No Rest for the Eagles’ Defense : East: Boston College beats Michigan State, 14-0, for its third consecutive shutout and a 4-0 record.

When Boston College linebacker Tom McManus woke up on a rainy Saturday morning, he could feel the autumn chill in his bones. And he knew it was going to be a good afternoon.

“The rain’s awesome. It reminds you of Friday nights in high school,” McManus said after the 25th-ranked Eagles defeated Michigan State, 14-0, for their third consecutive shutout. “A nice cold, cloudy, miserable day on which a defensive guy loves to play.”

The Eagles (4-0) made life miserable for the Michigan State offense, which never reached the Boston College 20 and gained only 228 yards--less than half its total the previous week against Notre Dame.

Michigan State fell to 0-3.

“BC is making a habit out of these shutouts,” Michigan State Coach George Perles said. “When you are on a string of shutouts like that, it motivates the players and crowd, and people start playing over their heads.”

Dwight Shirley scored on runs of 80 yards and one yard for the Eagles, who haven’t given up a point in 187 minutes and have outscored their last three opponents, 91-0.

Even Coach Tom Coughlin, who often focuses on his team’s problems rather than its accomplishments, had some qualified praise for the Eagles.

“I don’t care who’s on your schedule, three shutouts in a row is pretty impressive. It’s a good win. I’m glad to be sitting here 4-0,” Coughlin said.

“The pieces are falling in place pretty well. I’m frustrated with the passing, though. I would like to be able to do everything extremely well.”

Shirley gained 159 yards in 24 carries and Chuckie Dukes had 153 in 25. It was the third consecutive game in which the Eagles had two runners over 100 yards.

Boston College’s Glenn Foley, who entered the game ranked second nationally in passing efficiency, completed nine of 18 passes for 83 yards.

The Eagles, who opened the season with a 37-20 victory over Rutgers, started their shutout streak with a 49-0 defeat of Northwestern and beat Navy, 28-0, last week. The last time the Eagles had three consecutive shutouts was in 1942.