Again we are back with the Ultimate Boston College Football Series. Today we bring you Group F, which includes a big Big East win, a come friend behind victory against the Deacons, and a typical Spaz win. Make sure to vote for your favorite!
2009: Boston College 27, Wake Forest 24
Boston College came out swinging against the Deacons with a quick field goal and a 50 yard touch down pass from Dave Shinskie to Jordon McMichael. But Wake stormed back on with a FG of their own and a 76 yard touchdown run from Brandon Pendergrass. BC closed out the first half on top though, when Uncle Dave threw another touchdown pass this time to tight end Chris Pantale, giving the Eagles a 17-10 lead.
The second half again looked promising for the Eagles as Shinksie connected for his third touch down pass of the game, this time to Colin Larmond Jr. But Wake Forest QB Riley Skinner had some magic of his own, throwing back to back touchdown passes to Chris Givens and Marshall Williams. The real drama happened in overtime, as the Eagles were held to a field goal on their first drive, and Wake was stopped on a forced fumble by Isaac Johnson that was recovered by Wes Davis for the win giving Frank Spaziani his first ACC victory.
2003: Boston College 34, Virginia Tech 27
In the Hokies final game in the Big East, the Eagles knocked off VT behind the leg work of Derrick Knight, some great passes from Paul Peterson and some questionable QB rotations by Frank Beamer. VT QB Bryan Randall started the game off and was tearing apart the BC defense, leading to three touchdowns on 278 yards of offense. Then inexplicably Beamer took him out and put in Marcus Vick, and things went completely downhill from there. BC held VT to 10 yards in the 3rd quarter but VT threw back in Randall who put the Hokies back in the game by throwing a TD pass to Ernest Wilford.
BC on the other hand had a field day on the Hokie defense, as Derrick Knight ran for 196 yards and two touchdowns, and became BC's all time leading rusher passing Mike Cloud. Peterson chipped in as well with two touchdowns. The Hokies only trailed by seven when Virginia Tech fumbled the ensuing kickoff, sealing the Eagles victory.
2004: #21 Boston College 34, West Virginia 17
In Boston College's final season in the Big East, they got to play the role of spoiler in this game, effectively knocking WVU out of the hunt for a BCS Bowl. Down in Morgantown, it was BC's special teams that shined, with huge punt returns for touchdowns by DeJuan Tribble and Will Blackmon. BC struggled on defense, allowing the Mountaineers to rack up 458 yards of offense, but forced WVU to march down the field to score, while the Eagles had excellent field position the entire game.
WVU Coach Rich Rodriguez said it best:
"Special teams were embarrassing. Every time they started with the ball on offense, they had the ball past midfield. Every time we started the ball on offense, it seemed like we had to go 90 (yards)."
This game was huge for the Eagles, who only needed to beat Temple and Syracuse to gain their first BCS bowl game ever. We know how that ended, but the victory over WVU was a huge step in the right direction.
2010: Boston College 21, Duke 16
In a game BC had no business losing, the Eagles hung on to win by the skin of their teeth. BC's defense held on to start the game, holding Duke to two field goals in the first half, while BC took the lead on a touchdown scamper from Montel Harris. BC came out scorching in the third quarter, with Chase Rettig connecting on touchdown passes to Ifeanyi Momah and Bobby Swigert.
The fourth quarter was nightmarish, as Montel Harris fumbled what looked like could have been the clinching TD for the Eagles. Not only did he fumble it, but Duke's defender August Campbell took the ball and ran it back 95 yards to bring the game within 5. BC offense went into complete turtle mode, only managing 7 yards the entire quarter. BC held on at the end on a goal line stand that included a deflected pass by Max Holloway to end the game. BC wins. Phew.