Boston College Athletics
Photo by: John Quackenbos
Bowl positioning at stake as Eagles head to Syracuse
November 22, 2017 | Football, #ForBoston Files
The season is far from over as the rivalry game looms
For Boston College, Saturday night's 39-16 win over Connecticut was a celebration three weeks in the making when it clinched the Eagles' fourth postseason bowl berth in the last five seasons. It restored the team to dominance after a one-week blip against No. 23 NC State, and it echoed the performances in the Florida State and Virginia games. It became a banner night for the program celebrating in its "road game" located a couple of miles from Alumni Stadium.
The bowl-clinching win isn't the end of story, however. In 2016, the Eagles won their way into a bowl game by winning the last two games of the season. The game against Wake Forest was a type of postseason playoff game where BC had to win or miss out on bowl eligibility. 2017 will be much different, and Saturday's game against Syracuse becomes a chance for the program to take a step forward into the next tier.
"In college football, (a bowl game is) a preseason goal," head coach Steve Addazio said. "So when you achieve it, it's a barometer of success, and it gives you an unbelievable opportunity to get another month's worth of practice. That allows you to develop your team and that's critically important. When you lose that, that really hurts you."
Last year's Quick Lane Bowl allowed BC to install offensive fundamentals employed during the current season. The Eagles ran 75 plays against Maryland, for example, a number that was roughly 10 more than their per-game average during the '16 season. This season, however, has seen BC sit at that number, averaging that exact same 75 players per game in 2017.
"We've got a chance to showcase so many young talented players that are as talented as anywhere in our conference and in the country," Addazio said. "That's really important. All of these freshmen have unbelievable, important roles on our football team right now. They get a chance to extend into the bowl."
The bowl game then becomes vital to continuing program-based development. The additional practices create linear links from one season into another, and it allows the team to grow. It becomes a future advantage over teams that miss bowl games and therefore lose the chance to work on extra progression and program development. It goes well beyond the starting lineup and has reverberations throughout a program.
"Nevermind the obvious (players)," Addazio said. "What about the not-as-obvious ones like Brandon Sebastian at corner or CJ Lewis as a wide receiver or Jaleel Berry as a defensive nose tackle? They're all over the place."
Getting to a bowl game is one thing, and the Eagles accomplished that with a win last weekend. Bowl games are broken down into tiers based on finishing position, and teams are sent to bowl games based, in part, on matchup. Facing more challenging teams or finding tougher matchups is part of the cycle and proves immeasurable for springing into the future.
The Atlantic Coast Conference's bowl selection is based on the larger conference finishing position. The conference champion automatically qualifies for the Orange Bowl with the hope that it places high enough for one of the four College Football Playoff slots. That's been the case each year since its inception, with Florida State qualifying in 2014 and Clemson each of the past two seasons.
If the ACC Champion goes to the CFP, the Orange Bowl automatically takes the next-highest league team in the CFP rankings as long as it isn't a semifinal game. This year, that could mean the third-highest ACC team if Miami and Clemson both somehow make the College Football Playoff.
From there, bowl positioning is based on finishing position but can get a little bit confusing. The next highest ACC bowl team goes to the Camping World Bowl in Orlando unless the ACC plays the Big Ten in the Orange Bowl. If that happens, the ACC absorbs the Citrus Bowl, which is also in Orlando, and the Camping World Bowl shifts down one slot.
The ACC then slots its next four teams into an "equal status" tier. That includes four different games: the Belk Bowl, the Sun Bowl, the Pinstripe Bowl and either the TaxSlayer Bowl or the Music City Bowl. In this tier, ACC teams definitively go to the Sun Bowl or the Pinstripe Bowl while the TaxSlayer Bowl gets to choose either an ACC or Big Ten team. If it chooses an ACC team, the Big Ten goes to the Music City Bowl and vice-versa.
Tier II bowls then slot the remaining teams based on bowl selection order. This tier includes the Military Bowl, Independence Bowl and Quick Lane Bowl.
What does all of that mean? It means Saturday's game against Syracuse is incredibly important for the Eagles in terms of bowl selection. A win solidifies their resume as a Tier I bowl team, which in turn opens opportunities to play in bigger bowls. It's the next stepping stone on the path of program development.
"We've been very fortunate to have gone to four bowls in five years and have the opportunity to develop your players," Addazio said. "I think postseason play is exciting. It matters in recruiting, and you want to be in that whole hub. It's fantastic, and it's gratifying. I think having the schedule that we've had this year and the way it's played out has been unbelievable. Right from the beginning, battling every game and overcoming a bunch of stuff along the way. Playing really talented teams. It's all been part of the development of our team, which bodes very well as we move forward here this week and in the future."
So while the bowl game is clinched, there's still plenty at stake entering Saturday against Syracuse. It's Rivalry Week, and the Orange are Boston College's chief rival. Whenever the Eagles have a big game or big moment awaiting them, the Orange almost always stand in their way. There have been big moments in the rivalry benefitting both teams, and there are lasting images.
Syracuse is also one of the most challenging teams in the nation with over 90 plays per game on offense. Its tempo and pace are unmatched, and its capabilities stretch to all facets of football. The Orange are bowl ineligible but hold the only victory over Clemson this year, proving how hard it is to win consistently with a developing program. This is not a game to be taken lightly, and it's not a coronation for any bowl game. Any road into a Tier I bowl goes through the Carrier Dome and an old Big East rivalry.
"We've got a big game (coming up)," Addazio said. "(We're) heading up to play our rival game against Syracuse in the Carrier Dome. I know from personal experience what it's like to go on the road and play up there. It's always a tough environment. It's always a great football game."
Boston College and Syracuse will renew the rivalry at 12:20 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be televised on the ACC Network, which can be seen locally on myTV38 in Boston. Coverage can be heard on radio via the Boston College IMG Sports Network, which is locally heard on WEEI 850 AM. It can also be heard nationally via the TuneIn app and on Sirius channel 108 and XM channel 193.
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The bowl-clinching win isn't the end of story, however. In 2016, the Eagles won their way into a bowl game by winning the last two games of the season. The game against Wake Forest was a type of postseason playoff game where BC had to win or miss out on bowl eligibility. 2017 will be much different, and Saturday's game against Syracuse becomes a chance for the program to take a step forward into the next tier.
"In college football, (a bowl game is) a preseason goal," head coach Steve Addazio said. "So when you achieve it, it's a barometer of success, and it gives you an unbelievable opportunity to get another month's worth of practice. That allows you to develop your team and that's critically important. When you lose that, that really hurts you."
Last year's Quick Lane Bowl allowed BC to install offensive fundamentals employed during the current season. The Eagles ran 75 plays against Maryland, for example, a number that was roughly 10 more than their per-game average during the '16 season. This season, however, has seen BC sit at that number, averaging that exact same 75 players per game in 2017.
"We've got a chance to showcase so many young talented players that are as talented as anywhere in our conference and in the country," Addazio said. "That's really important. All of these freshmen have unbelievable, important roles on our football team right now. They get a chance to extend into the bowl."
The bowl game then becomes vital to continuing program-based development. The additional practices create linear links from one season into another, and it allows the team to grow. It becomes a future advantage over teams that miss bowl games and therefore lose the chance to work on extra progression and program development. It goes well beyond the starting lineup and has reverberations throughout a program.
"Nevermind the obvious (players)," Addazio said. "What about the not-as-obvious ones like Brandon Sebastian at corner or CJ Lewis as a wide receiver or Jaleel Berry as a defensive nose tackle? They're all over the place."
Getting to a bowl game is one thing, and the Eagles accomplished that with a win last weekend. Bowl games are broken down into tiers based on finishing position, and teams are sent to bowl games based, in part, on matchup. Facing more challenging teams or finding tougher matchups is part of the cycle and proves immeasurable for springing into the future.
The Atlantic Coast Conference's bowl selection is based on the larger conference finishing position. The conference champion automatically qualifies for the Orange Bowl with the hope that it places high enough for one of the four College Football Playoff slots. That's been the case each year since its inception, with Florida State qualifying in 2014 and Clemson each of the past two seasons.
If the ACC Champion goes to the CFP, the Orange Bowl automatically takes the next-highest league team in the CFP rankings as long as it isn't a semifinal game. This year, that could mean the third-highest ACC team if Miami and Clemson both somehow make the College Football Playoff.
From there, bowl positioning is based on finishing position but can get a little bit confusing. The next highest ACC bowl team goes to the Camping World Bowl in Orlando unless the ACC plays the Big Ten in the Orange Bowl. If that happens, the ACC absorbs the Citrus Bowl, which is also in Orlando, and the Camping World Bowl shifts down one slot.
The ACC then slots its next four teams into an "equal status" tier. That includes four different games: the Belk Bowl, the Sun Bowl, the Pinstripe Bowl and either the TaxSlayer Bowl or the Music City Bowl. In this tier, ACC teams definitively go to the Sun Bowl or the Pinstripe Bowl while the TaxSlayer Bowl gets to choose either an ACC or Big Ten team. If it chooses an ACC team, the Big Ten goes to the Music City Bowl and vice-versa.
Tier II bowls then slot the remaining teams based on bowl selection order. This tier includes the Military Bowl, Independence Bowl and Quick Lane Bowl.
What does all of that mean? It means Saturday's game against Syracuse is incredibly important for the Eagles in terms of bowl selection. A win solidifies their resume as a Tier I bowl team, which in turn opens opportunities to play in bigger bowls. It's the next stepping stone on the path of program development.
"We've been very fortunate to have gone to four bowls in five years and have the opportunity to develop your players," Addazio said. "I think postseason play is exciting. It matters in recruiting, and you want to be in that whole hub. It's fantastic, and it's gratifying. I think having the schedule that we've had this year and the way it's played out has been unbelievable. Right from the beginning, battling every game and overcoming a bunch of stuff along the way. Playing really talented teams. It's all been part of the development of our team, which bodes very well as we move forward here this week and in the future."
So while the bowl game is clinched, there's still plenty at stake entering Saturday against Syracuse. It's Rivalry Week, and the Orange are Boston College's chief rival. Whenever the Eagles have a big game or big moment awaiting them, the Orange almost always stand in their way. There have been big moments in the rivalry benefitting both teams, and there are lasting images.
Syracuse is also one of the most challenging teams in the nation with over 90 plays per game on offense. Its tempo and pace are unmatched, and its capabilities stretch to all facets of football. The Orange are bowl ineligible but hold the only victory over Clemson this year, proving how hard it is to win consistently with a developing program. This is not a game to be taken lightly, and it's not a coronation for any bowl game. Any road into a Tier I bowl goes through the Carrier Dome and an old Big East rivalry.
"We've got a big game (coming up)," Addazio said. "(We're) heading up to play our rival game against Syracuse in the Carrier Dome. I know from personal experience what it's like to go on the road and play up there. It's always a tough environment. It's always a great football game."
Boston College and Syracuse will renew the rivalry at 12:20 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be televised on the ACC Network, which can be seen locally on myTV38 in Boston. Coverage can be heard on radio via the Boston College IMG Sports Network, which is locally heard on WEEI 850 AM. It can also be heard nationally via the TuneIn app and on Sirius channel 108 and XM channel 193.
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