Will Boston College earn a bowl bid this fall?
Some might laugh at the prospect of Steve Addazio’s Eagles rising from a winless season in ACC play to a postseason opportunity the following year. But don’t sell BC short.
The Eagles have got the advantage of a very favorable nonconference slate that could yield four easy victories. From there, they’re going to have to take down a few league rivals, but there are several teams on the Eagles’ schedule that seem beatable. So could BC go bowling again following last year’s slip?
The short answer is absolutely. The Eagles draw UMass at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro the second weekend of the year after facing Georgia Tech in Dublin, Ireland. The UMass game tees up a four-game slate of out-of-league games that includes Wagner and Buffalo back-to-back in late September and early October in Chestnut Hill, and UConn at home in November. If the Eagles can simply hold serve in these four games, they could go 2-6 in ACC play and still potentially find their way into a bowl due to the ACC’s many bowl tie-ins.
Let’s face it: Boston College isn’t challenging the likes of Clemson and Florida State on the gridiron anytime soon. It really isn’t even in position to hang with Louisville or NC State.
Syracuse and Wake Forest? Now those are two teams that the Eagles could realistically defeat.
Boston College hosts the Orange in Chestnut Hill on Oct. 22 and then travels to Winston-Salem to face the Demon Deacons on Nov. 26. Win those two games and the four nonconference games, and the Eagles are bowl eligible. The other two key games are BC’s crossover matches with Coastal Division foes Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech in September. Win either one of those two games, and the path to bowl eligibility becomes much simpler.
BC had one of the nation’s best defenses last fall, and several key components of that unit return. The team also has many important returning players.
The key to this entire season for Boston College is whether or not it can find some semblance of a passing game to take the pressure off the ground game. If the Eagles can throw even a little bit, there’s no reason to think they can’t win six games this fall.