Week 4 Notes: The Rutgers Game

Photo by: John Quackenbos

September 16, 2019 | Football

Old Big East rivals meet for the first time in 15 years when the Eagles fly down to New Jersey this weekend.

By: Athletic Communications

Boston College hits the road for the first time this season as the Eagles head south to New Jersey to face Rutgers at SHI Stadium. Kickoff is set for noon with live coverage on Big Ten Network (BTN). Joe Beninati (play-by-play) and Shaun O'Hara (color) call the game for BTN.

Coverage on the Boston College Learfield 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 93.7 FM, nationally on TuneIn and on Sirius channel 113, XM channel 386 and online via SiriusXM channel 970.

• Rutgers (1-1) comes off a bye week after starting the season with a 48-21 win over UMass before losing 30-0 the last time out at Iowa on Sept. 7.
• Saturday's game marks the first visit to Piscataway for Boston College since a 35-25 victory in 2003.
• Boston College and Rutgers meet for the 27th time in series history Saturday in Piscataway. The Eagles lead the all-time series 19-6-1.
• The two former Big East foes meet for the first time since 2004.
• The series began in 1919 and the two schools have faced each other 26 times in series history. Both schools were conference opponents in the Big East from 1991-2004 before the Eagles joined the ACC in 2005.
• BC has not lost to Rutgers since a 20-13 defeat in 1991, the first Big East conference match-up. The Eagles are unbeaten in their last 13 meetings against Rutgers (12-0-1), including a 10-game win streak.
• The game will be a trip home for 17 Boston College student-athletes who hail from the Garden State, including four starters in quarterback Anthony Brown (Cliffwood, N.J.), tight end Korab Idrizi (Fort Lee, N.J.), offensive lineman Ben Petrula (Freehold, N.J.) and defensive end Marcus Valdez (Perth Amboy, N.J.). Boston College has a total of 10 student-athletes on its current two-deep from New Jersey.
• Boston College also has three coaches who are natives of New Jersey. Offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian (River Vale, N.J.), wide receivers coach Rich Gunnell (East Windsor, N.J.) and offensive line coach Phil Trautwein (Voorhees, N.J.) all hail from New Jersey.
• Saturday's game marks the fourth straight year that Boston College has faced a team from the Big Ten. The Eagles defeated Maryland 36-30 in the 2016 Quick Lane Bowl, lost 27-20 to Iowa in the 2017 New Era Pinstripe Bowl and suffered a 30-13 setback last season at Purdue.
• All-time, BC is 38-43-2 against current Big Ten members. The 26 games versus Rutgers mark the most against current Big Ten schools.
• BC is in search of its first win on the road versus a Big Ten opponent since a 27-14 win at No. 25 Penn State on Sept. 6, 2003.

Touchdown Dillon
• Junior running back AJ Dillon totaled his 17th career game with at least one rushing touchdown Sept. 13 versus Kansas. BC is 12-5 when Dillon rushes for at least one TD.
• Dillon moved into a tie with Andre Williams for third place in Boston College history with his 28th career rushing touchdown for the game's first score against Kansas.

Boston College Career Rushing TD Leaders
1. Keith Barnette (1973-75) - 34
2. William Green (1999-01) - 33
T-3. AJ Dillon (2017-present) - 28
T-3. Andre Williams (2010-13) - 28

Boston College Career Rushing Leaders
1. Andre Williams (2010-13) - 3,739
2. Montel Harris (2008-11) - 3,735
3. Derrick Knight (2000-03) - 3,725
4. Mike Cloud (1995-98) - 3,597
5. Troy Stradford (1982-86) - 3,504
6. AJ Dillon (2017-present) - 3,015
7. William Green (1999-01) - 2,974
8. Andre Callender (2004-07) - 2,971

Closer Look at AJ Dillon in the Starting Lineup
• In 22 games since AJ Dillon was named the starter at running back on Oct. 14, 2017 at Louisville, Boston College is 14-8 overall and has averaged:

