Boston College vs. Florida State Q&A: Doug Flutie Talks Capital One Cup, College Football Playoff And Eagles-Seminoles

BC Interruption: This is the fifth year of the Capital One Cup. Last season Notre Dame won the Championship for the men, and Florida State finished 5th. Which ACC schools do you see competing for the men's title this season?

Doug Flutie: Florida State again for football. Football carries a lot of weight. Last year, winning the National Championship was 60 points so that pulled them all the way to fifth throughout the year. This year, Florida State should be in that mix again and, I tell you what, Notre Dame does have a great program top to bottom. I wish I could say Boston College would be in the mix but hockey can only pull us so far. Duke's always pretty solid top to bottom.

BCI: How about on the women's side? Assuming Boston College might have a better shot at finishing higher on the women's side.

DF: Again, you look at Notre Dame. BC women...basketball program's got to come around a bit more. Like I said, Duke's always got a strong program everywhere. The Stanford women's team always does well as well.

BCI: Shifting gears to BC, this weekend they have a big matchup against the top ranked team in the nation in the polls, although Florida State is just 3rd in the College Football Playoff. I wanted to get your take on that. If the season ended today, obviously Florida State is in. But who do you see emerging as the top four for this year's College Football Playoff?

DF: Obviously Florida State being undefeated right now and a lot of people are questioning because the ACC schedule hasn't been as tough as maybe an SEC schedule and they're doubted because they have played so many tight games. I'm very hopeful for Boston College to give them fits this weekend and maybe pull off the upset.

Outside of that, Mississippi State losing to Alabama but only dropped to four. They're still in that mix. TCU, Baylor, Ohio State sitting on the outside looking in. Eventually Baylor will move ahead of TCU if they continue to win. Right now they beat TCU head-to-head but are behind them in the standings only because they haven't played a tough schedule so far. But by the end of the year, that will even off and they should jump TCU. So if there's any slipping up in the top four, I think Baylor is the team that will first move up there but then, they don't have a conference championship game, and that's what can open the door for Ohio State.

If Ohio State continues to look as impressive as they have in recent weeks, and could win the Big Ten, they're the team that can slide in.

I'm still hoping for the chaos theory where a team from the East in the SEC like a Georgia with a couple losses—or maybe even a third loss—could knock off the SEC West team, then all hell would break loose.

BCI: This weekend, BC is a 20-point underdog down in Tallahassee. Talk a little bit about their quarterback, Tyler Murphy. Not your prototypical Boston College quarterback. Really good with his legs. Needed just nine games to break your school's QB rushing record. Have you gotten to watch him play at all this year and thoughts on how BC's very different look offensively will fare in the ACC moving forward?

DF: Oh yeah. I've seen him a lot. Amazing athlete. A great competitor. Just tenacious competitor. Plays his best football in the fourth quarter all the time...all the time when the games were on the line, he starts taking off and running a little bit more. Making some plays. I wish he had a little more touch in the passing game but he does have a strong arm. They've made some big plays in the pass game.

But I think you have to pat Steve Addazio on the back for taking the talent he has and accenting it. Turning that team into a zone read, quarterback run, run the football. They've got some great tailbacks and a big offensive line that are all fifth year senior guys that are experienced, and they hammer the football on people.

The rushing yards have been ridiculous, and when you run the ball like that, you can compete with anyone. That's why I'm very optimistic this week. I'm excited to see them play Florida State this week and see how this plays out.

Tyler Murphy has made them competitive by using his legs, taking off and scrambling for first downs, making big plays. It's not just running for a first down. He's busting long touchdown runs. Pulling away from people. He's a lot of fun to watch.

BCI: And I know we only have Murphy for a year, but more long term, where do you see Boston College fitting in the landscape within the ACC Atlantic Division? Lot of great programs there: Florida State, Clemson, now Louisville. What are your thoughts on BC's ability to compete in the ACC with Addazio really changing the offensive identity of this program?

DF: Addazio has made them competitive. From a physical standpoint, they can compete with anyone. They've proven that under Addazio. I think he would prefer to be a spread-em-out, throw-the-ball-a-little-bit-more team, and then mix the run, but continue to have that physical presence offensively and defensively on the line. That's the direction I think he'll go. But like I said, he took what he had this year, and he accents that and this is what they've become this year.

I think they can win the ACC or challenge for the ACC every year, because physically they are never out-matched. Occasionally there are some athletes on the field that make big plays against them just on the pure athleticism. But from a physical standpoint, offensive and defensive line, front seven defensively, they match up well with everybody. And they give everyone fits. Even if they don't win the game, they give em fits.

I'm excited about the direction of the program.

BCI: Based on what Addazio has done, he's done a tremendous job in just a year and a half. Would you see him as a candidate for another job down the line, or do you he'll be on the Heights for a while and will help to build back up the Boston College program?

DF: I think he's there for a while. I think when BC hired him, they were looking for a guy that BC was more of a destination, not a stepping stone. So I'm hoping that he's happy there and that he's trying to build the program there. That's the feel I have from talking to him, and talking to the Athletic Director Brad Bates. But you never know. All of a sudden, something shows and there's a great opportunity and people have a right to make decisions that are best for them and their family. But I really feel like Addazio is a good fit at BC and that he understands the make-up of the type of kids he can get there, and what it takes to be competitive there. So I think he's there for a little while.

BCI: This year marks the 30th anniversary of the "Hail Flutie" play in the game between BC and Miami. I understand that your foundation, the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism, is commemorating the play by raising money for autism awareness. Can you talk more about the foundation and its efforts to help families affected by autism?

DF: Go online to Lenovo and write a congratulations on the 30th anniversary of the Hail Mary. For every 30 of those that go online, Lenovo will donate computers to the foundation. We've had a computer program there anyway over the years. You can help support our foundation by a simple thank you or congratulations message online.

BCI: 30th anniversary of BC-Miami, but due to ACC divisional alignment, those two schools only play once every six years or so. But the ACC has set up a season-ending rivalry weekend that includes BC-Syracuse over Thanksgiving weekend. Do you like the ACC's season ending rivalry setup with a mix of ACC-SEC rivalries and intra-ACC games?

DF: I kinda like it. Syracuse is a rival going way back. I know maybe it's a little older generation and back to the Big East days, or actually even before the Big East days. Being an independent, we played Syracuse every year so that is a rivalry for us. It was a game that was always a pain in my neck. We beat them twice at our place and they beat us twice at their place, when we were, at the time, a better football team.

It's good. You love rivalry games down the wire of seasons and I know that Boston College doesn't get to play Miami every year but that really wasn't a rivalry thing. That was a one-shot deal down in Miami at the time that I played. So when we get an opportunity to play them, they can reminisce about the ‘84 game once every six years.

BCI: Last question. Boston College and Syracuse have a long history. When BC has a good team, Syracuse knocks em down. When Syracuse has a good team, BC knocks em down. Any favorite memories from the times you faced the Orange during your playing days at BC?

DF: Yeah, getting on the bus and leaving the damn Carrier Dome and going to the airport was my favorite memory...because we struggled down there.

Honestly, my favorite memory is Kelvin Martin...we're playing Syracuse at Foxboro in what was Sullivan Stadium at the time. Kelvin Martin returned a punt for a touchdown to ice the game and that put us in a New Year's Day bowl. That locked up our New Year's Day bowl bid which became the Cotton Bowl which was a really big moment for us.

BCI: Doug, thanks for taking the time to talk Capital One Cup, College Football Playoff and Boston College-Florida State.

For more information on the Capital One Cup, capitalonecup.com, facebook.com/capitalone or @capitalone on Twitter.