Boston College Athletics
Eagles Regroup, Look Ahead To Pittsburgh
October 11, 1999 | Football
Oct. 11, 1999
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - A disappointed group of Eagles returns to the friendly confines of Alumni Stadium for Saturday's nationally televised (espn2) game vs. Pittsburgh following this past weekend's 24-14 loss to Temple in Philadelphia.
Tim Hasselbeck completed 14-of-22 passes for 146 yards and one touchdown in the game, but the Eagles were held to 105 yards rushing (60 from Cedric Washington). Hasselbeck injured his right shoulder (mild separation) in the Temple game and is listed as day-to-day pending further evaluation.
Temple scored 24 unanswered points in the final 30:02 of the game to hand BC its first loss of the season. Sophomore quarterback Devin Scott completed 17-of-23 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns on the day. BC blocked a punt for the second straight game.
Date: Saturday, Oct. 16, 1999
Time: 5:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Stadium/Capacity: Alumni Stadium (44,500)
Television/Radio: ESPN2, BC Radio Network (John Rooke & Peter Cronan), Pittsburgh Panthers Radio Network (Bill Osborn & Bill Hillgrove)
The coaches
Boston College's Tom O'Brien is 12-15 as head coach of the Eagles and
overall...A three-year starter at defensive end from 1968-70 at the
U.S. Naval Academy, he was named BC's 32nd head football coach after
15 years on the staff of the University of Virginia, the last six as
coordinator of UVA's record-setting offense. O'Brien also was an
assistant at Navy for seven years.
Walt Harris is in his third season as head coach at Pittsburgh, where he has compiled an 11-17 record. Harris is 22-41 overall as a head coach. Two seasons ago, he led Pittsburgh to a 6-6 record and a berth in the Liberty Bowl, and was named BIG EAST Coach of the Year. A native of San Francisco, Harris began his coaching career as secondary coach at Pacific in 1971. He served stints at California, Air force, Michigan State, Illinois and Tennessee. He also served as quarterbacks coach for the New York Jets from 1992-94. He became head coach at Pacific in 1989, guiding that school to an 11-24 record in three seasons. He is, perhaps, best known for coaching quarterbacks Boomer Esiason, Jack Trudeau, Glen Foley, and Pete Gonzalez, among others.
The series
Pittsburgh leads the all-time series with Boston College 12-11, thanks
largely to an eight-game victory streak from 1971-81. BC has owned the
series this decade, claiming victory in six of eight contests,
highlighted by shutouts in 1993 (33-0) and 1995 (17-0). Pittsburgh's
last win was a 20-13 decision on Halloween of 1996. The Panthers hold
a 6-5 advantage in games played at Alumni Stadium, but have not won in
Chestnut Hill since Sept. 9, 1989 (29-10). Last year, Mike Cloud
gained 179 yards on the ground while teammate Brian Maye recorded 12
tackles (five solos).
Injury update
Out: WR Chris Barnes (torn ACL), DL Adam Grace (dislocated shoulder),
DL Frank Misurelli (sprained ankle), Day-to-day: LB Jerome Ledbetter
(shoulder burner), QB Tim Hasselbeck (shoulder separation).
How they stack up
Statistical Comparison - Per Game Averages
BC Pitt
Points Per Game 23.6 29.8
Yards Per Game 383.2 350.8
Rushing Attempts 46.2 39.6
Rushing Yards 188.4 167.6
Yards Per Carry 4.1 4.2
Passing Attempts 28.8 26.2
Passing Yards 194.8 183.2
Yards Per Completion 11.5 14.3
Points Allowed 18.4 20.2
Total Yards Allowed 383.2 359.8
Rushing Yards Allowed 148.0 122.8
Opp. Yards Per Carry 3.8 3.3
Passing Yards Allowed 217.6 237.0
Opp. Yards Per Completion 12.1 11.5
Eagles on the radio
If there is no conflict with the Red Sox, BC's game vs. Pittsburgh will
be heard on SportsRadio 850 WEEI AM, as well as WHYN in Springfield
(560 AM), WSAR in Fall River/New Bedford (1480 AM), WTAG in Worcester
(580 AM), WGIR in Manchester, N.H. (610 AM), WTMN in Portsmouth, NH
(1380 AM), WLPZ in Portland, Maine (1440 AM), and WNRI in Woonsocket,
RI (1380 AM). BC radio broadcasts are handled by announcer John Rooke
and expert analyst Peter Cronan.
A look at the season so far:
Game One (BC 30, Baylor 29, OT) - In an exciting season opener, Baylor's Kyle Atteberry missed an extra point in overtime and Boston College, behind Cedric Washington's 177 yards rushing and three touchdowns, beat Baylor 30-29 in Alumni Stadium. On Boston College's overtime possession, Washington scored on a 1-yard run and John Matich kicked the extra point. Baylor then scored on a 1-yard run by Jermaine Alfred. Atteberry, who missed a long extra-point attempt after Baylor was penalized for excessive celebration following a second-quarter touchdown, pulled his kick to the left.Game Two (BC 14, Navy 10) - After a week off, linebacker Frank Chamberlin led an aggressive defensive attack (11 tackles, 9 solo, one sack) as the Eagles defeated Navy, 14-10, in Annapolis. Junior quarterback Tim Hasselbeck completed 16-of-25 passes for 271 yards and a touchdown. The Eagles dominated time of possession 34:52 to 25:08 in that game.
