After Wild Season, BC To Play in 12th Consecutive Bowl

Hello Eagle Nation,

It’s been a crazy up and down year. I'm just laughing to myself right now because never in my 20 years of going to BC football games have I experienced a year with so much turmoil. I mean never has a year of watching BC football been so stressful.

Even before the season started, Mark Herzlich is coming back from cancer, with a titanium rod in his leg, and he fractures his foot in practice. Like the guy worked his ass off to get back on a football field and he breaks his foot before the first Saturday and the injury report was that he might be out the first game or two. But being the animal that he is Marky Mark was like “Broken foot? Nah, screw that. I'm playin.”

And it didn’t stop there for Mark. No, it seems like the guy can’t catch a break. After triumphantly beating cancer (and a stress fracture) he was back flying around, making tackles and giving opposing quarterbacks nightmares with his war paint. But he breaks his hand during a game. But, remember, Animal. He wraps his injured hand turning it into a battle club making him look even more intimidating. I'm starting to think that he’s breaking his bones on purpose now just to get stronger. I don’t know just a thought.

But I mean that started before the first kickoff. After that there was the quarterback controversy, would it be Uncle Dave? Maybe Marscovetra? Or will Coach Spaz have to release his secret weapon Chase Rettig a year early?

BC was shut out at home for the first time in over a decade, losing 19-0 at home to Virginia Tech on parents weekend, and got blown out by N.C. State 44-13. I know this is a long list but this season deserves an in-depth look back.

Next on the long list is the Debacle at home against Notre Dame. An embarrassing game on national T.V. that BC lost in the first quarter when they went down 21-0. Then after cutting the lead to 21-10, Rettig is marching the offense down the field and….he takes a funny step and hurts his knee, out for two weeks. This game was the tipping point for the fans and attendance began to decline.

The student run newspaper, "the Heights", were encouraging students to quit on the season, saying there was no hope for this year. That for me was the low point on the season, students around campus talking all doom and gloom about this team leading to a football player saying to a friend in the lunch line, "Im sick of football."

But unlike the flip flopping writers of "the Heights", I still had faith that once Rettig got going BC would rattle off a few wins and make it to the post season. A couple close loses to Florida State and Maryland, had more and more fans dropping out and by the time the Clemson game came around, only the true fans were left in the stands at the Aluminum Monster.

Then all of a sudden, BC beats Clemson and gets the Leather Helmet trophy with Montel Harris winning MVP on his birthday. The win train kept rolling, defeating Wake Forest and holding off Duke in dramatic fashion. Bringing Boston College's record to 5-5 with a home game against lowly Virginia on senior day.

BC didn't disappoint. They came back and won a wild game 17-13 to clinch a winning home record, at least .500 season and most importantly: a birth in a bowl game. But of course this season is no ordinary season and the win came at a price. Montel Harris injured his knee and required arthroscopic surgery and will be out 3-6 weeks, ruling him out for the season finale at Syracuse and putting him in question for what ever bowl BC gets into.

If BC can grab a win from the Orange and finish the season 7-5 they will most likely end up in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (Previously the Emerald Bowl) and would for the second year in a row be heading out to San Francisco. Their two possible opponents? #19 Nevada or gulp…#4 Boise State.

But hey I'm not complaining cause after all in the last decade Boise State has only lost 15 times. One of those loses? At home to Boston College in the MPC Computers bowl. Lets Go Eagles.

We're Going Bowling

As the final seconds ticked off the clock at the Aluminum Monster, BC fans finally realized: Boston College football will be playing in December/January. A season full of twists and turns, ups and downs, injuries and surprises, Boston College finally got to the magic number of 6 wins and qualified for bowl eligibility for the 12th year in a row…

TO BE CONTINUED...

BC Comes Up Big In Durham

Good Afternoon Eagle Nation,

Wow. That was an exciting game. For those of you who missed it, Boston College just beat Duke 21-16 down in North Carolina to move to 5-5 on the season and 3-4 in the conference. After Montel Harris fumbled inside the 10 and Duke returned it for a 95 yard touchdown, Duke got the ball back and marched it down to the BC 4 yard line. Did anyone ever doubt BC's defense in this game? They held Duke on four straight plays including a batted down pass at the line of scrimmage on fourth down to clinch it.

