Game Notes: Week 5 vs. Temple
September 24, 2018 | Football
BC hosts the Owls on Parents' Weekend at the Heights
The Game
• Boston College resumes another old Eastern rivalry as Temple visits Alumni Stadium on Saturday.
• The game will be broadcast on ESPNU at noon. Mark Neely will handle the play-by-play while former Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware is the color analyst.
• Coverage on the Boston College IMG Sports Network begins at 11:30 a.m. with Jon Meterparel, Pete Cronan and Scott Mutryn. Fans can listen to the game locally on WEEI 850 AM, nationally on TuneIn and on Sirius channel 134, XM channel 203 and Sirius/XM internet channel 968.
• The Eagles (3-1) dropped their first game of the season with a 30-13 setback at Purdue last Saturday. BC committed four turnovers in the loss to the Boilermakers.
• Temple (2-2) opened American Athletic Conference play with a 31-17 win at home over Tulsa on Sept. 20. The Owls have won two straight games after starting the season 0-2.
The Series
• Boston College and Temple meet for the 38th time Saturday in Chestnut Hill.Â
• It is the first game against the former BIG EAST foes since 2004. BC played Temple every season from 1982-2004.
• BC is 28-7-2 against Temple and have won five straight in the series against the Owls. The last time Temple defeated BC was in 1999 (24-14 win in Philadelphia).
• The game marks the first time Steve Addazio will face his former team. Addazio was head coach at Temple in 2011 and 2012.
• Addazio oversaw the Owls' move from the MAC to the Big East and went 13-11 in his two seasons there. In his first season at Temple, the team went 9-4 and beat Wyoming in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl 37-15 -- the Owls' first bowl win in 32 years.
• BC has three Pennsylvania natives on the 2018 roster. Redshirt sophomore wide receiver and freshman defensive back Aaron Gethers hail from Harrisburg while freshman punter Garrett Reilly is from West Chester.
1st and 10
• Boston College looks to start the year 4-1 for the first time since 2009 with a win Saturday against Temple.
• Head coach Steve Addazio is in his sixth season at the Heights (34-34) and has guided the Eagles to four bowl appearances in five seasons.Â
• Under Addazio, BC is 13-11 in the month of September.
• Boston College's 171 points through four games are the most in program history in the first four games of a season, surpassing the 160 points scored in the first four games of 1940.
• BC opened the 2018 season with 40+ points in its first three games, the first time in 120 seasons of football at the Heights the Eagles scored 40+ in the first three games.
• For the first time since 2008, Boston College returned to the Top 25 in both polls following the win at Wake Forest. The Eagles dropped out of the national rankings following the 30-13 setback at Purdue on Sept. 22.
Strong September Start
• Boston College looks to start 4-1 for the first time since 2009 heading into Saturday's game against Temple. The Eagles have started 4-1 six times since 2000. BC's best start since 2000 was 5-0 in 2007.
Closer Look at AJ Dillon in the Starting Lineup
• In 11 games since AJ Dillon has been the starter at running back on Oct. 14, 2017 at Louisville, Boston College is 8-3 overall and has averaged:
37.0 points per game
259.8 rushing yards per game
199.5 passing yards per game
459.4 total offense yards per game
1,747 rushing yards by Dillon
158.8 rushing yards per game by Dillon
16 rushing touchdowns by Dillon
Nine 100-yard rushing games by Dillon
• BC is 20th nationally with 459.4 yards of total offense per game since Dillon became the starter.
• BC is 23rd nationally with 37.0 points per game during the time span with Dillon as the starter.
• Since Oct. 14, 2017, Dillon leads all players nationally with 158.8 rushing yards per game. His 1,747 rushing yards over the 11 games rank second overall, behind only Jonathan Taylor of Wisconsin. Taylor has rushed for 1,838 yards over the same time period, but played in two additional games compared to Dillon.
