Boston College Athletics
Eagles, Cougars Prepare To Tangle
September 16, 2006 | Football
Sept. 16, 2006
Fresh off a 34-33 double-overtime win over ACC rival Clemson in what many called one of the most exciting games in Alumni Stadium history, the Boston College Eagles prepare for an important non-conference game against the BYU Cougars. The game, which will be televised nationally by ESPN2, will kickoff at 12:06 p.m. ET.
Saturday's game marks the second meeting between the teams. On September 3, 2005, Boston College defeated BYU in Provo in the season opener for both schools. Boston College has never played BYU at home, having played the other game at the Kickoff Classic at Giants Stadium in 1985, which the Cougars won 28-14. The series is tied 1-1 overall and Tom O'Brien is 2-0 all-time against opponents from the Mountain West Conference. Boston College is 6-6 overall against MWC teams.
With last week's victory, BC Head Coach Tom O'Brien tied Joe Yukica for the most all-time wins in school history (68). After nursing a sore sprained ankle for a week, junior quarterback Matt Ryan got the starting nod 20 minutes before game time and completed 22-of-38 passes for 212 yards and a touchdown. Through two games, Ryan has thrown for 545 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions.
True freshman speedster Jeff Smith sparked the Eagles all day with his electrifying kickoff returns. Smith returned five kickoffs for 213 yards, one shy of the school record, and broke a 96-yard return for a touchdown to swing momentum in BC's favor at the start of the second half. But the real drama came in the second overtime. Clemson got the ball first on offense and scored a touchdown, but junior linebacker Jolonn Dunbar bullied his way through the left side of Clemson's line to block Jad Dean's extra point. Needing to score a touchdown and an extra point to win the game, Ryan completed an eight-yard pass to Kevin Challenger and then BC's vaunted offensive line paved the way for L.V. Whitworth to back-to-back six-yard rushes, the second of which was the game-tying touchdown. Place-kicker Ryan Ohliger put the icing on the cake with a successful PAT as the jubilant Eagles rushed the field. BC must now focus for a rematch with a BYU team coming off an impressive performance against Tulsa in a 49-24 victory. In a game delayed by lightning, the BYU offense was electrifying, amassing 227 yards on the ground and 240 yards in the air.
Following his performance last Saturday, Smith now leads the nation in kickoff return yardage. For his efforts, he was named ACC Special Teams Player of the Week.
A familiar face will grace the BC sideline Saturday - albeit the opposite one. Paul Peterson, who played quarterback for the Eagles in 2003-04 and finished 12-2 as a starter, is now an intern on the BYU staff. Peterson completed 305-of-502 passes for 3,718 yards and 26 touchdowns for the Eagles and was the first quarterback in Boston College history to begin his career 6-0. The Utah native transferred to BC from Snow College and quickly became one of the most popular and beloved players of the Tom O'Brien era.
