Pinstripe Bowl: Boston College vs Nebraska
By Stiofán Mac Fhilib
Saturday sees a full slate of College Football back on our screens as Bowl season hits full stride. One of the more iconic matchups is always the Pinstripe Bowl that takes place in Yankee Stadium. This year we see Boston College take on Nebraksa in an intriguing battle.
Where and When

The Boston College Eagles face the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium, New York City, NY, on Saturday 28th at 12.00pm ET/5.00pm UK. The game is being broadcast by ABC, and in the UK you can watch on Sky Sports Mix (channel 416).
Story So Far...
Remarkably for two such prominent teams, Boston College, throughout their history as an independent, then in the Big East and ACC, and Nebraska, through their Big Eight, Big 12 and now Big Ten days, have never previously met in college football. Nebraska did not face any ACC opposition in 2024, but BC did overcome Michigan State 23-19 in their annual ‘Red Bandana Game’.
First-year Head Coach, Bill O’Brien, led the Eagles to a 7-5 regular season record, a one-win improvement on 2023, when they also went to the Pinstripe Bowl, overcoming SMU 23-14. Victory over Nebraska would give BC their first eight-win season in 15 years. They enter the game with a degree of momentum, after overcoming a mid-season three-game slump to win three of their final four outings.
Matt Rhule, in his second season in charge of the Huskers, finally led the storied program back to its first bowl game in eight years. Since firing Bo Pelini back in 2014 for ‘only’ winning nine or ten games in each of his seven seasons in Lincoln, Nebraska have only had one winning season. So, after going 6-6 in the regular season, Rhule is now one bowl success away from doubling that tally. Unlike his opponents, however, he desperately needs to regain some momentum: after a 5-1 start, the Cornhuskers have lost five of their last six games.
The Quarterbacks
BOSTON COLLEGE: GRAYSON JAMES
UCF transfer, Thomas Castellanos, was the starting QB for the 2024 season but after sustaining a lower body injury in the Syracuse game in early November, Coach O’Brien announced Grayson James would start the next game, and Castellanos immediately announced his intention to leave the team and transfer. He has since left for Florida State.
Redshirt Junior, James, a transfer from FIU is in his first season with Boston College. Since replacing Castellanos against Syracuse, he has led the Eagles to three wins in four games, with a 66% completion rate and a 5-1 TD-INT ratio. He will rely on a heavy run game to open up play-action passing opportunities.
NEBRASKA: DYLAN RAIOLA
The five star recruit from Hawai’i, who had previously committed to Ohio State, then Georgia, before finally arriving at Nebraska, saw plenty of action in his true freshman season. He got off to a fast start as the Huskers raced to a 5-1 record, throwing for over 230 yards four times with a 9-2 TD-INT ratio. However, as Nebraska got into the meat of conference play in the Big Ten, he managed that passing feat only twice more and threw eight INTs to just three TDs.
He remains Nebraska’s best hope of a significant jump in performance in the coming few seasons, and this bowl game is the perfect opportunity to build some momentum as the Huskers head into Winter workouts and Spring practice.
Who to Watch
Boston College
Donovan Ezeiruaka, Defensive End – The Senior from New Jersey had a breakout sophomore campaign where he registered 7.5 sacks, but 2024 saw him log a remarkable 16.5, tying the school record set by Harold Landry. It earned him deserved ACC Defensive Player of the Year honours as well as The Ted Hendriks Award for the nation’s best Defensive End.
Nebraska
Emmett Johnson, Running Back – The Sophomore from Minnesota was second in rushing for the Cornhuskers this past season, but with Dante Dowdell transferring to Kentucky, Johnson will be RB1 in the Bronx, and quite possibly beyond. He’s run for almost 1,000 yards in his career to date and featured most heavily in Nebraska’s final two regular season games, rushing for over 110 yards in the win over Wisconsin. He’s also a receiving threat out of the backfield with 35 catches for 262 yards in 2024.
Prediction
With both teams having motivation to see how their QBs can lead them into next season, I expect a competitive battle, undecided until the fourth quarter. But Nebraska should have just a little more in the tank, with the stronger offense, to allow them to prevail in the end.
Nebraska 24-21 Boston College

STIOFÁN MAC FHILIB
COLLEGE FOOTBALL ANALYST
A VERY LONG-DISTANCE SUBWAY ALUMNUS OF NOTRE DAME, COUNTY ANTRIM-BASED STIOFÁN HAS BEEN A FAN OF THE FIGHTING IRISH SINCE 2000. FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER @SMACFHILIB.