32.9 points per game
223.5 rushing yards per game
201.1 passing yards per game
424.6 total offense yards per game
2,682 rushing yards by Dillon
134.1 rushing yards per game by Dillon
26 rushing touchdowns by Dillon
12 100-yard rushing games by Dillon

• Dillon missed the games at No. 23 NC State and vs. Louisville with an ankle injury in 2018.
• Since Oct. 14, 2017, Dillon is second nationally with 134.1 rushing yards per game. Only Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor has averaged more rushing yards per game during that time span (151.7 rushing yards per game).
• Dillon became the first player in 120 seasons of Boston College football to begin his career with back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons. Dillon went over the 1,000-yard mark on his four-yard touchdown run at Florida State in 2018.
• Dillon is just the fourth player in BC history with two seasons of 1,000+ yards rushing. He joins Derrick Knight, Montel Harris and William Green with two years of 1,000 or more rushing yards.

Among the Nation's Best
• AJ Dillon is sixth nationally and leads the ACC with 3,015 career rushing yards. Among the top 10 active career rushing leaders, Dillon has played in the fewest amount of games among the top 10 rushers.

NCAA Active Career Rushing Leaders
1. Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin - 4,408 (29 games)
2. Walter Fletcher, Ball State - 3,974 (35)
3. Rodney Smith, Minnesota - 3,169 (42)
4. James Gilbert, Kansas State - 3,083 (41)
5. Zach Moss, Utah 3,024 - (35)
6. AJ Dillon, Boston College - 3,015 (26)

NCAA Active Career Rushing Yards Per Game Leaders
1. Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin - 152.0
2. Jemar Jefferson, Oregon State - 117.9
3. AJ Dillon, Boston College - 116.0

100-yard Games Piling Up
• AJ Dillon has just 20 career starts, but he has 13 career 100-yard games already at Boston College in 26 games played.
• He is tied for sixth in BC history with 13 career 100-yard games.
• BC is 9-4 when Dillon rushes for 100+ yards in a game.
• Dillon posted his 13th career 100-yard game - and eighth with at least 150 yards - against Kansas. Dillon finished with 151 yards, tying William Green (1999-01) for the sixth-most 100-yard rushing games in BC history.

Starting the Season with an ACC Victory
• Boston College has started the season against an ACC opponent four times in school history. The 35-28 victory over Virginia Tech in the 2019 opener marked just the second time in school history BC defeated an ACC foe in the first game of the year.
• The only other ACC win to start a new season was the 38-28 victory over Wake Forest in 2007.

First Half Fireworks
• Boston College has been explosive in the first half of both games in 2019 on offense. BC has totaled 87 points in the first half over the first three games of the year, an average of 29.0 per game in the first 30 minutes of play.
• BC has totaled 1,061 yards of total offense in the first half in 2019. The Eagles are averaging 353.7 yards per game in the first half through the first three games of 2019.

Flowers in Full Bloom
• Zay Flowers wowed coaches and teammates from the first practice of preseason camp in August. It took the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native just three minutes into his first collegiate game to show the college football world his potential as well.
• Flowers ignited a BC offense that scored 28 first-half points in a 35-28 win over Virginia Tech.
• On BC's first scoring drive, Flowers started the drive with a 16-yard rush and ended the drive with a 33-yard touchdown reception. The 33-yard touchdown was Flowers' first career reception for the Eagles.
• He also added a 58-yard reception against the Hokies to finish with two receptions for 91 yards. He led BC with 116 all-purpose yards.
• The Eagles scored the second-most points in series history (28 games) against the Hokies. Only the 1993 BC team scored more against a Virginia Tech defense in a 48-34 victory.
• Flowers is averaging 15.8 yards per carry in 2019 (126 yards on eight rushing attempts) and 33.7 yards per reception (three receptions for 101 yards).

