ESPN College Football

Can anyone stop surgin Boston College? Is Dan Orlosvky feeling the pressure? Our Big East notebook addresses those questions, along with looks at Pittsburgh's moral victory, Walter Reyes' impressive homecoming and more.

Boston College
Heralded freshman linebacker Brian Toal hasn't felt that losing feeling in more than two years, not since his sophomore season of high school. That's why it wasn't surprising when he proved to be the linchpin in Boston College's 27-7 victory over Connecticut last Friday night at Alumni Stadium. He forced a fumble on the opening kickoff that led to a 7-0 lead and went on to amass eight tackles, including a third-down stop at the BC 13 that led to a missed field goal by the Huskies. The Eagles, who visit Wake Forest on Saturday (noon, ESPN2), are 3-0 for the first time since '99. Toal credits much of the success to a camouflaged Army T-shirt he's been wearing under his uniform since his winning streak began at Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey, where he played for his father. He better keep the camo gear in tip-top shape for that away date with West Virginia on Nov. 13. The game could decide the league champion.

Coach Tom O'Brien says his running back situation is "precarious," but he appears to have found a tough guy in freshman Andre Callender, who refused to let a dislocated right middle finger keep him from the Huskies. Callender sustained the injury on his third carry, but got treatment and returned to carry 26 times for 98 yards (he had 100, but lost a couple yards late in the game). He also scored his first career touchdown on a 1-yard run that gave the Eagles a 17-0 cushion in the second quarter. A week earlier, Callender ran for 114 yards in the Eagles' two-touchdown win over Penn State. For a team with a "precarious" running back situation, things might look pretty good when freshman L.V. Whitworth, who ran for 129 yards in the opener before hyperextending his knee, returns in the next couple weeks. The Whitworth-Callender tandem could be as explosive as they come.

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