Boston College Athletics
Football Hosts Ninth-Ranked Southern California
September 12, 2014 | Football
Game Notes | Depth Chart
Chestnut Hill, Mass. - The Boston College football team hosts ninth-ranked Southern California on Saturday at 8 p.m. in Alumni Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN and broadcast on WEEI ESPN AM 850 and the BC IMG Sports Radio Network.
The tilt on Saturday night marks the fifth meeting between BC and USC with the Trojans have earned wins in all four of the previous meetings. This also marks the second time the Eagles and Trojans are completing a home-and-home series as they did so in 1987-88. It is the only second time USC has made the trip to The Heights. In 1988, the Trojans earned 34-7 victory over the Eagles in front of a sellout crowd of more than 32,000 fans at the new-look Alumni Stadium and a nationwide ESPN audience. The Eagles and Trojans also met in the 2009 Emerald Bowl in San Francisco, where the Trojans took a 24-13 victory. USC scored twice before BC made it a 14-13, but the Trojans ended the game on a 10-point run for the postseason victory.
The Eagles will be wearing accessories trimmed in a red bandanna design in honor of Welles Crowther (1996-99) a former BC lacrosse player who is credited with saving at least a dozen people in the south tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Crowther, who was wearing his signature red bandanna that day, lost his own life when he raced back up to save others before the tower collapsed.
The BC athletic department is giving 6,000 red bandannas to the student section to wear during the clash with the Trojans and invites all fans to bring their own to remember Crowther. BC players will don shoes, socks, gloves and helmets with the red bandanna pattern and trim while the coaching staff will be wearing Under Armour apparel designed in honor of Crowther and will feature the red bandanna pattern.
The Crowther family will be recognized on the field as part of the Eagles' Service Day, honoring the Boston College motto "Men and Women for Others."
Boston College made the rare trip to California last season during the home-and home series. The Eagles fell, 35-7, to the Trojans at the LA Coliseum in front of 62,006 fans. USC's Cody Kessler passed for 237 yards and two touchdowns and Tre Madden became the first Southern California player to open a season with three straight 100-yard rushing games in 32 years. Current sophomore running back Tyler Rouse scored his first career touchdown on a 29-yard run with 10:40 left in the game. He recorded three carries for 38 yards on the day. The BC defense tallied two sacks on the afternoon - one for an eight-yard loss by senior lineman Mehdi Abdesmad and one for a six-yard loss by classmate Josh Keyes.
Former Eagle Ricky Brown (2002-05) is a member of the USC staff as a defensive administrative assistant. Brown, a linebacker from Cincinnati, Ohio, was the co-recipient of the 2005 Scanlan Award, the highest honor bestowed upon a BC football player that recognizes accomplishments on the field, in the classroom and in the community. He finished his BC football career with 184 career tackles (118 solos), 4.5 sacks, 9.5 tackles for loss, five forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. He played seven years in the NFL, for Oakland from 2006 to 2011 and Baltimore for the 2012 season. In 58 games, he recorded three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and 76 tackles.
Current Southern Cal athletics director Pat Haden was one of the three commentators, along with Brent Musburger and Ara Parseghian, on the CBS broadcast for the BC-Miami game in 1984 when Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie threw a last-second Hail Mary touchdown pass to Gerald Phelan to give BC the win.