Game Three (BC 27, Rutgers 7) - The Eagles opened their BIG EAST schedule in style with a 27-7 road win over Rutgers. Tim Hasselbeck completed 17-of-22 passes for 168 yards, one TD and no interceptions as the Eagles amassed 427 yards of offense. Cedric Washington carried 21 times for 147 yards and two touchdowns on the day. Defensively, the Eagles intercepted three Mike McMahon passes, led by Jonathan Ordway, who picked off two. The BC defense also held Rutgers to 98 yards on the ground.
Game Four (BC 33, Northeastern 22) - BC got off to a 4-0 start when it defeated hometown foe Northeastern 33-22 in Alumni Stadium. The Eagles returned a fumble for a touchdown, returned a block punt for a touchdown and returned an interception for a touchdown on the day. Cedric Washington rushed for 107 yards on 15 carries. Tim Hasselbeck completed 11 of 26 passes for 113 yards.
Panthers on the prowl
Pittsburgh prowls into Chestnut Hill with a 3-2 record following last week's Thursday night ESPN game vs. Syracuse. The Panthers fell behind 24-0 in that game but mounted a valiant comeback behind quarterback David Priestly, scoring 17 unanswered points in the game's final 15 1/2 minutes before just coming up short. The Panthers bring a balanced attack, averaging 167.6 yards per game rushing and 183.2 passing and are averaging 29.8 points per game.
Hovan is Lombardi Award semifinalist
BC senior Chris Hovan is among the 12 semifinalists for the 1999 Rotary
Lombardi Award, it was announced this past Saturday. The Lombardi
Award is the third-oldest major award in college football and is given
annually to the nation's top lineman. The 30th Annual Rotary Lombardi
Award will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 8 in Houston. The other
semifinalists include LaVar Arrington (Penn State), Alex Brown
(Florida), Courtney Brown (Penn State), Steve Hutchinson (Michigan),
Chris McIntosh (Wisconsin), Corey Moore (Virginia Tech), Rob Morris
(Brigham Young), Rob Renes (Michigan), Chris Samuels (Alabama), Corey
Simon (Florida State), and Adalius Thomas (Southern Mississippi).
Red Zone rundown
A look at BC's efficiency in the ?red zone? (inside the 20-yard-line) this season:
BC Game # in RZ TD FG Effic. Baylor 6 4 1 83.3% Navy 3 1 0 33.3% Rutgers 4 2 2 100% Northeastern 3 1 1 66.7% Temple 4 2 0 50.0% Season Totals 20 10 4 70.0%Opponents Game # in RZ TD FG Effic. Baylor 4 2 1 75.0% Navy 3 1 1 66.7% Rutgers 1 0 0 0.0% Northeastern 2 1 0 50.0% Temple 4 3 1 100% Season Totals 14 7 3 71.4%
Keeping watch
Several Eagles are listed on watch lists for college football's top postseason awards. Preseason candidates include:
Rotary Lombardi Award (top lineman): Chris Hovan
Dick Butkus Award (top linebacker): Frank Chamberlin
Jim Thorpe Award (top defensive back): Pedro Cirino
Bronko Nagurski (best defensive player): Chris Hovan
Outland Trophy (top interior lineman): Chris Hovan
Under control
Coach Tom O'Brien has been pleased with his team's ball control, and
for good reason. Boston College has controlled the time of possession
category, holding on to the ball for 32:06 to 28:18 for its opponents.
BC leads the BIG EAST in that category.
Catch The Tom O'Brien Show
Each Thursday from 6:00 to 6:30 p.m., BC Head Coach Tom O'Brien will be
featured on 'The Tom O'Brien Show' on Sports Radio 850 WEEI. The show
is hosted by Ted Sarandis and Peter Cronan.
NFL Eagles
According to the National Football League, 20 former Boston College
Eagles were listed on NFL opening-day rosters (the most of any BIG EAST
school other than Miami). Of 250 colleges and universities with former
players in the NFL, only 23 have more than BC. The former Eagles:
Player Team Stephen Boyd Detroit Lions Doug Brzezinski Philadelphia Eagles Mark Chmura Green Bay Packers Mike Cloud Kansas City Chiefs Stalin Colinet Minnesota Vikings Doug Flutie Buffalo Bills Glenn Foley Seattle Seahawks Matt Hasselbeck Green Bay Packers Pete Kendall Seattle Seahawks Mike Mamula Philadelphia Eagles Tom McManus Jacksonville Jaguars Pete Mitchell New York Giants Tim Morabito Carolina Panthers Tom Nalen Denver Broncos Daryl Porter Buffalo Bills Bill Romanowski Denver Broncos Ron Stone New York Giants Erik Storz Jacksonville Jaguars Chris Sullivan New England Patriots Damien Woody New England Patriots
Birthday boys
Ten Eagles celebrate birthdays in the month of October, including: Marc
Colombo (10/8/78), Pat Kneib (10/10/77), Marco Williams (10/14/79), Jim
Connor (10/14/80), John Matich (10/15/77), Mike Guazzo (10/17/77),
Jonathan Ordway (10/19/78), Ryan Utzler (10/20/78), John Richardson
(10/24/78), Paul LaQuerre (10/26/77).
