Boston College Athletics
Photo by: Boston College Football / Maddie DiNatali
The Tailgate: Maine
September 18, 2026 | Football, #ForBoston Files
A 2-1 start would give BC a driver's seat look at the next quarter pole of the season.
Maine head coach Jordan Stevens found himself confronting a bit of realism during this week's preparation for Saturday's game against Boston College. Losing to Merrimack after dropping a blowout loss to an FBS level team at Appalachian State didn't sit well with him after reviewing the film, but understanding the positives from the first week victory over Towson allowed him to take a more holistic view of the Black Bears ahead of their trip to Chestnut Hill.
The team, after all, built a 21-8 lead by dominating the second quarter of its win over the Tigers, and Towson eventually battled both Navy and South Carolina through evenly played first or second quarters. Holding onto win that game by converting a fourth quarter turnover exhibited an emotional fortitude that eluded Maine during its close losses to William & Mary and Stonehill during the first half of last season, and that performance was somehow still embedded in the two losses.
Drilling it and bringing it forward for BC, he therefore reasoned, illustrated exactly how the team expected to compete on the bigger and larger FBS stage.
"We didn't capitalize on some opportunities that we had [in last week's game against Merrimack]," he said during this week's press conference. "We had some takeaways that we created on defense, and we weren't able to take advantage of those [to] go score. It was really kind of a sloppy game and a game that we needed to be better in our execution. So we got back to work for this week, and we're going to improve in those areas where we can go out and execute at a higher level."
The Eagles remain the only power conference team situated within the New England college football footprint, so Stevens never minced words about the challenge facing Maine ahead of this week's trip. To him, the 55-3 loss from the trip to Appalachian State still oozed from a fresh wound, and the double-edged sword of expecting better against a BC team that delighted its fans with a nationally televised win came at the expense of a brashness towards the apparent hill in front of his roster.
That idea - the thought of competing at a high level - is a dream that's bringing Maine into Chestnut Hill for the first time in four years. Indeed, the number of FCS teams marching out of FBS stadiums with wins is significantly larger than the era directly preceding the rule change that allotted one or two games per year, and the Black Bears scored a program-high 17 points (at least for the modern era) during their last trip to Alumni Stadium. Games against Weber State, Villanova and Holy Cross likewise ended with closer margins of victory than the standard blowout wins over Northeastern and Rhode Island, and the possibility of driving out of Massachusetts with a headline-grabbing win is exactly why Stevens and the rest of his staff is preparing for this game with the same gusto as any other game on its schedule.
"The proximity [of BC] makes a lot of sense," he said, "and it's really in our backyard. The big thing for this game is going to be how our guys perform [and] execute, trusting their technique [and] fundamentals in this environment versus a Power Four FBS team. I'm excited for the opportunity. I know our players are excited and want to see us really cut it loose and compete against a Power Four team."
Here's what to watch during BC's matchup with the Black Bears:
*****
Weekly Storylines (Tom Landry Edition)
A winner never stops trying.
Maine offensive coordinator Mikahael Waters discovered a hidden FCS gem when he began designing more plays around Rashawn Marshall's 2025 breakthrough. A smaller and more agile running back, he averaged seven yards per carry during the season opening game against Liberty before entering into a reserve-based role for the first half of the season, so it wasn't until the second half of the year that the Black Bears really hit the gas pedal on his ability to slice and gash through opposing defenses.
He eventually gained 287 yards on 34 carries across wins against Merrimack and Elon, a stretch coinciding with a six-game winning streak in the middle of the year. Maine, in turn, scored 35 points in four of the games during that stretch, and the average time of possession tilted significantly before hitting season highs around 36 minutes in the wins over Stony Brook and Hampton.
"We have to take advantage of all of our opportunities," said safety Carter Davis. "This week is another great opportunity to go out and put something great on film that will build confidence in our team. We just have to keep stacking and keep stacking and seeing that the hard work that we put [into Maine] is coming to fruition."
Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan.