Rushing Leaders (Oct. 14, 2017 – Sept. 22, 2018)
Player, School Yards Avg. TD YPG
1. AJ Dillon, BC 1,747 6.0 16 158.8
2. Jonathan Taylor, Wisc. 1,838 6.0 9 141.4
3. Devin Singletary, FAU 1,575 5.8 31 131.3
Select Company
• Anthony Brown threw for a career-high 304 yards and five touchdowns on 16-for-25 passing in the 41-34 win at Wake Forest on Sept. 13. The New Jersey native is one of two Boston College quarterbacks in school history to have thrown five or more touchdowns in a game without an interception. Doug Flutie threw for 354 yards and 6 TDs without a pick in 1984 at home vs. North Carolina.Â
• Brown became the first BC quarterback to throw for over 300 yards and five TDs in a game since Matt Ryan vs. Wake Forest (9/1/07). It was the first 300-yard passing performance by an Eagle since Chase Rettig vs. Wake Forest (11/3/12).
Unforgettable, That's What You Are
• The Walter Camp Football Foundation announced the Football Bowl Subdivision National Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, presented by Generation UCAN, for games ending September 15.Â
• Senior defensive end Wyatt Ray was the sixth Boston College player to earn Walter Camp National Player of the Week honors since 2004, joining current teammate AJ Dillon, who was recognized on Oct. 15, 2017.
• Ray set a school single-game record with four quarterback sacks as BC earned a 41-34 victory over ACC-rival Wake Forest. Ray also recorded a career-best eight tackles and had one quarterback hurry as the Eagles' improved to 3-0, their best start to a season since 2007.
• Ray leads the country with 5.5 sacks on the season and 1.38 sacks per game.
• Ray comes from a family full of recording artists. His grandfather was Nat King Cole and his aunt is Natalie Cole.
Watch Out for Walker
• Michael Walker showed again at Purdue on Sept. 22 why he is one of the nation's most dangerous kick and punt returners. Walker finished tied for second in BC history with 213 kickoff return yards against the Boilermakers.
BC Single-Game Kickoff Return Yard Leaders
Yards Name (Year) Opponent
214 Dave Bennett (1968) Army
213 Michael Walker (2018) Purdue
213 Jeff Smith (2006) Clemson
• Walker is 11th nationally and leads the ACC with 29.8 yards per kickoff return.
• In punt returns, Walker was fourth nationally with 354 punt return yards in 2017.
• Against Central Michigan last year, Walker registered 128 punt return yards - including 124 in the first half - the fourth-best single-game total in BC history. It was the most punt return yards in a game since Ed Rideout finished with 131 punt return yards against Holy Cross in 1970. He finished the game with 135 all-purpose yards.Â
BC Single-Game Punt Return Yard Leaders
Yards Name (Year) Opponent
166 Kelvin Martin (1985) Holy Cross
136 Kelvin Martin (1986) SMU
131 Ed Rideout (1970) Holy Cross
128 Michael Walker (2017) Central Michigan
109 Spiffy Evans (2012) Maryland
Offensive Explosion
• Boston College has scored at least 40 points in an ACC game five times. Four of those five are in BC's past six conference games.
• The Eagles joined the ACC in 2005, and the other game of 40+ points was 2009 against NC State.
• Over the 11 games, BC has eclipsed the 500-yard mark in total offense six times.
• Boston College rolled up 598 yards of total offense in the 55-21 victory against UMass on Sept. 1. The Eagles topped that mark with 610 yards of total offense in the 62-14 victory over Holy Cross on Sept. 8.
• BC went over 500 yards of total offense for the 10th time under head coach Steve Addazio in the victory at Wake Forest. The Eagles finished the 41-34 win over the Deacs with 524 yards of total offense.Â
500+ Yards of Total Offense During Addazio Era
1. 610 Holy Cross (9/8/18)
2. 598 UMass (9/1/18)
3. 581 at Syracuse (11/25/17)
4. 555 at Louisville (10/14/17)
5. 550 at New Mexico State (11/9/13)
6. 524 at Wake Forest (9/13/18)
7. 523 Army (10/5/13)
8. 512 at Virginia (10/21/17)
9. 511 UMass (8/30/14)
10. 506 No. 9 Southern California (9/13/14)
No. 8 Nationally in Passing EfficiencyÂ
• Boston College leads the ACC and ranks eighth nationally in passing efficiency in 2018. Starting quarterback Anthony Brown along with backups EJ Perry and Matt McDonald have been sensational so far this season.
• BC is tied for sixth nationally with 14 touchdown passes in 2018.Â
• Brown is 46-of-75 passing for 722 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2018. He has completed 61.3% of his passes.
• Perry is 15-of-18 passing for 179 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The Andover, Mass., native is completed 83.3 percent of his passes.
• McDonald is 7-of-8 through the air for 118 yards and two touchdowns.
