Boston College Athletics
Eagles Eyeing Two Hurricanes
September 20, 2002 | Football
Sept. 20, 2002
Following a week off, the 2-0 Boston College Eagles will board a chartered jet Friday evening for a three-hour flight to South Florida in preparation for Saturday evening's nationally televised (ESPN) game vs. top-ranked Miami. While preparing for the task of facing the nation's number one team, the Eagle coaching staff has been keeping a close eye on Hurricane Isidore, which has been churning near Cuba and could threaten weather conditions for Saturday night's game in the Orange Bowl.
"We've been keeping an eye on the Weather Channel," BC coach Tom O'Brien says. "We could be looking at a wet track Saturday night in the Orange Bowl."
Wet or dry, ESPN's prime-time game of the week will kick off at 7:45 p.m. with Ron Franklin handling play-by-play, Mike Gottfried color commentary and Dave Ryan on the sideline.
The Eagles will be looking to beat the 'Canes in the Orange Bowl for just the second time (the first being the "Miracle in Miami" in 1984) and to defeat the nation's number one team for the third time in school history. Previously, BC defeated top-ranked Texas 14-13 in 1976 and toppled number one Notre Dame 41-39 in 1993 on a David Gordon field goal in the game's closing seconds.
BC will be without the services of starting cornerback Peter Shean, who injured his right knee in the Stanford game and will not make the trip. Shean will be replaced by redshirt freshman Larry Lester, who gets the starting nod in just his third collegiate game.
After coming off the bench to rush for more than 100 yards in each of BC's first two games, junior Derrick Knight will start at tailback for the first time of the season. Knight also started at tailback, replacing the suspended William Green, in last year's BC-Miami game in Chestnut Hill.
Miami is riding the nation's longest win streak at 25 games, including 18 straight wins in BIG EAST competition and 17 straight at home. The 'Canes have scored 40 or more points in each of their first three games this year and have outscored their opponents 148-54. They are averaging 500.3 yards of total offense per game, led by running back Willis McGahee, who tied a school record with four touchdowns last week vs. Temple.
The Eagles still may be stinging from last year's gut-wrenching loss in Alumni Stadium. With 20 seconds remaining in the game, down 12-7 but with only nine yards to go, BC appeared to be on the verge of shocking the college football world. But a Brian St. Pierre pass ricocheted off Miami cornerback Ed Rumph's knee and fell into the hands of defensive tackle Matt Walter, who began running down the field with the ball. Miami free safety Ed Reed took the ball from Walter and ran it into the end zone for the 18-7 victory. When the dust had settled, Miami was able to continue its march to the national championship through one of the most bizarre game endings in BC football history.
St. Pierre spent this past week answering seemingly endless media questioning about the pass. "It hurt, but I eventually got over it," he said. "Not that I've forgotten it."