Significant ground yardage ultimately pointed towards Maine's ability to control other situational areas beyond just the clock. The Black Bears, for example, went 1-for-12 on third downs in the loss to Georgia Southern while the Eagles were 9-for-15 while the loss to Stonehill produced a 3-for-12 third down conversion rate compared to the Skyhawks, who were 5-for-16. Removing the Merrimack game's 2-for-11 conversion rate, Maine significantly improved against Elon, Stony Brook and Hampton to the degree that the win over the Pirates included a 9-for-14 success rate.
Unsurprisingly, that stretch included Maine's best ability to move the chains and gain first downs, and the bulk of those first downs occurred when the team ran through the marker, with the Merrimack and Stony Brook games reaching season highs. An earlier win over William & Mary likewise included 21 first downs with 12 coming via the ground game, but Marshall didn't factor into that game as much as Carter Peevy or Sincere Baines.
For what it's worth, the easy transition between the running backs and the utilization of Marshall for the 2026 season isn't a huge surprise with the strength of Maine's offensive line, which returned one of the best FCS options in right tackle Anthony Iliano. His massive six-foot, three-inch frame is paired with equally huge guards in Tyler Williams and Anton Kravchuk, and even the left side's ability to open holes behind tackle Andrew Kocan and guard Noah Stanley makes the Black Bears resemble more of an FBS team than the stereotypical and smaller gimmick offense.
I've learned that something constructive comes from every defeat.
It's strange to say it, but BC has to make Maine become a multiple offense behind quarterback Eddie Buehler. Like Marshall, he's a redshirt sophomore, but he hasn't yet transformed into the reliable option once provided by Peevy, who led Mercer to the FCS playoffs before transferring to Orono. He threw for 2,422 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2024 before becoming a heavily-used and reliable option in the games against North Carolina A&T and Bryant, and as a result, Buehler simply wasn't used.
The former Phillips Exeter standout and Class A All-NEPSAC First Team selection therefore experienced growing pains during his first three games, and he was picked off four times across the Appalachian State and Merrimack losses after throwing for two touchdowns without a turnover against Towson. His completion percentage subsequently dropped from 63 percent to 52 percent by the Merrimack game, and he lost 60 yards between the first and second games and that third-game loss that admittedly wasn't Maine's best performance.
BC, meanwhile, picked off Rutgers quarterback AJ Surace on four separate occasions in a game decided by one score.
"It's great to see us turn the ball over," said Davis about last week's win. "That was a big key for us to win the game, winning the turnover margin. [Anthony Palano] made two big plays. Charlie [Comella] made a great play. The turnovers were great to see. It had the crowd going crazy. They had us going crazy. That translated from doing turnover drills and stuff from practice, so it was great to see."
*****
Question Box
Can Maine's defense handle trench battles against BC's blockers?
A simple if/then statement to summarize a key to BC's offensive success: If conversion rates and first downs directly link to time of possession - and if time of possession correlates to successful scoring drives - then Maine needs to control the point of attack and overcome a size disparity along its defensive line, where none of its starting top depth chart options are bigger than BC's offensive line blockers.
Can Buehler begin to develop into a true passing option against the BC secondary?
Mikahael Waters joined Maine's program in 2019 after coaching for a Division II program at Augustana that averaged around 40 rushing attempts per game, but his background as an offensive assistant for Hawaii's teams transitioned the Rainbow Warriors from a spread option to a run-and-shoot scheme under head coach Nick Rolovich and offensive coordinator Brian Smith.
But Peevy also took a step back on his completion percentage when he dropped from 66 percent to 59 percent between the 2024 and 2025 seasons, and a Maine quarterback hasn't attempted 400 passes in a season since Derek Robertson passed for 2,933 yards and 25 touchdowns in 2023.
Can anyone bring me Tim Horton's from the Bangor/Orono area?
No offense to Dunkin' Donuts, but Tim Horton's forever occupies a special place in my heart after working with Canadian hockey players for the past 20 years. There's a franchise near the Bangor airport, if memory serves, so I'll happily reimburse anyone who delivers pounds of coffee to me.
