Week 9 Notes: The Red Bandanna Game

As an annual tradition and one of most special days of the season, Boston College will honor Welles Crowther in the Red Bandanna Game against No. 2 Notre Dame. The game will be broadcast nationally on ABC. Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge, Todd McShay and Molly McGrath have the call of the game. Coverage on the Boston College Learfield IMG Sports Network begins at 3 p.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 132, XM channel 194 and online via SiriusXM channel 956.

Last Saturday, Boston College (5-3, 4-3 ACC) put together a dominant effort on defense in limiting Syracuse to just 240 yards of offense in a 16-13 win inside the Carrier Dome. In the most anticipated game at Notre Dame Stadium in over a decade, the No. 4 ranked Notre Dame football team took down No. 1 Clemson, 47-40, in a double-overtime thriller.

The Series
Boston College and Notre Dame meet for the 26th time in series history Saturday. The Eagles and Fighting Irish, the only Catholic institutions in FBS, play for the Frank Leahy Memorial Bowl. The trophy is named for Frank Leahy, who coached Boston College from 1939-40 before taking the Notre Dame job in 1941. He coached the Irish through the 1953 season, minus time serving in the Navy in 1944 and 1945. Leahy went 20-2 with the Eagles, before posting an 87-11-9 record with Notre Dame.

The Fighting Irish lead the all-time series 16-9 as the Irish have won seven straight in the series. Boston College is 4-6 all-time at home versus Notre Dame. The Eagles are in search of their first win at home since a 17-0 victory in 2008. Notre Dame has won seven straight in the series, the longest winning streak for the Irish in series history. BC's longest winning streak in series play was six games from 2001 through 2008. The largest margin of victory for BC in the series was 19 (30-11 win in 1994) while Notre Dame's biggest win against BC was a 54-7 victory in 1992. The most points BC has scored in a game against Notre Dame was 41 in the 41-39 victory over the top-ranked Irish in 1993. Notre Dame's highest point total was 54 in the 1992 victory in South Bend.

The Eagles topped top-ranked and undefeated Notre Dame, 41-39, in South Bend on Nov. 20, 1993 - on a last second, 41-yard David Gordon field goal. It was the first victory against the Irish for the then 17th-ranked Eagles. The week prior to BC's win at No. 1 Notre Dame in 1993, the No. 2 Irish defeated No. 1 Florida State 31-24. Last week, the Irish upset No. 1 Clemson 47-40 to snap the Tigers' 36-game regular season winning streak. BC also defeated the fourth-ranked Irish, 14-7, in South Bend on Nov. 2, 2002.

• BC is 31-115-1 all-time versus ranked opponents, including a 4-11 mark against ranked Irish squads.
• Saturday's game marks the first meeting for BC quarterback Phil Jurkovec against his former team. Jurkovec transferred to BC in January after spending two seasons with the Irish.

Scouting Notre Dame
• Ranked No. 2 in the Coaches and AP Top 25, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish look to keep their undefeated season going Saturday at Boston College. Notre Dame is 7-0 overall and 6-0 in the ACC following last week's 47-40 double overtime thriller over No. 1 Clemson.
• Entering his 30th season as a collegiate head coach in 2020 and 11th year at the University of Notre Dame, Brian Kelly brings a championship tradition as the school's 29th head football coach.
• Kelly is the winningest active coach in NCAA Football (all divisions)*. He is the only coach to win The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award (2009, 2012 and 2018) on more than one occasion. Kelly is the fourth-winningest coach in school history.
• No FBS team has a longer active win streak than the Irish (13 games).
• Notre Dame improved to 2-3-0 in the all-time series with Clemson.
• The Irish are now 30-3 overall since the beginning of the 2018 season (.909)
• Notre Dame ranks 31st nationally in total offense (448.9 yards per game), 29th in scoring offense (36.6 points per game), 76th in passing offense (221.0 yards per game) and 19th in rushing offense (227.9 yards per game).
• On defense, the Irish rank 10th in total defense (296.6 yards per game), 12th in scoring defense (14.6 points per game), 32nd in passing yards allowed (211.4 yards per game) and fifth in rushing defense (85.1 yards per game).

Red Bandanna Game
• Boston College will recognize virtually the family of Welles Crowther, a former BC lacrosse player, during the game against Notre Dame in BC's annual Red Bandanna Game.
• Crowther is known as the "Man in the Red Bandanna" after he saved over a dozen lives in the South Tower during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. He wore a red bandanna, which he carried with him and wore during his playing days at The Heights, to protect himself from the smoke and dust.
• The Eagles will wear special Under Armour uniforms for Saturday's game for the first time.

Top Five Opponent
• Boston College has not defeated an opponent ranked in the top five since a 14-7 win at No. 4 Notre Dame on Nov. 2, 2002.
• A win Saturday vs. No. 2 Notre Dame would be against the highest-ranked opponent since a 41-39 win at No. 1 Notre Dame on Nov. 20, 1993.
• Both of BC's victories over Notre Dame when the Irish were ranked in the Top Five ruined undefeated seasons for the Irish. The 1993 loss ended Notre Dame's (10-1) bid for a perfect season and a possible rematch with Florida State, whom the Fighting Irish dethroned the week prior to facing BC, for the national championship in the Fiesta Bowl.
• The loss in 2002 snapped Notre Dame's eight-game winning streak to start the season.
• Boston College is 2-32 all-time against teams ranked in the top five, including an 0-13 mark at home against opponents ranked within the top five.

