Boston College Fakes It to Limit

CHARLOTTE, N.C. —  Headed off the field on a stretcher with a broken leg, Paul Peterson heard the roar of the crowd and knew his teammates were about to score.

He glanced up at the scoreboard just in time to see kicker Ryan Ohliger take a fake field goal into the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown run that sealed Boston College’s 37-24 victory over North Carolina in the Continental Tire Bowl on Thursday.

Pumping his fists in celebration, the touchdown temporarily eased the pain for Peterson, the Eagles’ hard-luck quarterback.

“I saw it on the screen when they were wheeling me off and I was so pumped,” Peterson said.

The 25th-ranked Eagles (9-3) never wanted to be in this game, needing only a victory over Syracuse in the regular-season finale to secure their first outright Big East championship and earn a bowl championship series berth.

But Peterson missed that game with a broken hand, and Syracuse beat the Eagles to send them to Charlotte.

So when Peterson broke his left leg in the fourth quarter, Coach Tom O’Brien huddled the team at midfield and delivered a passionate speech for his quarterback.

“Paul is the heart and soul of this team, and everyone went back to the huddle and Coach O’Brien said, ‘We’re not going to lose. We’re going to put it in the end zone for Paul,’ ” said holder Matt Ryan, who handed the fake to Ohliger. Ryan then replaced Peterson at quarterback.

With his team clinging to a 27-24 lead over North Carolina (6-6) in the fourth quarter, Peterson was injured as he tried to run outside for a first down on third and one and was brought down awkwardly by Tommy Davis.

Then Ohliger, a 5-foot-9 freshman, took the handoff from Ryan and raced into the end zone, breaking a tackle along the way, to give the Eagles a 34-24 lead with 10:32 to play.

Peterson continued his trip to the locker room as the Eagles celebrated. X-rays showed a broken left tibia, and team officials said he would need surgery.