Eagles Relish Opportunity Presented In Birmingham
December 09, 2019 | Football, #ForBoston Files
BC will play No. 21 Cincinnati at Legion Field on January 2.
It must have felt like a dream sequence for Boston College during Sunday's bowl announcements. Conferences and games made matchups official, but the Eagles didn't see themselves in any of the ACC's games. They knew a bowl would come knocking, but when the league's tie-in games started announcing, BC was nowhere to be found.
That's because BC wasn't going to an ACC game. Reflecting reports during the week, the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl invited the Eagles to play at Legion Field as the occupant of an SEC bowl slot, against No. 21 Cincinnati on January 2 at 3 p.m.
"I had heard a lot of things, Birmingham or Detroit (for the Quick Lane Bowl)," co-captain Ben Glines said. "I tried not to get wrapped up in it. It obviously affects all of us, but the opportunity to play in a bowl game, one more game for myself guaranteed - everything is hard-earned stuff. I'm definitely thankful and grateful to have the opportunity to play in this bowl game, and I'm excited for it. I'm excited to represent (interim head coach) Rich Gunnell, and we're taking (the matchup) very seriously."
Drawing the Bearcats in a bowl game is a brilliant opportunity for the Eagles. Cincinnati is an 10-win powerhouse from the American Athletic Conference. It was the highest-ranked Group of Five team in the College Football Playoff ranking as recently as Thanksgiving, and it retained a shot at a New Year's Six game as recently as this past weekend.
Consecutive losses to Memphis dashed those hopes, but Cincinnati heads to Alabama in search of its second consecutive bowl win over the ACC. It defeated Virginia Tech in last year's Military Bowl.
"We are excited for the challenge to face a nationally-ranked Cincinnati team in the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl," said interim head coach Rich Gunnell. "It is important for us as a program to end the season the right way for our seniors."
It's eerily-similar to last year's ignominious First Responder Bowl opponent, Boise State. Like the Bearcats, the Broncos lost their conference championship game after holding a stake in the New Year's Six bowl games and drew an intriguing gridiron matchup against the Eagles.
College football won't acknowledge the game's existence because Mother Nature erased it by forcing a cancellation, and its legacy is tied to the tongue-in-cheek jokes about the Eagles' "victory" because they led, 7-0, when it ended. So for BC, it's a rare occasion, an opening to right a past wrong, and send the seniors out on a high note.
"There's something about the game of football," Glines said. "It's why I love it. We gave some senior speeches before the Pitt game. Reflecting on a five-year career, we've had both highs and lows. I don't think anyone goes through a career without them. Embracing those five years allowed me to bask in the good times and reflect on the bad times."
More than anything, the bowl game is a reward for the sacrifices of a group of players who showed up every week to compete for one another. It's the right set of circumstances crossed with pleasant surprise. It's the last chapter of an emotional rollercoaster that began with the Pitt game before rolling through the next two weeks.
BC earned eligibility by beating the Panthers on the road, but had to wait through conference championship games to determine its destination. Each league had its own tie-ins to suffice, but the College Football Playoff committee rules ensure teams from particular leagues go to certain games. The Orange Bowl held significant distinction because it teetered the entire ACC selection order based on its opponent. When Wisconsin led Ohio State, a very real possibility existed that chaos could erupt and lead to the Eagles winding up at a different bowl destination.
Then the Buckeyes came back, and Florida, which only lost to LSU and Georgia, finished one spot ahead of Penn State. That sent the Gators to the Orange Bowl instead of the Nittany Lions, who instead went to the Cotton Bowl, and No. 15 Notre Dame wound up in the Camping World Bowl instead of the Citrus Bowl.
That's not the only way this game could have significantly altered. The Bearcats were 10-1 as recently as Thanksgiving before losing to Memphis, and a win over the Tigers in the conference championship game would have created a very different conversation.
The CFP committee reserves a New Year's Six at-large position for the best team in its poll from the Group of Five conferences - AAC, Conference-USA, Mid-American Conference, Mountain West Conference, and Sun Belt Conference. Memphis and Cincinnati topped that list, but Boise State entered last week right behind both teams before beating Hawaii in the MWC Championship. Had the Bearcats won, it's possible Boise would have jumped both teams.
"It's been a packed schedule," Glines said. "There's been a lot going on in the last couple of weeks, and I think it's emotional to do (everything). I think within the locker room, it's what's special about Boston College. The guys that we have in the locker room, the brotherhood that we have, goes way beyond (the game). You can throw (everything) in there, and it's a close-knit locker room. It's what we pride ourselves on, and that's what I love (about BC)."