Playing No. 1 & No. 2 in the Same Season
• Boston College has played two opponents ranked No. 1 or No. 2 three times in the same season, including this week's matchup versus No. 2 Notre Dame. In the span of three weeks, the Eagles played at No. 1 Clemson on Oct. 31 (L, 34-28) and host the Irish two weeks later.
• The other two seasons where BC played two teams ranked in the top two in the same year was 1991 and 1981.
• BC lost to No. 1 Miami (19-14) and No. 2 Michigan (35-13) in 1991 while losing to No. 2 Penn State (38-7) and No. 2 Pitt (29-24) in 1981.
• The quarterback for Penn State in the 38-7 victory over BC in 1981 was Todd Blackledge. He finished the day 8-of-17 passing for 182 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
• Led by freshman QB Doug Flutie, the Eagles almost pulled off a Halloween upset against No. 2 and undefeated Pitt in 1981. Pitt survived a 349-yard passing day by Flutie and a nightmarish fourth quarter that included three straight turnovers, to pull out the five-point win at Alumni Stadium.

BC on ABC
• Boston College will make its 48th appearance on ABC since 1991 Saturday against No. 2 Notre Dame.
• The last BC victory on ABC was a 34-27 win against Virginia Tech on Nov. 2, 2013.
• Since 1991, BC is 24-23 when playing on ABC.
• Saturday's game marks the first time since 2013 that Boston College has made three appearances in the same season on ABC. The Oct. 31 game between BC and No. 1 Clemson on ABC had an audience of 4.56 million viewers, the second-best viewership of any college football game that day. The Oct. 3 game involving BC and No. 12 North Carolina registered an audience of 2.03 million viewers.

BC Versus Ranked Opponents
• BC is 31-115-1 all-time against ranked opponents. The Eagles defeated No. 25 Miami (unranked in the AP) 27-14 for their last victory against a ranked opponent in 2018 in the Red Bandanna Game.
• The last win against an AP ranked opponent was against No. 9 Southern California (37-31) in 2014.
• Since joining the ACC in 2005, the Eagles are 10-38 against ranked teams.

Thrill Jurkovec
• Phil Jurkovec has burst onto the scene as the starting quarterback for the Eagles. Jurkovec's 2,083 yards over his first eight games are the most by any BC quarterback in school history. Shawn Halloran owned the previous best start through eight games in 1985.
• Jurkovec also holds the record for the most completions (152) and passing touchdowns (14) over the first seven games of any player in BC history.
• Jurkovec is the first player in BC history to total four, 300-yard passing games in his first five career starts at quarterback and the first BC quarterback with four or more 300-yard games in a season since Matt Ryan (2007).
• In the 31-30 overtime win against Pitt, he finished with 19-for-35 for 358 yards with three passing touchdowns plus one rushing score.
• Against No. 11 North Carolina on Oct. 3, Jurkovec was 37-for-56 for 313 yards and two touchdowns. The 37 completions were tied for second in BC single-game history with Frank Harris (37 versus Army in 1968). Matt Ryan's 40 completions are the most in BC history against Wake Forest on Nov. 4, 2006.
• Jurkovec's 37 completions were an Alumni Stadium record. The previous best belonged to Matt Ryan with 37 completions versus Army on Sept. 22, 2007.
• His 56 pass attempts were also the most by a BC quarterback at Alumni Stadium since at least 1996 and was the highest overall total number of attempts since Ryan passed 56 times on Nov. 10, 2007 at Maryland. Jurkovec is tied for fourth in BC single-game history with the 56 attempts. Matt Ryan, Shawn Halloran and Frank Harris own the school record with 57 attempts.
• Jurkovec opened the season becoming just the third BC quarterback since 2010 to throw for 300 yards in a game - and he did it in his first career game at BC against Duke.
• The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, has named eight quarterbacks as its "Stars of the Week." Jurkovec was one of the eight quarterbacks to be honored after his breakout performance at Duke and in the win against Pitt.
• The Davey O'Brien Foundation announced its Great 8 list of the top quarterback performances of the 2020 college football season and Jurkovec was honored for his efforts at Duke and against Pitt.
• The transfer from Notre Dame finished 17-of-23 passing for 300 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in the Duke victory. He joined 10 other former BC signal callers to throw for 300 yards in a game since 1996 (Chase Rettig, Anthony Brown, Matt Ryan, Chris Crane, Matt Hasselbeck, Paul Peterson, Scott Mutryn, Tim Hasselbeck, Brian St. Pierre and Quinton Porter).
• Jurkovec became the first BC quarterback since Matt Ryan in 2007 to throw for 300 yards, multiple touchdowns and complete 70% of his throws in a game in leading BC to a 26-6 victory at Duke.
• Jurkovec made his first start at quarterback since Dec. 9, 2017 at HersheyPark Stadium in the Pennsylvania Class 6A state title game. Jurkovec led Pine-Richland to a 41-21 victory over St. Joseph's Prep.

