
Under constant pressure, Comis completed just 11 of his 28 pass attempts for 145 yards. He was sacked eight times and threw a pick to go with the fumble.
UMass coach Mark Whipple knew Comis wanted to make a play before the half, but in hindsight, the big one wasn’t the one to make.
“You try to go for the deep ball, that’s not the time to do it,’’ said Whipple. “That was disappointing and certainly the one before the half. We talked about it, the third-down play. We go in with a little bit of momentum and he just loses his mind a little bit.’’
In his debut as the Minutemen’s starting quarterback, Comis was 9-for-17 passing for 141 yards, playing turnover-free football against Florida. But his mistakes were costly against an Eagles defense that feasted on his giveaways, turning them into 10 points.
Having your first two tests as a starter come against Florida’s and BC’s defense would be difficult for anyone, Whipple said, especially a redshirt sophomore, but he was still optimistic about Comis going forward.
“He lost the game and, as a quarterback, you don’t like to lose,’’ Whipple said. “He only has two touchdowns in two games. A lot has to do with the people we’re playing. Their numbers speak for themselves. They got better as the game went on. That was what was disappointing.
“I’m disappointed in today, but I’m not disappointed in what we have for the rest of the year. He’s a sophomore, he’s the best guy we’ve got. He competes.
Strachan plays tough
Strachan came out of BC’s loss to Georgia Tech last week with what coach Steve Addazio described as a “strained’’ shoulder and was questionable coming into Saturday’s game.
But even if he wasn’t at full strength, the junior middle linebacker was a menace. He recorded a career-high 2.5 sacks to go with six tackles, his first career forced fumble and his fourth career fumble recovery.
“As long as I’m cleared to play, I’m going to play at full speed,’’ Strachan said. “I’m not going to go out there and not play at full speed. That would be disrespectful to all my teammates. So if I’m cleared to play and I’m going in the game, I’m not going to hold back.’’
Strachan was out of the starting lineup for the first time since taking over as weakside linebacker midway through last season. Addazio considered pulling him late in the game with the Eagles ahead, but didn’t. He’ll be cautious with Strachan during practice this week as the Eagles prepare for a trip to Virginia Tech.
“He just gutted it out,’’ Addazio said. “Are you kidding me? He’s tough, man. But he didn’t want to let his teammates down. It’s a tough deal, but a lot of guys wouldn’t have had the mental toughness and physical toughness to do what he did, but he did it.’’
Bragging rights
The Battle of the Bay State drew 25,112 fans to Gillette Stadium. The Eagles are now 21-5 in the all-time series and 9-2 when UMass is the home team . . . Towles’s 66 rushing yards were 10 shy of the career high he set at Kentucky against Mississippi State in 2014 . . . UMass finished with minus-23 rushing yards, the second-lowest total BC has allowed in program history. The Eagles held Louisville to minus-30 yards in 1991.
Julian Benbow can be reached at jbenbow@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @julianbenbow.