Don't think I'm serious? I once planned my wife's birthday vacation to Montreal just so I could buy two giant bags of coffee grounds. That's another story for another day.Â
*****
Meteorology 101
The shreds of summer heat lingering through Wednesday and Thursday's mid-day hours were nowhere near the overnight hours that dipped into the mid-50s on Friday, and it doesn't appear that Saturday's kickoff is going to resemble anything like the first game at Cincinnati. High temperatures should only reach 60 degrees and minimally drop as things move closer to the fourth quarter, and the nighttime lows will reach into the 50s.Â
An additional forecast calling for mostly cloudy skies should provide cover for the seats that normally reflect sunshine off of their bleacher section, which means that we're headed for great football conditions ahead of Sunday's afternoon washout.
*****
X Factor of the Week
The fewer rules a running back has, the faster his feet move when 300-pound linemen start falling from the sky. -John Madden
Evan Dickens arrived at Boston College as a 1,300-yard rusher within Liberty's program, but the first two weeks behind a gelling offensive line left him with a 51.5 per-game average on the ground and a per-carry average that's just north of four yards. Both are modestly positive, but the leading running back on a team that's known for its offensive line and historic rushing play admittedly has a quarterback that's leading the pack with 86 yards per game and a per-carry yardage that's north of five yards.
Even in a world where Mason MacKenzie is scrambling for first downs, that signifies a need to get the running game moving in a more positive direction, and this week's game against Maine represents an inflection point and possible turnaround for a team that hasn't yet found consistent grooves between the sticks. The 19-yard touchdown from last week's game aside, BC has to find more consistency on the ground as it hits the quarter pole of the 2026 season.
"It starts with being intentional in practice," said tight end Zeke Moore of finding more consistency within the entire offense. "I really don't think there's any other way to improve other than being intentional in practice, and then we spend time outside of practice, looking at the film, seeing what [opponents] are going to do. It's just the mental preparation as well."
Maine struggled to stop the run against both Appalachian State and Merrimack, and both teams plowed for 200-plus yards, with the Mountaineers scoring four times on the ground as part of a 600-yard, seven-touchdown day on offense. Each of the first three opponents also ran the ball 40 times against an undersized defensive line and linebacker unit, so breaking into the second level is a point of emphasis and attention spot as the Eagles prepare for Saturday afternoon.
*****
Around College Football
The Texas comeback over Ohio State felt a bit pushed to the backburner this week because of the upcoming Saturday night matchup between No. 7 LSU and No. 8 Ole Miss, but it bears mentioning that this now marks the third straight season that the Longhorns have ascended to the top spot in the country in some capacity. To celebrate, an 8 p.m. kickoff against UTSA is on tap with eyeballs firmly pointing Bevo towards its upcoming games against No. 15 Tennessee, No. 24 Oklahoma, unranked Florida and the aforementioned Rebels.
As for the rest of the highly-touted SEC, No. 2 Georgia is at Arkansas while No. 9 Texas A&M hosts Kentucky and No. 10 Alabama hosts Florida State in non-conference play, with that last one really giving me some underdog vibes after the ACC earned stripes against the Big Ten.
Around the rest of the country, No. 4 Indiana hosts Western Kentucky while No. 6 Ohio State looks to regenerate some of its momentum after last week's loss to Texas by hosting Kent State, and No. 11 BYU heads to the Rocky Mountains to play Colorado State in Fort Collins. No. 3 Notre Dame hosts Michigan State in a sneaky tough game that's doubling as the renewal of a decade-long dormant rivalry while No. 12 USC travels across the country to face Rutgers, which needs a positive result after losing its first two games against Massachusetts-based teams. On Friday night, No. 22 Houston is at No. 13 Texas Tech to christen the Big 12 schedule for both teams.
In the ACC, No. 5 Miami is at Wake Forest on Friday night before a heightened matchup between North Carolina and Clemson kicks off Saturday afternoon in South Carolina with No. 16 SMU visiting No. 23 Louisville during the midday slate. Shortly after, Stanford kicks off at Duke.
