Countdown to Kickoff - UConn - Boston College Athletics

The Eagles return to one of their old homes and the oldest ballpark in America as they ready for a showdown versus New England foe UConn at Fenway Park on Saturday night with kickoff set for 7 p.m.

The Fenway Gridiron Series plays hosts to the 14^th meeting between the two programs, of which Boston College is undefeated, holding an 11-0-2 mark over the Huskies.

With a win the Eagles (5-5, 4-4 ACC) can clinch their second straight bowl appearance, but will be forced to do so without the services of redshirt freshman quarterback Anthony Brown, whose season came to an end after suffering a knee injury against N.C. State last week.

"Anthony has an injury that will require surgery," Boston College head coach Steve Addazio said of Brown, who had started all 10 games for the Eagles this season. "So, we'll be moving forward. Obviously, our heart goes out to Anthony. He's a big part of the future of our program, and he's a great competitor. He'll be back ready to roll next year, and we'll have had a great year behind his belt to prepare for another great year from now."

Having dealt with major injuries on both sides of the ball this season, the Eagles are confident they can overcome another as graduate student Darius Wade takes over the reins under center.

"We've been through so many bumps and are grinding through things this year," junior offensive lineman Chris Lindstrom said. "Pushing through this will just be another challenge that we'll just have to endure, and I think we will."

The Huskies (3-7, 2-5 American) come into Saturday's game having lost back-to-back games, while on the season they have yielded 35-or-more points in each of their seven losses this year.

Television broadcast of the game will be handled by CBS Sports Network as Rich Waltz calls the plays, alongside Aaron Murray (color) and Cassie McKinney (sideline).

Radio coverage on the BC IMG Sports Network begins at 6:30 p.m. on WEEI 93.7 FM and nationally on TuneIn and on Sirius channel 119 and XM channel 202, with the "Voice of the Eagles" Jon Meterparel on the call, accompanied by Pete Cronan (color) and Scott Mutryn (sideline).

What they're saying

"We're excited about the opportunity to play UConn here in Fenway. Haven't played in that game before. It's always a great venue, an exciting venue. We've got a great week of practice ahead of us here. We're looking forward to that. Our team has got a tremendous mindset, had a great day yesterday together, went back and really got to work on the field in the afternoon. And all of our thoughts, all of our preparation, everything, our mindset, every ounce of energy that we have, as a program and as a team, will be focused on playing the University of Connecticut." – Boston College head coach Steve Addazio

"We're going to be playing an opponent that's a very physical football team, that likes to run the ball, use a lot of play action, very aggressive on defense. They have a couple of tailbacks that are really good in Jon Hilliman and AJ Dillon. Unfortunate for their quarterback, Anthony Brown, to have that injury that he had, but Darius Wade is a guy who has experience, who's played. And they're big up front. Defensively, like I said, they're very aggressive. Zach Allen, Kevin Bletzer are guys that show up and stand out on film. And the kick returner, Michael Walker is a really good return guy for them as well." - UConn head coach Randy Edsall

"I was frustrated that I didn't have a chance to play (at Fenway Park) my sophomore year, when we played Notre Dame. I'm definitely excited about the venue. I know it's going to be cold, but I'll deal with it." – Boston College graduate student quarterback Darius Wade

"For our senior year (in high school) we had a skip day and it was kind of an organized trip where we all went to Fenway. It was the Red Sox and I can't remember against who. But, I do remember Big Papi pointing at me one time, so it was pretty cool." Governor's Academy alum and UConn redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Matt Peart

Countdown to kickoff

10…UConn redshirt freshman Nate Hopkins and freshman Kevin Mensah have combined for ten rushing touchdowns on the season.

9…Senior defensive back Kamrin Moore leads the Eagles defense with nine pass breakups. He has had at least one in eight of 10 games this season.

8…Boston College senior linebacker Ty Schwab is eighth in the ACC with 81 total tackles.

7…With ten field goals and 29 PATs, Boston College junior kicker Colton Lichtenberg ranks seventh among kickers in the ACC with 59 points.

6…The UConn defense is sixth in the nation by allowed an average of 39.4 points per game against. The Huskies have allowed 395 points so far, this season. The most they have allowed in a single season was 413 in 1998.

5…Averaging 23.7 yards per kick return, Boston College Michael Walker ranks fifth in the ACC in that category. In combined return yards, the Eagles' junior is tops in the nation with 973 yards between punt and kick returns.

4…Boston College is averaging 4.31 yards per carry this season. Their 202.7 rushing yard per game average has them 34^th in the nation in rushing offense.

3…To be exact, 3.67. That is the grade point average of junior defensive end Zach Allen who was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team earlier this week. Allen leads the Eagles defense with 10 tackles for loss and is second on the team with 78 tackles and five sacks.

2…The Eagles have allowed only six touchdowns through the air this season, tied for the second fewest passing TDs against in the country. Boston College also ranks second in the nation with a 95.82 team passing efficiency defense rating.

1…With 196 yards on the ground versus N.C. State last Saturday, Eagles running back AJ Dillon sprinted into the Boston College record books, becoming the first freshman to amass 1000-or-more yards rushing in their first season. In his last six games, Dillon has rumbled for 861 yards and six touchdowns.

Countdown to Kickoff - UConn

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Players Mentioned

Zach Allen

Kevin Bletzer

Anthony Brown

AJ Dillon

Jon Hilliman

Colton Lichtenberg

Chris Lindstrom

Kamrin Moore

Ty Schwab

Darius Wade

Michael Walker

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