Inspired by SB Nation Adam Jacobi’s post entitled Decade of Change: A Glimpse At College Football in 2020, we thought it would be fun to postulate as to what BC football will look like in 10 years.
Food Chain: A Glimpse at BC Football in 2020
Below we have posted 10 predictions for BC football over the next decade and ranked what we feel are the top 5 most plausible, with #1 being our best bet.
Boston College will win an ACC Championship: After knocking on the door twice in its first five years in the conference, BC will finally breakthrough and win at least one ACC title. Of course, BC will be rewarded with a trip to the Orange Bowl to play some non-AQ program, setting all sorts of lows in terms of attendance and TV ratings. If programs like Wake Forest and Georgia Tech can breakthrough and win a title, so can BC.
Frank Spaziani will be the head coach: After 11 full seasons Spaziani will have to have a very impressive record in order to have retained his position until age 72. Most people expect his current 5 year deal to be Spaziani's final contract with BC but after what Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden have done the road has been paved for Spaziani to coach as long as he would like if the regular success is there.
The Eagles will sweep the home-and-home series with Southern Cal: And the two wins won’t carry nearly as much cache as they would have in the 2000s. With all the controversy swirling around Pete Carroll’s departure and Lane Kiffin's arrival, I have a feeling the USC Trojans football program will be a shell of what it was in the 2000s, giving way to new (old) Pac-10 powers Oregon, Washington and Stanford. Side note: doesn’t it seem like BC always finds a way of scheduling prominent football programs in down years? Notre Dame, Stanford, Penn State, Brigham Young all come to mind.
Boston College will be a member of the Big Ten: The Big Ten is looking for someone to become their 12th team so they can add the profitable conference championship game that the ACC did by adding BC. We already know that if the price is right, BC will jump ship under GDF's lead and with the Big Ten network being more successful than originally anticipated, the Big Ten has money to spread around.
BC will return to Foxboro: The Eagles haven’t played a home game in Foxboro (then Foxboro Stadium, now Gillette Stadium) in 23 years. Back in 1987, the Eagles hosted Penn State on September 26 and lost to the Nittany Lions 27-17. In the next 10 years, BC will return to Foxboro for a Labor Day weekend "made-for-ESPN" game against a northern football power like Ohio State or Michigan. BC wins the game, adding high expectations for the Eagles on the Heights and setting up another ACC championship run. Besides, who needs the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Classic, anyway?
Eagles fail to qualify for a bowl game: All good things come to an end and BC is currently in the midst of an unprecedented streak of success. If you had asked Tennessee, Alabama, Michigan or Notre Dame fans 10 years ago if they would have a losing season or two over the next ten years they would've thought you were crazy but you would've been right. At some point BC's streak will come to an end and we'll be sitting home around the New Year just as Tom O'Brien has become accustommed to down at NC State.
Alumni Stadium will look very different: BC hasn’t undergone a major renovation to Alumni Stadium since 1994, when the seating capacity was increased to 44,500. While the $25 million Yawkey Athletics Center was completed in 2005, there really hasn’t been any major change to the stadium’s seating configuration in 15 years. In order to keep up in the college football arms race, a planned expansion will be undertaken towards the second half of the decade. This renovation could involve the closing of the gaps in the end zones, the addition of backed seats, the renovation of the South End zone or the addition of more luxury boxes on the Reservoir side of the stadium (a la Maryland’s recent Byrd Stadium renovation). Either way, Alumni Stadium will look very different from what it did at the conclusion of the last decade.
An Irish Rivalry Renewed: After several years of no Boston College-Notre Dame series, the two catholic schools sign another long-term contract and the rivalry continues.
BC will play in the Sun Bowl to a half-empty stadium: El Paso, Texas on New Year’s Day? The most likely scenario is that BC loses in the ACC Championship Game and falls all the way to the Sun Bowl. BC struggles to fill the stadium and in subsequent years, the Sun Bowl winds up liking BC just as much as the Gator Bowl and Chick-Fil-A Bowl do.
Boston College will lose a BCS game: Certainly the most likely BCS game that BC would lose is the Orange Bowl after they win the ACC one year but it is theoretically possible that BC could go 12-1 or 11-1 one season and get an at-large bid to one of the other BCS bowls and lose that one. Regardless of which BCS bowl game they're in, I would not be optimistic about BC's chances after seeing other non-traditional BCS schools like Wake Forest, Cincinnati, and Georgia Tech go 0-for-BCS games.
Brian’s Food Chain:
5. Eagles fail to qualify for a bowl - although with our scheduling, I'm not convinced this will happen
4. The Eagles will sweep the home-and-home series with Southern Cal - Lane Kiffin? Really, USC?
3. BC will play in the Sun Bowl to a half-empty stadium - Making more enemies of bowl selection committees
2. BC will return to Foxboro - with the success of events like Frozen Fenway, it's only a matter of time that the football team returns to a pro stadium for a game
1. Boston College will win an ACC Championship - 1 in 10 is all I ask
Jeff's Food Chain:
5. An Irish Rivalry Renewed - By 2020, this is a certainty that a contract will be worked out
4. Boston College will lose a BCS game - I think when BC does win the ACC losing the next game is highly likely since the Eagles will have accomplished their goal
3. Eagles fail to qualify for a bowl - again, with BC's recent scheduling formula, not completely convinced this happens
2. Boston College will win an ACC Championship - The problem with this prediction is that this coming year might end up being our best chance
1. BC will play in the Sun Bowl to a half-empty stadium - BC vs. the Pac-10 in Texas is not a good combination for ticket sales
What did we miss? Chase Rettig wins a Heisman Trophy? Mark Herzlich returns to win another Butkus Award in his senior season? O-Line U produces a National Award winner? BC signs an apparel deal with Nike after the UA deal is over? BC loses to a I-AA opponent (or Army at Yankee Stadium)?
Your list? Your thoughts? What will BC football look like in 2020?