Time to Update the Record Book
• Phil Jurkovec is closing in on the best sophomore season of any quarterback in Boston College history.
• Jurkovec's 172 completions are the most of any BC sophomore quarterback, passing the previous record held by Chase Rettig in 2011 (170).
• Jurkovec needs 667 yards passing to pass Doug Flutie's sophomore record of 2,749 yards set in 1981.
• Jurkovec has thrown 15 touchdown passes so far this season and needs seven more to break the mark held by Glenn Foley in 1991 (21).

Among the Nation's Elite
• Phil Jurkovec is sixth nationally and leads the ACC with 2,073 passing yards. He is 18th in Boston College single-season history in passing yards after just eight games.
• Jurkovec is third nationally in completions (172) and his 15 touchdowns passing rank 15th nationally.
• While just a small sample of only eight games, Jurkovec is second among all BC quarterbacks since 1996 with 260.4 passing yards per game in a season.

Haf Effect
• Jeff Hafley made an immediate impact on Ohio State's defense in 2019 and he is doing the same thing at Boston College in 2020.
• The year prior to Hafley's arrival at Ohio State, the Buckeyes ranked 71st nationally in total defense an 50th in scoring defense. In 2019, Hafley guided the nation's best defense allowing just 259.7 yards per game, an improvement of 143.7 yards per game from 2018. Ohio State yielded just 13.7 points per game in 2019, fourth-best in the nation.
• Hafley and the BC defensive coaching staff have turned things in the right direction on the Eagles' defense in 2020. BC is allowing 105 yards less per game than 2019, going from 125th nationally to 42nd.

Zay All Day

• Sophomore Zay Flowers has blossomed in BC's new pro-style passing attack. After totaling just 22 receptions for 341 yards in 13 games in 2019, Flowers has 38 catches for 600 yards and six touchdowns in 2020.
• Flowers is 15th nationally with 600 yards receiving and tied for 10th with six receiving touchdowns.
• The speedster from Fort Lauderdale finished with his second 100-yard receiving game of the season with six receptions for 162 yards and a career-high three touchdowns in the 31-30 victory in overtime over Pitt.
• Flowers became the first BC player with three receiving touchdowns in a game since Kelvin Martin at Holy Cross (11/22/86).
• He tied the school record with five other players with three touchdown receptions.
• The 166 yards receiving by Flowers were the fifth-most by a BC player since 1996.
• Flowers' 77-yard score was the first of 70 or more by an Eagle since Hunter Long's 72-yard score at Louisville (10/5/19).
• Flowers is tied for 11th in BC single-season history with two 100-yard receiving games this season. He is the first Eagle with multiple 100-yard receiving games in the same season since Kobay White in 2018.
• Flowers totaled five receptions for a career-high 162 yards and a touchdown in BC's 26-6 win at Duke. It was the first 100-yard receiving game for an Eagle since Kobay White's 121 yards at Florida State in 2018.
• Flowers was named the ACC Wide Receiver of the Week for the first time in his career following the Duke game. He became the only BC wide receiver to ever be named the ACC's WR of the Week for the second time in a season after his performance in the Pitt win.
• The 162 yards receiving by Flowers were the seventh-most by a BC player since 1996. Flowers averaged 32.4 yards per reception. No receiver in BC history had more receiving yards on fewer receptions than Flowers in a single game. He was the first BC receiver since 2012 (Alex Amidon) to have over 150 yards receiving in a game.

The Nation's Leader
• Junior tight end Hunter Long has been BC's top receiving target in 2020 and he leads the nation in receptions for a tight end with 43. He is tied for 11th among all players nationally in receptions in 2020 as well.
• Long has totaled 43 receptions for 501 yards and three touchdowns. Prior to this season, Long had just 32 receptions total over his first two years on the field at Boston College.
• Long and Flowers are the first BC teammates each over 500 yards receiving in the same season since Rich Gunnell (880) and Colin Larmond (596) in 2009.
• He was named to the John Mackey Award watch list after earning All-ACC third-team honors last season. The John Mackey Award is given to the collegiate tight end who best exemplifies the play, sportsmanship, academics, and community values of NFL Hall of Fame tight end John Mackey.
• Long led Boston College with 509 receiving yards and 18.2 yards per reception in 2019. He finished the season with 28 receptions and two receiving touchdowns. His 72-yard touchdown reception at Louisville was the longest reception of his career a year ago.

Richardson and McDuffie on the Tackle

• Boston College linebackers Max Richardson and Isaiah McDuffie rank first and third respectively nationally in tackles. Richardson leads the nation with 79 total tackles while McDuffie's 71 tackles rank third.
• The last BC player to lead the country in tackles was Luke Kuechly with 191 stops in 2011. He led the country in tackles in 2010 as well (183) and was second in tackles in 2009 (158).
• Richardson's 32.5 career TFLs ate tied for ninth in BC history with former first round NFL pick B.J. Raji. Richardson is also four tackles away from 300 career stops.

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