Boston College Football Isn’t As Young As Steve Addazio Says It Is

For the past two seasons, Boston College Eagles head football coach Steve Addazio has talked about the youth of the team as a reason for the woes of the team. In his weekly press conference in the leadup to this week’s game against Buffalo, Addazio used the word “youth” eight different times. Yet, is the descriptor accurate?

To answer this question, we analyzed the depth chart of Boston College and two other ACC teams, Clemson and Virginia Tech. Taking the starters of each team, we assigned a number to each player based on class year (1 for freshmen, 2 for sophomores etc.). One unit was added for redshirts. As a whole, Boston College’s non-special teams starters received a 3.13 age rating, or in other terms, as a starting unit Boston College is a first semester junior. As a method of comparison, Clemson received a 3.36 rating and Va. Tech received a 3.409 rating. In short, Boston College is the youngest team of the three, but it is not significant enough to warrant the kind of attention Addazio has placed.

To break it down even further, the Boston College offense had an average rating of 3.083, in comparison to Clemson’s 3.25 and Va. Tech’s 3.2727. While BC’s offense is noticeably younger than its counterparts, specific parts of the offense are comparable. Addazio talked about the line’s struggles ad nauseam in the press conference, frequently citing the unit’s age. Yet the starting offensive line received a rating of 3.2, the exact same rating that Clemson’s offensive line received.

Finally, BC received a 3.18 defensively. While Va. Tech received a 3.54 rating, Clemson’s defense received the exact rating BC did.

In short, the jury is still out on the level BC’s football team will play at the rest of the year. Yet, if BC does struggle, it will not be because they are young. A look at the youth of BC’s peers will underscore that point.

Notes used for compilation: