Author Archives: Bill McDonald '68

BC coulda/shoulda won, but falls to Duke

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Boston College scored the only touchdown in the game against Duke yesterday, which belies the offensive power shown by the Eagles in the 9-7 loss. The low score said much more about BC’s defense, which held the Blue Devils to three field goals, all in the first half; held Duke scoreless on first-and-goal from the one in the second half; limited the Dukies to only 73 yards total offense in the second half; and held Duke to a total of 33 yards rushing for the game.

Troy Flutie

Troy Flutie

With BC down 6-0 in the second quarter, Eagles freshman quarterback Jeff Smith threw what appeared to many to be a 25-yard touchdown pass to freshman Thadd Smith, but the pass was ruled incomplete by officials on the field. Replay officials sustained the call, which was vociferously and vigorously opposed by Coach Steve Addazio, A BC field goal attempt from the 25 then was muffed and Duke took over on downs.

Holding Duke at the beginning of the third quarter, BC mishandled the ensuing punt, which Duke recovered on the BC 15. Two plays later, Duke was on the 1. Four rushing attempts failed and BC took over on downs.

Troy Flutie, above, threw a 66-yard touchdown pass to the same Thadd Smith late in the third quarter to bring the Eagles within 2, at 9-7. The Eagles reached the Duke 27 late in the fourth quarter, but freshman kicker Colton Lichtenberg missed a 45-yard field goal.

Flutie had a career high 129 yards passing, completing 5 of 8 attempts. Smith was 3-13 for 12 yards, but led the team with 60 yards rushing on 11 carries. BC overall gained 305 yards to Duke’s 228, and had 9 fewer plays than the Blue Devils.

Next up, Wake Forest, which fell by 8 to Florida State on Saturday.

WakeGW2015

 

#1 BC defense stops Northern Illinois

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The Eagles stymied the Huskies of Northern Illinois Saturday, holding them to 153 yards total offense and one offensive touchdown, and won 17-14. BC is 3-1, 0-1 in ACC play.

QB Troy Flutie

QB Troy Flutie

Redshirt freshman Troy Flutie (Doug’s nephew, Darren’s son) started for BC and threw his first career touchdown pass in the second quarter to begin the scoring. Flute started slowly, missing his first five passes before the touchdown, but ended up 5 of 11. He also threw an interception that NIU returned to the BC 4 and then scored a touchdown.

BC has not allowed any team this year to gain more than 100 yards rushing. The defense ranks #1 in the national statistically. (The 11 total yards BC allowed to Howard certainly helped the stats.)

The Eagles had 326 yards total offense against NIU, 234 on the ground. Jon Hilliman gained 119 yards on 24 carries, and true freshman QB Jeff Smith added 56 yards on 9 carries.

Northern Illinois came into the game following a close 20-13 loss to #1 Ohio State in which the Huskies gained 190 yards. NIU is the defending Mid-America Conference champion and won at least 11 games in the previous five consecutive seasons.

Highlights from the ACC:

BC visits Duke next, Saturday, October 3, at 12:30 pm PT. The Blue Devils upended Georgia Tech on Saturday, 34-20.

Duke2015

 

Another shutout . . . but wrong side

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Florida State beat the Eagles, 14-0, in a nationally televised game Friday, the conference opener for both teams. BC’s defense was excellent, holding the Seminoles’ offense to a single touchdown, on the opening drive, and 217 yards overall. The second FSU touchdown was a fumble return.

Offense from the Eagles was not so great, totaling 195 yards and resulting in the first shutout for BC since Steve Addazio became coach. Sophomore quarterback Darius Wade was 4 of 12 passing, 47 yards, and an interception. Wade suffered a broken ankle in the fourth quarter and will miss the rest of the season. Both freshman Jeff Smith and redshirt freshman Troy Flutie (nephew of Doug) saw action as Wade’s replacement. An announcement as to the starting quarterback for the upcoming game in expected soon.

Here are highlights.

The game was another “red bandanna” game, honoring the legacy of Welles Crowther, ’99, who died in the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, but nor before rescuing a dozen people. The American Heroes Channel handed out a red bandanna, which Crowther wore regularly, to the first 25,000 attendees.

ESPN’s Sports Center was “on the road” and broadcast from Alumni Stadium prior to the game. While the content included other sports, ESPN focused on that night’s BC-FSU game and provided some dramatic aerial views of the BC campus. All in all, it seemed a great advertisement for the University.

The Eagles face Northern Illinois on Saturday in a 10 am PT game. Game watch is, as usual, at The Beer Co.

NoIll2015

Northern Illinois had its own difficult game this weekend and handled itself extremely well. The Huskies lost to #1 Ohio State 20-13. NIU tied Ohio State offensively, with the deciding points coming on an interception return.

Northern Illinois may be little-known to BC fans, but they should not be little-regarded. The Huskies are reigning champions of the Mid-American Conference and have won at least 11 games in the five seasons prior to this one. The only previous meeting between BC and Northern Illinois was in 1971 and resulted in a 20-10 BC win.