ACC non-conference play, meanwhile, starts with Mercer's FCS trip to Georgia Tech before NC State heads to Vanderbilt for a big league game against the SEC. BC's game is in the mid-afternoon before the FSU-Alabama game and Cal's game against FCS-level Wagner. Later at night, West Virginia heads to No. 25 Virginia while Virginia Tech, BC's next opponent, plays at Maryland.
On the local radar, the Ivy League's first week of games includes Harvard's trip to New Hampshire, Yale's trip to Holy Cross and Princeton's trip to Bryant. At the FBS level, UMass is playing a second FCS game, this time against Stonehill, and Connecticut is at Southern Mississippi.
*****
Dan's Non-Sports Observation of the Week
Becoming a two-time girl dad after growing up in a family with nothing but boys is a bit of a constant culture shock. I often liked to joke that my father-in-law went to 'NSYNC concerts while my mother was hulking up to the 1980s and 1990s World Wrestling Federation rivalries, so experiencing the world through girls who enjoy ballet - even ones that are five and three years old - is a massive switch for me when I swore that I wouldn't project my obsessions with baseball, soccer and basketball onto my kids. That said, I wouldn't mind if one of them could correctly identify the rotation of a curveball before they're eight years old, especially since fall softball season starts on Sunday.
I'd like to think that raising girls makes me more fun because we've played dress up and done fake makeovers in the living room, but their ability to "paint nails" or put "blush" on my face hasn't made me any better at ponytails or braids. It's basically a torture rack for them whenever I'm trusted to do it, and one of my kids has full blown meltdowns because she knows it's going to be off-center, loose and missing too much of her hair.
That said, I put together one of the tightest and best ponytails of her short life when I helped her dress for school on Thursday, and I celebrated with a touchdown dance fit for an old school Chad Ochocinco deep catch. I'm pretty sure neighbors heard the yelps and hollers from our living room.
I apologize for nothing. It was electric. And likely to never happen again.
*****
Pregame Quote and Prediction
And if one had a sorrow, Maine was the best place to be.
-Ruth Sawyer
BC has started 2-1 in just one of the last four seasons, but each of the last 19 seasons dating back to 1999 that started with at least two wins in the first three games ended with a bowl berth.
Boston College and Maine kick off on Saturday at 2 p.m., from Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Television coverage is available on the ACC Network Extra streaming platform through the ESPN family of Internet and mobile devices with Cooper Boardman and Craig Haubert handling broadcast duties.
The team, after all, built a 21-8 lead by dominating the second quarter of its win over the Tigers, and Towson eventually battled both Navy and South Carolina through evenly played first or second quarters. Holding onto win that game by converting a fourth quarter turnover exhibited an emotional fortitude that eluded Maine during its close losses to William & Mary and Stonehill during the first half of last season, and that performance was somehow still embedded in the two losses.
Drilling it and bringing it forward for BC, he therefore reasoned, illustrated exactly how the team expected to compete on the bigger and larger FBS stage.
"We didn't capitalize on some opportunities that we had [in last week's game against Merrimack]," he said during this week's press conference. "We had some takeaways that we created on defense, and we weren't able to take advantage of those [to] go score. It was really kind of a sloppy game and a game that we needed to be better in our execution. So we got back to work for this week, and we're going to improve in those areas where we can go out and execute at a higher level."
The Eagles remain the only power conference team situated within the New England college football footprint, so Stevens never minced words about the challenge facing Maine ahead of this week's trip. To him, the 55-3 loss from the trip to Appalachian State still oozed from a fresh wound, and the double-edged sword of expecting better against a BC team that delighted its fans with a nationally televised win came at the expense of a brashness towards the apparent hill in front of his roster.
That idea - the thought of competing at a high level - is a dream that's bringing Maine into Chestnut Hill for the first time in four years. Indeed, the number of FCS teams marching out of FBS stadiums with wins is significantly larger than the era directly preceding the rule change that allotted one or two games per year, and the Black Bears scored a program-high 17 points (at least for the modern era) during their last trip to Alumni Stadium. Games against Weber State, Villanova and Holy Cross likewise ended with closer margins of victory than the standard blowout wins over Northeastern and Rhode Island, and the possibility of driving out of Massachusetts with a headline-grabbing win is exactly why Stevens and the rest of his staff is preparing for this game with the same gusto as any other game on its schedule.