BC's defense didn't allow a touchdown for the second time in three games and it was the fifth time allowing either one touchdown or less. Kuechly was an animal as always, keeping his double digit tackle streak alive as well as earning the nickname "superman" from the announcers on the radio and on ESPN 3. Max Holloway continued his progression as BC's best pass rusher getting two sacks and a handful of tackles for a loss, also sealing the game by knocking down the Duke pass on 4th and goal.

This was a coming out party for Chase Rettig who completed 12 out of 24 passes for 230 yards, two TDs and no picks, averaging almost a first down every throw (9.6 yards per pass). Rettig minimized mistakes, didn't turn the ball over and kept plays alive with his feet including a 44 yard TD pass on the opening drive of the second half to fellow freshmen Bobby Swigert where Rettig evaded tacklers before stepping up in the pocket and finding wide open Swigert. A huge step for Mr. Rettig.

One troubling part of the game was Montel Harris. Despite his 20th 100 yard rushing performance of his career and a touchdown run, he had his first two fumble game of his career, both fumbles coming inside the red zone and one being returned 95 yards to the house. Coming into this game Harris has over 700 carries in his career and only 4 fumbles so this hasn't been a nagging issue but one of his other fumbles came on the goal line against Notre Dame last year that could have won BC the game. BC's defense bailed them out of this game but Montel can't keep fumbling in these critical situations.

BC comes back home to face Virginia, the last game at Alumni this year, with bowl eligibility on the line. Lets get it done, extend the win streak to four games in a row and the bowl streak to 12 years in a row.

WE ARE BC

Don't Mess with BC's Defense. Seriously. Don't do it.

Good Evening Eagle Nation,

A couple things. BC beat Wake Forest for its second win in a row. Rettig still has a long way to go. Montel could be BC's best running back ever. BC has a Championship caliber defense. Thats right. CHAMPIONSHIP CALIBER. Despite one hiccup on a trick play against Wake Forest the defense was absolutely rock solid. Wasn't that picture adorable? Thought so. For the forth time this year BC's defense allowed one touchdown or less, including games against Virginia Tech, Clemson and Kent State. The one touchdown the defense allowed was a pass and it wasn't even thrown by the quarterback.

After intercepting Wake's quarterback Tanner Price four times, the Eagles are tied with #22 Florida for 1st in the nation with 17 interceptions as a team. Oh and by the way, since 2000 BC is second in the country in interceptions with 198. The only team with more? Virginia Tech. Yeah, I think thats pretty good, suck it other power houses of football BC's defense will destroy you. Any Questions?

Another impressive stat for this defense, is that they are third in the country in turnovers forced with 26 behind Hawaii (29) and #1 Oregon (28). Led by stud linebacker Luke Kuechly aka Keek the Freak, with the nations best 13.78 tackles per game and a pair of INTs, BC has a legit shot to win out this year. (P.S. notice in that last clip Uncle Dave was one of the first ones over to help Kuechly up after his INT, very classy Dave).

Montel Harris broke some more BC rushing records this past week. With his 100 yard rushing performance he became BC's leader in 100 yard rushing games (19), he surpassed Derick Knight in carries with 709, and became the most prolific running back in ACC history through the first three years with 3,377 yards rushing. In english? Montel is a star. Is he the best running back in Boston College history? If he stays for his senior season (which he will) he might end up holding all of Boston College's rushing records, a strong argument for the best all time.

But with running backs like Mike Cloud (single season rushing record 1,726 yards) Derick Knight and stud William Green, I think it would be rash to say that he is the best BC has ever seen. After all Harris is 0-2 in bowl games while both Green and Knight won a bowl in every year they played at the Heights. I still think Mike Cloud or William Green are the top two backs I've seen play at BC. I'd put Montel slightly behind Derick Knight in fourth, but lets see how the rest of his career plays out and he might end up being #1.

Chase Rettig had another tough outing against Wake Forest. Some one needs to console him and calm him down. (Sorry for all the Spongebob but its just classic). Joking aside he still needs to make large strides in leading this offense and cut down on the turnovers. Montel has been picking up the slack but sooner or later Rettig has to start making plays when it counts, whether that be a third down conversion, or just throwing the ball out of bounds and living to fight another day, he has to step up and be a leader for this offense.

