BC Eagles soar to No. 24 in win over Miami Hurricanes, 27-14

Chestnut Hill, MA – Boston College RB AJ Dillon returned from an ankle injury and the Eagle defense held the Miami Hurricanes to 305 offensive yards to win their traditional Red Bandana game against their dominant foe of many years since the famous, Flutie pass, 27-14.  Dillon ran for 149 yards on 32 carries for one TD.  BC converted two interceptions by its defense in the third period into scores to “ice” the win and jump into the AP polls this past weekend.

Pre-game surprise

Our plan for Collegefootballfan.com called for a Friday/Saturday double header New England weekend.  Before the Friday night game at a brief tailgate after a five-hour drive through Providence, RI and through the burbs of Boston to take the Green Line on the “T” into Chestnut Hill, I met up with Boston College Eagle die-hards Dave and John.  Good friends with BC stalwart Bob “Pops” LeBlanc, they heat up the tailgate grills whether Pop shows up or not.  Pops could not be available this evening to watch his beloved alma mater perform on the gridiron.  However, one of his very respected fellow alumni showed up to for a brief improvisation with the band entertaining in the small grassy lot adjacent to our tailgate.  You never know who you may run into at these games.

Let’s get this Friday night party really started

The Eagles forced the Hurricanes to punt after their first possession taking over on their 12.  BC didn’t waste time and tested Dillon’s ankle right away.  He ripped off 25 yards on the first play for a big shot of confidence for both himself and his teammates.  BC’s initial drive culminated with QB Anthony Brown firing a nine-yard scoring pass to WR Jeff Smith for the early 7-0 BC lead.  Miami’s DeeJay Dallas returned the ensuing kickoff 53 yards to the BC 44.  Malik Rosier’s 13-yard scoring pass near the left pylon to Darrell Langham evened the score quickly.   Leading his team’s next drive starting from the 23, Brown rolled right eventually down at the Miami five, but then cut quickly to his left to outrace the Cane defenders to the left side to regain the lead for BC, 14-7.

The Eagles (6-2, 3-1) marched into Hurricane territory advancing into the second period.  Miami stopped BC finally at the three where Colton Lichthenberg booted a 21-yarder to extend the home team lead by three. Williams started the next Hurricane possession with his return out to the 36.   This time, he finished what he started with a ten-yard TD run.  Both defenses prevented any more scoring before halftime with the Eagles enjoying a 17-14 advantage.

BC’s Red Bandana

BC celebrated its traditional Red Bandana Game several ways this evening.  Each fan received a red bandana on the way into Alumni Stadium.  BC Eagle players wore them, donned red bandana stickers on their helmets or had them sewn into other parts of their uniforms.  The celebration pays tribute to the late Boston College ’99 alum and lacrosse player Welles Crowther.

On 9/11, working as an equities trader on the 104^th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center, he reportedly saved a dozen lives at least while giving up his own.  A volunteer fire fighter since the age of 16, he appeared through smoke to injured and frightened workers trapped wearing his red bandana to protect himself from smoke and dust.  At BC, friends knew him to always carry his red bandana while playing lacrosse.  His parents, Jefferson and Alison, waved from the field on this night as the stadium crowed of 41,892 honored his memory with a standing ovation. It does so traditionally every year since 2002.  To learn more about Welles’ story, click here.

Bringing back Memories

Also between periods, the University honored BC football teams from 1983 and 1993.  Doug Flutie, QB, broadcaster, and drummer, was introduced with the team of ’83, his junior season.  He tossed a few footballs into the cheering student sections.  CFF.com never had the opportunity to see this Flutie play for the Eagles.  We did see his brother Darren play TE for Brown against Princeton in 1982.   In 2008, we saw his nephew throw a TD pass for a score as a holder for the Eagles on a fake FG when the BC beat Maryland, 28-21. However, because of Doug Flutie’s success in 1984 – 10-2 record, Cotton Bowl win, Heisman Trophy, “Hail Mary” to Phelan against Miami – we added Boston College to our goal the following season. They opened the season against BYU in the Kickoff Classic.  Not the same without Doug as they lost that evening, 28-14.

The 1993 team introduced later featured QB Glen Foley who tossed a ball without as much fanfare being a former New York Jet among New England Patriot fans.  His BC team finished 9-3 winning a Block Buster Bowl over Virginia.  I did see this team defeat Rutgers at The Meadowlands that season, 31-21, with St. Laurie sharing our then six-month old daughter, Alex, on our laps attending her first of many college football games to come. Time flies!

Turnovers equal points

In the third period, a Rosier pass got intercepted by DB Hamp Cheevers who returned it 23 yards to the Miami 14.  The Hurricane defense held tight and Lichtenberg’s number got called once again to convert a 23-yard FG.  The ensuing kickoff was mishandled by Dallas and bounced off his foot to start Miami at the three-yard line. Passing from the ten, Rosier (18 for 35, 149 yards, one TD, two INTs) fired, the ball got tipped up and batted around by several players until DB Taj-Amir Torres tucked it under his arm to put the Eagles at the Canes’ 14.  Dillon took care of business from there on the first play to extend the BC lead, 27-14.

Final Countdown

Neither team scored in the fourth period, but not due to lack of effort.  Miami drove to the BC three where Rosier misfired on a fourth down.  BC took 7:15 off the clock ending a drive where Lichtenberg missed wide on a 44-yard attempt. On the subsequent Miami possession, Rosier came up short on a fourth and ten with an eight-yard run.  BC took over on downs and punted after three plays.  Miami turned the ball over on downs again as Rosier’s pass fell incomplete.  BC ran out the clock with 1:50 to take the win.  The Eagle victory was sweet not only in honor of Red Bandana night for Welles Crowther, but for only the fourth time in their last 22 meetings did the Eagles defeat the Canes.

Next!

Expectations for Miami under HC Mark Richt were high before this season started. They next host Duke (5-3, 1-3 ACC). BC travels to Blacksburg, VA to take on the Hokies of VA Tech (4-3,3-1) also much less than expected at this point of the season (and an upset loss to Old Dominion no less).  The Eagles can’t afford to look beyond VT though.  When they return home the week after, they will be getting ready for now No. 2 Clemson.  Clemson’s last two regular season losses came at the hands of two other other former Big East members on the road – Pittsburgh in 2016 and Syracuse last year.  Can HC Steve Addazio and his BC Eagles provide the old Big East charm again this year at Chestnut Hill?

Passing Winds

The Miami Hurricanes left behind no damages in Boston. Now with a nor’easter headed to New England on Saturday, CFF.com decided to play it by ear and considered some options for game schedule flexibility.  The original Lehigh at Holy Cross idea to attend our first game ever in historic Worcester got turned aside due to lack of interest.  The two teams with poor, losing records appear headed for nowhere.  However, several other interesting options came to light.

Harvard at Dartmouth in a key Ivy League battle? William and Mary at URI, two teams hanging in the balance from the Colonial Athletic for a playoff bid? Or, if games in the area get postponed until Sunday, we figure we’ll drive four hours out to Syracuse, NY where the Orange play 6-1 NC State in another ACC battle we can attend at 7 p.m.  We give competitive games our priority unless we are adding a new team in our Goal to “see ‘em all.” Let’s see…

Extra Points

Boston College is now 9-7 in the annals of our History.  Miami fell to 7-2 with its second straight loss in our history with them.  We hadn’t seen them since the season opener of 2011 when the fell at Maryland, 32-24.  Al Golden debuted as HC for the Canes that night and has moved on to the pros since.