What Can Brown Do for You?
• Anthony Brown finished with the best single-game passer rating (245.9) by a BC QB dating back to the 1996 season with his performance against UMass in the season-opener. He finished 15-of-21 passing for 279 yards and four touchdowns. The yards and TD passes were then career-highs for the New Jersey native.
• Brown finished with the second-best single-game passer rating in the 41-34 win at Wake Forest. Brown became the first BC quarterback to throw for over 300 yards and five TDs in a game at Wake Forest (9/13/18) since Matt Ryan vs. Wake Forest (9/1/07). It was the first 300-yard passing performance by an Eagle since Chase Rettig vs. Wake Forest (11/3/12).
• Brown was named the ACC Quarterback of the Week for his performance in the win at Wake. In addition, he was one of eight quarterbacks nationally recognized by the Davey O'Brien Award and The Manning Award for his play in the win at Wake.
• In 2017, Brown was named ACC Rookie of the Week for the first time in his career following the UVA victory and also was one of eight quarterbacks nationally recognized by The Manning Award as its "Stars of the Week."
• He was the first Boston College player with three passing touchdowns and zero interceptions in a conference game since Quinton Porter in 2003 in the 41-10 victory at UVA.
• It marked the third-best single-game passer rating by a BC quarterback since 1996 at the time. The performance now ranks fourth since 1996.
• Brown was the second freshman in BC history to start a season opener under center in the Sept. 1, 2017 win at Northern Illinois. He is the only freshman quarterback in school history who started to win a season opener on the road.
100-yard Games Piling Up
• AJ Dillon has just 11 career starts, but he has 10 career 100-yard games already at Boston College in 17 games played.
• He is already tied for ninth in BC history with 10 career 100-yard games.
Dillon Named ACC Preseason Player of the Year
• AJ Dillon returns as the ACC Preseason Player of the Year after a record-setting freshman campaign in 2017.
• Dillon's 1,589 yards rushing last season were the second-most by any freshman in ACC history. The New London, Connecticut, native ranked second nationally among all freshmen in rushing in 2017 and seventh among all players. Dillon set the Boston College freshman rushing record while posting the fourth-highest single-season total in school history.
• Dillon received 45 votes in this year's ACC Preseason Player of the Year balloting to edge Clemson defensive tackle Christian Wilkins by three votes. NC State quarterback Ryan Finley placed third with 37 votes, and Florida State running back Cam Akers followed with 13.
Scouting the Owls
• Temple enters Saturday's game 2-2 overall with wins at Maryland (35-14) and against Tulsa (31-17). The Owls started the year with consecutive losses at home to Villanova (19-17) and Buffalo (36-29).
• Geoff Collins accepted the head coaching position at Temple University on December 14, 2016, becoming the 27th head football coach in Owls' history.
• Temple ranks 112th nationally in total offense (333.8 yards per game), 105th in rushing offense (129.3 yards per game) and 89th in passing offense (204.5 yards per game. The Owls rank 80th in the country in scoring with 28 points per game on offense.
• On defense, Temple is 58th nationally in total defense (357.5 yards per game). The Owls are allowing just 21.5 points per contest, 44th nationally. Against the run, Temple is allowing 160.8 yards per game (73rd nationally). Through the air, Temple's opponents are averaging 196.8 yards per game, 46th nationally.
• Temple ranks in the Top 10 nationally in block kicks (1st, 3), defensive touchdowns (1st, 4), fumbles lost (6th), passes intercepted (2nd), red zone defense (1st), sacks allowed (9th), team sacks (5th) and turnovers gained (7th).
• On offense, running back Ryquell Armstead leads the Owls with 364 rushing yards and one touchdown. The Owls have played mainly with two quarterbacks this year in Frank Nutile and Anthony Russo. Nutile has completed 52.4 percent of his passes for 401 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions. Russo has completed 49 percent of his passes for 364 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.
Sweeney Continues to Climb
• Tommy Sweeney is among the top 10 in school history for career receptions by a tight end at Boston College.Â
• The Don Bosco Prep product had just one scholarship offer at the FBS level coming out of high school in Boston College. His lone other offer was from FCS member Delaware.
• He is one of seven tight ends in school history with 1,000 or more career receiving yards.Â
• A three-year starter, Sweeney was named to the All-ACC third-team in 2017.