The 2020 TickertSmarter Birmingham Bowl will kickoff at 3 p.m. on January 2 from Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN with streaming video available on WatchESPN and through the ESPN app on mobile devices.
That's because BC wasn't going to an ACC game. Reflecting reports during the week, the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl invited the Eagles to play at Legion Field as the occupant of an SEC bowl slot, against No. 21 Cincinnati on January 2 at 3 p.m.
"I had heard a lot of things, Birmingham or Detroit (for the Quick Lane Bowl)," co-captain Ben Glines said. "I tried not to get wrapped up in it. It obviously affects all of us, but the opportunity to play in a bowl game, one more game for myself guaranteed - everything is hard-earned stuff. I'm definitely thankful and grateful to have the opportunity to play in this bowl game, and I'm excited for it. I'm excited to represent (interim head coach) Rich Gunnell, and we're taking (the matchup) very seriously."
Drawing the Bearcats in a bowl game is a brilliant opportunity for the Eagles. Cincinnati is an 10-win powerhouse from the American Athletic Conference. It was the highest-ranked Group of Five team in the College Football Playoff ranking as recently as Thanksgiving, and it retained a shot at a New Year's Six game as recently as this past weekend.
Consecutive losses to Memphis dashed those hopes, but Cincinnati heads to Alabama in search of its second consecutive bowl win over the ACC. It defeated Virginia Tech in last year's Military Bowl.
"We are excited for the challenge to face a nationally-ranked Cincinnati team in the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl," said interim head coach Rich Gunnell. "It is important for us as a program to end the season the right way for our seniors."
It's eerily-similar to last year's ignominious First Responder Bowl opponent, Boise State. Like the Bearcats, the Broncos lost their conference championship game after holding a stake in the New Year's Six bowl games and drew an intriguing gridiron matchup against the Eagles.
College football won't acknowledge the game's existence because Mother Nature erased it by forcing a cancellation, and its legacy is tied to the tongue-in-cheek jokes about the Eagles' "victory" because they led, 7-0, when it ended. So for BC, it's a rare occasion, an opening to right a past wrong, and send the seniors out on a high note.
"There's something about the game of football," Glines said. "It's why I love it. We gave some senior speeches before the Pitt game. Reflecting on a five-year career, we've had both highs and lows. I don't think anyone goes through a career without them. Embracing those five years allowed me to bask in the good times and reflect on the bad times."
More than anything, the bowl game is a reward for the sacrifices of a group of players who showed up every week to compete for one another. It's the right set of circumstances crossed with pleasant surprise. It's the last chapter of an emotional rollercoaster that began with the Pitt game before rolling through the next two weeks.
BC earned eligibility by beating the Panthers on the road, but had to wait through conference championship games to determine its destination. Each league had its own tie-ins to suffice, but the College Football Playoff committee rules ensure teams from particular leagues go to certain games. The Orange Bowl held significant distinction because it teetered the entire ACC selection order based on its opponent. When Wisconsin led Ohio State, a very real possibility existed that chaos could erupt and lead to the Eagles winding up at a different bowl destination.
Then the Buckeyes came back, and Florida, which only lost to LSU and Georgia, finished one spot ahead of Penn State. That sent the Gators to the Orange Bowl instead of the Nittany Lions, who instead went to the Cotton Bowl, and No. 15 Notre Dame wound up in the Camping World Bowl instead of the Citrus Bowl.
That's not the only way this game could have significantly altered. The Bearcats were 10-1 as recently as Thanksgiving before losing to Memphis, and a win over the Tigers in the conference championship game would have created a very different conversation.
The CFP committee reserves a New Year's Six at-large position for the best team in its poll from the Group of Five conferences - AAC, Conference-USA, Mid-American Conference, Mountain West Conference, and Sun Belt Conference. Memphis and Cincinnati topped that list, but Boise State entered last week right behind both teams before beating Hawaii in the MWC Championship. Had the Bearcats won, it's possible Boise would have jumped both teams.
"It's been a packed schedule," Glines said. "There's been a lot going on in the last couple of weeks, and I think it's emotional to do (everything). I think within the locker room, it's what's special about Boston College. The guys that we have in the locker room, the brotherhood that we have, goes way beyond (the game). You can throw (everything) in there, and it's a close-knit locker room. It's what we pride ourselves on, and that's what I love (about BC)."
The 2020 TickertSmarter Birmingham Bowl will kickoff at 3 p.m. on January 2 from Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN with streaming video available on WatchESPN and through the ESPN app on mobile devices.
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