By JIMMY GOLENAP Sports Writer

BOSTON (AP) — Phil Jurkovec hit Hunter Long for a game-tying touchdown with 1:11 left, and Aaron Boumerhi kicked a 36-yard field goal with 3 seconds to play on Saturday night as Boston College rallied to beat Texas State 24-21 and avoid losing to a three-touchdown underdog for the second season in a row.

BC (2-0) trailed by two touchdowns in the third quarter and was still down 21-14 in the final minutes when Jurkovec was forced to throw the ball away on a third down at the Texas State 16. But a late hit out of bounds gave the Eagles a first down, and two plays later Jurkovec hit Long from 5 yards out to tie it.

BC forced a three-and-out that used up only 15 seconds, and the Eagles got the ball back with 47 seconds left on their own 33. Jurkovec completed five straight passes to move BC to the 19; the Bobcats (1-3) called all three of their timeouts to ice Boumerhi, who had a kick blocked in the first quarter, but this one was good.

Jurkovec completed 26 of 38 passes for 210 yards, with one touchdown and one interception; he also ran in BC's first two scores, from 2 an 3 yards out. Long caught nine passes for 81 yards for the Eagles, who entered the game as a 21.5-point favorite.

Brady McBride threw for 229 yards, connecting with Marcell Barbee for two touchdowns as the Bobcats never trailed until the final field goal. McBride started the season-opening loss to Southern Methodist but then sat out the next two games because of COVID-19 protocols.

Texas State punted on its last four possessions, and its last two were its only three-and-outs of the game.

BIG DROP

With about a minute left in the first half, BC defensive back Josh DeBerry stepped in front of the receiver but dropped a potential interception. McBride completed the next three passes, including a 6-yard scoring throw to Barbee to make it 14-7.

THE TAKEAWAY

Texas State: The Bobcats had never beaten a team from a Power 5 conference since moving up to the FBS in 2012. The Sun Belt Conference school last beat a team from a top league in 1986, when it beat Rice 31-6 while the Owls were in the Southwest Conference.

Boston College: Last year, BC lost to Kansas -- also a three-touchdown underdog, and one that hadn’t beaten a Power 5 school in more than a decade. That was under coach Steve Addazio, who was fired and replaced by former Ohio State assistant Jeff Hafley. Hafley barely avoided a similar embarrassment.

UP NEXT

Texas State: Visits Troy on Oct. 10.

Boston College: Hosts No. 11 North Carolina on Saturday.

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