Well another great win from your Eagles. Who would've predicted a two game win streak after the horrible start they had? I did (3rd to last paragraph). Anyway BC will travel for the first time down to Durham, North Carolina to face the high scoring Duke Blue Devils. BC's defense will have its hands but Duke is by no means the toughest offense BC has faced. We'll probably see minor improvements from Rettig but expect Montel to carry the offense again. BC will come out with the victory and come back to Chestnut Hill for the home finale and a spot in a bowl game on the line.

Oh I forgot this the first time, Congrats Joe Paterno on becoming the first coach to 400 wins, keep coaching as long as you can Joe Pa.

WE ARE BC

Week 9 Prediction Results:

ACC: 3-2 Big 10: 4-1 Big 12: 1-5 Big East: 0-1 SEC: 7-1 Pac 10: 4-1 Other Top 25: 3-0

OVERALL: 22-11

Weekly Predictions (Week 9)

ACC:

Boston College (3-5) at Wake Forest (2-6) 3:30pm: Boston College by 7

North Carolina (5-3) at #24 Florida St. (6-2) 3:30pm: Florida State by 10

#25 NC State (6-2) at Clemson (4-4) 12:00pm: Clemson by 3

Maryland (6-2) at Miami (5-3) 12:00pm: Maryland by 7

Virginia (4-4) at Duke (1-7) 12:00pm: Virginia by 10

Big 10:

Illinois (5-3) at Michigan (5-3) 12:00pm: Illinois by 7

#16 Iowa (6-2) at Indiana (4-4) 12:00pm: Iowa by 14

#9 Wisconsin (7-1) at Purdue (4-4) 12:00pm: Wisconsin by 14

Minnesota (1-8) at #14 Michigan St (8-1) 12:00pm: Michigan St. by 17

Northwestern (6-2) at Penn State (5-3) 3:30pm: Penn St. by 10 (Joe Paterno goes for his 400th win as a coach)

Big East:

Louisville (4-4) at Syracuse (6-2) 12:00pm: Syracuse by 7

Big 12:

#21 Baylor (7-2) at #17 Oklahoma St. (7-1) 12:30pm: Baylor by 3

Colorado (3-5) at Kansas (2-6) 2:00pm: Colorado by 3

#7 Nebraska (7-1) at Iowa St. (5-4) 3:30pm: Nebraska by 14

#8 Oklahoma (7-1) at Texas a&m (5-3) 7:00pm: Oklahoma by 10

Texas (4-4) at Kansas St. (5-3) 8:00pm: Texas by 7

#12 Missouri (7-1) at Texas Tech (4-4) 8:00pm: Missouri by 7

SEC:

Florida (5-3) at Vanderbilt (2-6) 12:30pm: Florida by 14

Idaho St. (1-7) at Georgia (4-5) 12:30pm: Georgia by 14

Charleston Southern (2-6) at Kentucky (4-5) 12:30pm: Kentucky by 10

Chattenooga (5-3) at #2 Auburn (9-0) 1:00pm: Auburn by 24

#6 Alabama (7-1) at #10 LSU (7-1) 3:30pm: LSU by 3

Louisiana-Lafayette (2-6) at Mississippi (3-5) 7:00pm: Ole Miss by 10

#18 Arkansas (6-2) at #19 South Carolina (6-2) 7:00pm: South Carolina by 7

Tennessee (2-6) at Memphis (1-7) 8:00pm: Tennessee by 7

Pac 10:

Washington (3-5) at #1 Oregon (8-0) 3:30pm: Oregon by 28

California (4-4) at Washington St. (1-8) 4:00pm: Cal by 10

Oregon St. (4-3) at UCLA (3-5) 7:00pm: Oregon St. by 7

#15 Arizona (7-1) at #13 Stanford 8:00pm: Stanford by 7

Arizona St. (4-4) at USC (5-3) 10:30pm: USC by 10

Other Top 25 Games:

#23 Nevada (7-1) at Idaho (4-4) 5:00pm: Nevada by 14

Hawaii (7-2) at #4 Boise St. (7-0) 3:30pm: Boise St. by 17

GAME OF THE WEEK: #3 TCU (9-0) at #5 Utah (8-0) 3:30pm: TCU by 7

Down the Stretch they Come

Good Afternoon Eagle Nation,

The Demon Deacons await down in North Carolina. Another must win football game. Bowl eligibility hangs in the balance. Who will step up for the Eagles? Will the o-line provide the running lanes for Montel Harris? Will Rettig continue to mature into a Starter? Will the defense continue their hot streak? These are all questions BC fans have as we head down the backstretch.

