Opening Week Kicks Off With Final Preparations

There's no anticipation quite like the start of football season.

Sure, the beginning of summer is great. The first cookouts, trips to the beach, and days of shorts and flip-flops feel fantastic, especially when a long year of college athletics come to a close. The longer days and the warmth of the sun are incredible, and it's a great chance for fans to rest and relax.

At the end of July, however, there's a change. The days start shortening, and the first stories of the upcoming football season start permeating the news cycle. Reflections from spring practice turn into predictions for fall. The first practice fields are lined with yard markers, and fans start getting the first scents of the upcoming year.

That's the start of the anticipation that festers and grows through Media Days right up until kickoff of the first game. Each step feeds the fans' desire to see a little bit more. It culminates with this week. After multiple scrimmages and glimpses into what their team might look like, it's game week. This week ends with a real game against a real opponent with a real result to be determined.

For Boston College, though, the 2016 season kicks off with an added flair of the dramatic. Boarding a Tuesday night flight, they'll take off and head to the Emerald Isle, opening their season in Dublin, Ireland against an ACC opponent – Georgia Tech.

"We're going to fly out (on Tuesday) at 10 o'clock," said head coach Steve Addazio, "We'll land in Ireland and go right to practice. So the only sleep everyone is going to get is what they get on the plane. We're not going to be waking up fresh, so we need to have as much done as possible ahead of schedule. It's kind of bizarre, that we're getting ready (as best as we can) – and then we go to Ireland."

That said, the irregular nature of playing a regular season game on Saturday morning back home (7:30 a.m. | ESPN2) is something the Eagles will adjust to, especially when they look across the line at a team just one full season removed from playing in the Orange Bowl.

"Like us, Georgia Tech had a bunch of injuries a year ago," said Addazio, "But they have fantastic players on that team. They're a really talented football team. Their offense is tough and they have a fantastic player in Justin Thomas. They limit the possessions that you have on your offense, and they grind you out. On defense, they're a fundamentally sound team with really productive players."

For both teams, it's a vastly different approach to the start of the regular season. This is the only ACC conference game of the weekend, between two teams looking to turn around their fortunes from a year ago, and more than anything, there's the weight of a cross-over conference game, a key victory needed within the league's ranks.

"It's a real challenge against an ACC team," said Addazio. "Normally teams get a chance to open with a non-conference game that works the kinks out. Everyone is different in game one to games three and four (of the season). But we're both in the same boat (having to play each other)."

Tying everything together is the location. This is just the second American football game ever played at Aviva Stadium, the sixth in Ireland's history, and the first since Penn State defeated Central Florida in 2014. It's a return to history for the Eagles, who defeated Army, 38-24, at Landsdowne Road in 1988. And it's a memorable experience for American fans and Irish locals alike, all of whom will get to immerse and blend the cultures of the two countries.

But it's still a football game, one that makes this more like a business trip than a bowl game. "This is not a bowl game," said Addazio. "There's a couple of things to experience (for the players), and there's a small amount of (cultural opportunities). But we're going (to Ireland) to win a game."

Boston College Athletics

Opening Week Kicks Off With Final Preparations

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