Banter: Castellanos might be done and Boston College Football might be back

Curtis: Wow what a win! Boston College emerged from a rollercoaster ride with two different QBs on Saturday afternoon and emerged with the win over Syracuse. For me, the most important thing staring us in the face now is: is it time to bench Thomas Castellanos? Grayson James moved the ball through the air a little bit in the second half, helping BC move down the field more effectively and score a pair of late touchdowns.

Curran: During our preseason roundtable, my favorite idea for the season was for James to replace TC as the starter. I thought O'Brien would import a heavy pass-first offense and that it wouldn't necessarily play to TC's strengths. Castellanos has had flashes as a passer, but his rushing threat was virtually non-existent this season and this BC team will never win with more than 25 dropbacks from TC. Put him on the couch. I don't think he's the type of QB O'Brien wants, but look where O'Brien goes from here.

in Kiera: It will be very interesting to see how this turns out. Considering O'Brien has been with Castellanos for so long and they've won a bunch of games, I wouldn't be surprised if he just stays with him. James looked good, but didn't he only throw the ball six times? I'm not sure that's enough to get him the starting job. But even if Castellanos can return next week, I'm sure James will get some work in with the first team in training this week.

Curtis: Even the threat of a passing quarterback with six completions was enough to get the Syracuse defense to honor the pass, and it opened up a lot of space for Jordan McDonald and Kye Robichaux to run. The BC attack under Castellanos became ineffective as the opposing defense always piled up the penalty area and TC could not consistently pass the ball upfield. I think bringing in Grayson James as a starter will at least allow our RBs to shine. James doesn't even have to swing the ball much to clear some space.

On the other hand, the BC defense has really stepped up and is clearly one of the main success stories this season, despite the thin roster. Donovan Ezeiruaku and the pass rush were very effective Saturday and helped turn the game around, especially with that late safety.

Curran: It seems like we say this every year, but there are some young guys we can rely on on this defense. Quintayvious Hutchins has been a pleasant surprise when facing Ezeiruaku in recent weeks, Max Tucker is a true sophomore who will have a lot of experience under his belt, and Daveon Crouch looks like he will be running the linebacker room for the foreseeable future.

Niraj: And where are we going to hide these running backs? McDonald was a revelation – quick, powerful cuts. Presumably Ward was confused, but man with all these guys, there should never have been games where they deviated from the run every now and then. Yep, really great work from both lines. Played with the physicality that was necessary.

And sorry to go back to the QB point because that's all that really matters. Castellanos missed open receivers. He needs to take a step back. If he's not actually on the run, he doesn't bring enough to the table to justify himself. He may still be starting, but O'Brien needs to be prepared to pull the plug quickly. Everything must be thought of in a four-down mindset. Between kicking and punting, this is a terrible disaster

Curtis: It was unbelievable how well McDonald played. Not sure how much of that was him versus the big block by the OL, probably a little bit of both. Both he and Robichaux were incredibly effective and it reminded me of how the team started the season with their long ground-and-pound drives. That's what led this team to success this season.

in Kiera: Yes Niraj and Curtis, you are both right about McDonald and the o-line. Seriously, where has McDonald been this whole year? Between him, Richard, Robichaux, Ward and Castellanos, maybe Billy B should just say fuck it and take a few pages out of the Army's playbook. It would certainly make them more fun to watch.