The 2-6 Demon Deacons had a rough showing last week, actually rough is an understatement, it was like this. They lost 62-14 against Maryland last Saturday. Ouch.

The Eagles must win 3 out of their last four games to become bowl eligible for the 13th straight year. To do this they must beat three of at Wake Forest (2-6), at Duke (1-7), Virginia (4-4) and at Syracuse (6-2). BC should beat Duke and should handle Virginia at home, albeit Virginia is coming off a win over #22 Miami last week. That makes this game a must win and they should win against the 2-6 Demon Deacons. But this is a trap game.

BC can't look ahead assuming that they will win their next two games and face Virginia at home to qualify for a bowl win. Wake Forest isn't strong this year after losing many players to graduation last year, including Senior quarterback and school record holder in completion percentage and passing yards Riley Skinner. But then again BC isn't strong this year either and are 0-2 on the road.

If they are going to get that ideal scenario of playing for a bowl berth at home, they mustn't take Wake Forest lightly. The offense must step up and burry the Demon Deacons early in the game, control the ball by controlling the line of scrimmage and open up the lanes for Montel to run. That way Wake has to respect the run and open up the passing game for Rettig and the inexperienced receiving core.

BC fans can catch the game on espn3.com. Lets go win this game.

WE ARE BC

WE HAVE VICTORY!!!!!

FINALLY!

It has been 49 days since we have last tasted victory and over a year since our last ACC win. BC snaps its five game losing streak and moves to 3-5 (1-3 ACC) with this win and avoids its longest losing streak (6) in 12 years. More importantly it keeps BC in bowl contention, needing to win 3 out of the last 4 games (with games against Wake Forest 2-6, Duke 1-6,Virginia 4-4, and Syracuse 6-2, it is possible to get to 6-6 and get to a bowl game).

(Coach Spaz Holding the O'Rourke, McFaddon trophy with MVP Montel being hoisted up by his teammates in the background, wearing the MVP Leather Helmet)

I had a blog post set up for Friday but I didnt have the chance to finish. All I said was that I was done feeding you statistics on why you should have hope for these Eagles. This was it. But Also BC vs Clemson is more than just a regular ACC game on the schedule. No. This was "The Battle for the Leather Helmet", a rivalry game. More importantly a rivalry game that in its two year history BC had failed to win. This was a must win for the Eagles on multiple levels. Even if the Eagles fall short of a bowl game this year, we still won "The Battle for the Leather Helmet", we have that trophy for the whole year.

First off let me talk about the Super Fans. Wow. Attendance has been declining for the past few weeks as the team has been struggling. I have been very critical of this. On Saturday you could see more Purple and Orange than Maroon and Gold and after the first play (INT by Rettig returned to the house 7-0 Clemson), it sounded like there were more of them too. But for the rest of the game the BC Super Fans and the rest of the Aluminum Monster was rocking. I have been to hard on the student section the past two weeks. The ones that actually showed up had amazing energy all game and helped will this team to their first win since week 2.

Two weeks ago at Florida State, the defense played out of their minds and almost single handedly won the game. Then the next week the defense was poor and the offense finally provided some support in a losing effort. This week they finally put it all together. The defense added to their top ten interception count with two more including one by Kuechly to seal the game. They only allowed 42 rushing yards and most importantly zero touchdowns allowed.

Rettig showed his maturity and bounced back after the INT on the third play and played mistake free football throwing for 136 yards and one touchdown. Montel Harris won the MVP of the Leather Helmet game, rushing for 142 yards on 36 carries, with a 36 yard receiving touchdown on his birthday.

(Montel Harris rushed for 142 yards on his way to MVP of the game)

BC finally played 100% on both sides of the ball and came out with this huge win. They travel to North Carolina next Saturday to face the 2-6 Wake Forest Demon Deacons. For the fans who showed up the last two weeks, well done, the team needed you and you were there. For those of you who had tickets but skimped out, as my friend told me after the Clemson game, "The people who didn't show up were just filling anyway, they didn't care about the team or the game." These past few weeks have shown who the real fans are vs the fair weather fans and if you skipped the last two games because they were struggling, you will never be a real BC fan. BC will carry this momentum into next week, they will pull out the win and get one game closer to bowl eligibility.

WE ARE BC