Big-Play Passing Offense
• Boston College is fifth nationally with three pass plays of 50+ yards in 2019. Quarterback Anthony Brown connected with Zay Flowers for a 58-yard reception and hit Kobay White on a 56-yard bomb against Virginia Tech. In the win over Richmond, Brown connected on a 55-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jake Burt.
• Brown is tied for third nationally with three passes covering 50+ yards in 2019. He is just one of 11 quarterbacks in the country to have three passes of 50+ yards this season.
• In 2018, BC had just three pass plays of 50 yards or more the entire season.
• Going back to 2014, the Eagles have just five total passing plays covering more than 50 yards.
• Steve Addazio's first season marked the largest total of 50-yard pass plays as BC connected on eight passes of 50 yards or more.

New Look Defense
• Seven new starters opened the season on defense for BC against Virginia Tech. The new look defense featured a mix of underclassmen and veterans, including three redshirt freshmen (DT Kyiev Bennermon, DE Joey Luchetti, LB Joe Sparacio), a redshirt sophomore (CB Tate Haynes), two redshirt juniors (DE Brandon Barlow, FS Mike Palmer) and a fifth-year graduate student (SS Mehdi El Attrach).
• Luchetti recorded his first career sack and finished with 1.5 TFLs in the win over the Hokies. Bennermon finished with five tackles along with a TFL in his first collegiate game at Boston College.
• Sparacio recorded six tackles and his first career interception in the end zone to end a Hokie scoring threat near the end of the first half.
• Haynes finished with a career-high nine tackles to go along with his first career sack and forced fumble to set up a BC touchdown.

No Fly Zone
• Since the start of the 2017 season, Boston College is second nationally with 42 interceptions. The opportunistic defense started the season right where they left off in 2018 with three picks in the Virginia Tech win on August 31 and two in the win over Richmond.
• BC is second nationally in 2019 with six interceptions. Only Arizona has more interceptions this season with eight.
• BC has picked off at least one pass in 11 consecutive games. The last time BC did not record an interception in a game was Sept. 22, 2018 at Purdue.

NCAA Interceptions Leaders (Since 2017)
1. Iowa - 44
2. Boston College - 42
3. Wisconsin - 37

Non-Conference Action
• Boston College faces Richmond, Kansas, Rutgers and Notre Dame in non-conference play in 2019. Under Steve Addazio, the Eagles are 21-10 in non-conference games.

Playing the Best
• Boston College and West Virginia are the only two schools in the nation to play 11 games against Power Five competition in 2019 with just six home games.
• Only four schools in the entire country play 11 Power Five opponents in 2019: Boston College, Purdue, Stanford and West Virginia.

Top 10 in Boston College History
• Anthony Brown's 275 yards passing in the win over Virginia Tech to start the 2019 season moved the junior QB into the school's top 10 in career passing yardage.
• Brown is ninth in BC history with 4,121 career passing yards.
• With 195 yards passing against Kansas, Brown become the ninth BC quarterback to throw for 4,000 career yards.

Boston College Career Passing Leaders
1. Doug Flutie (1981-84) - 10,579
2. Glenn Foley (1990-93) - 10,039
3. Matt Ryan (2004-07) - 9,313
4. Chase Rettig (2010-13) - 8,263
5. Brian St. Pierre (1999-02) - 5,837
6. Shawn Halloran (1983-86) - 5,252
7. Frank Harris (1968-70) - 4,555
8. Matt Hasselbeck (1994-97) - 4,548
9. Anthony Brown (2017-present) - 4,121
10. Tim Hasselbeck (1998-00) - 3,890

Scouting Rutgers
• Rutgers is 1-1 to start the 2019 season after a season opening win against UMass (48-21) before dropping its first Big Ten game of the year at Iowa (30-0).
• The Scarlet Knights rank 106th in total offense (339.5 ypg), 91st in scoring offense (24.0 ppg), 90th in rushing offense (142.0 ypg) and 94th in passing offense (197.5 ypg).
• Rutgers is 66th nationally in total defense (371.0 ypg), 73rd in scoring defense (25.5 ppg), 107th in rushing defense (188.5 ypg) and 35th in passing yards allowed (182.5 ypg).
• Head coach Chris Ash is 8-30 as head coach at Rutgers over his four years in Piscataway.
• Isaih Pacheco is third in the Big Ten and 31st nationally averaging 96.0 rushing yards per game.