"The proximity [of BC] makes a lot of sense," he said, "and it's really in our backyard. The big thing for this game is going to be how our guys perform [and] execute, trusting their technique [and] fundamentals in this environment versus a Power Four FBS team. I'm excited for the opportunity. I know our players are excited and want to see us really cut it loose and compete against a Power Four team."
Here's what to watch during BC's matchup with the Black Bears:
*****
Weekly Storylines (Tom Landry Edition)
A winner never stops trying.
Maine offensive coordinator Mikahael Waters discovered a hidden FCS gem when he began designing more plays around Rashawn Marshall's 2025 breakthrough. A smaller and more agile running back, he averaged seven yards per carry during the season opening game against Liberty before entering into a reserve-based role for the first half of the season, so it wasn't until the second half of the year that the Black Bears really hit the gas pedal on his ability to slice and gash through opposing defenses.
He eventually gained 287 yards on 34 carries across wins against Merrimack and Elon, a stretch coinciding with a six-game winning streak in the middle of the year. Maine, in turn, scored 35 points in four of the games during that stretch, and the average time of possession tilted significantly before hitting season highs around 36 minutes in the wins over Stony Brook and Hampton.
"We have to take advantage of all of our opportunities," said safety Carter Davis. "This week is another great opportunity to go out and put something great on film that will build confidence in our team. We just have to keep stacking and keep stacking and seeing that the hard work that we put [into Maine] is coming to fruition."
Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan.
Significant ground yardage ultimately pointed towards Maine's ability to control other situational areas beyond just the clock. The Black Bears, for example, went 1-for-12 on third downs in the loss to Georgia Southern while the Eagles were 9-for-15 while the loss to Stonehill produced a 3-for-12 third down conversion rate compared to the Skyhawks, who were 5-for-16. Removing the Merrimack game's 2-for-11 conversion rate, Maine significantly improved against Elon, Stony Brook and Hampton to the degree that the win over the Pirates included a 9-for-14 success rate.
Unsurprisingly, that stretch included Maine's best ability to move the chains and gain first downs, and the bulk of those first downs occurred when the team ran through the marker, with the Merrimack and Stony Brook games reaching season highs. An earlier win over William & Mary likewise included 21 first downs with 12 coming via the ground game, but Marshall didn't factor into that game as much as Carter Peevy or Sincere Baines.
For what it's worth, the easy transition between the running backs and the utilization of Marshall for the 2026 season isn't a huge surprise with the strength of Maine's offensive line, which returned one of the best FCS options in right tackle Anthony Iliano. His massive six-foot, three-inch frame is paired with equally huge guards in Tyler Williams and Anton Kravchuk, and even the left side's ability to open holes behind tackle Andrew Kocan and guard Noah Stanley makes the Black Bears resemble more of an FBS team than the stereotypical and smaller gimmick offense.
I've learned that something constructive comes from every defeat.
It's strange to say it, but BC has to make Maine become a multiple offense behind quarterback Eddie Buehler. Like Marshall, he's a redshirt sophomore, but he hasn't yet transformed into the reliable option once provided by Peevy, who led Mercer to the FCS playoffs before transferring to Orono. He threw for 2,422 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2024 before becoming a heavily-used and reliable option in the games against North Carolina A&T and Bryant, and as a result, Buehler simply wasn't used.
The former Phillips Exeter standout and Class A All-NEPSAC First Team selection therefore experienced growing pains during his first three games, and he was picked off four times across the Appalachian State and Merrimack losses after throwing for two touchdowns without a turnover against Towson. His completion percentage subsequently dropped from 63 percent to 52 percent by the Merrimack game, and he lost 60 yards between the first and second games and that third-game loss that admittedly wasn't Maine's best performance.
BC, meanwhile, picked off Rutgers quarterback AJ Surace on four separate occasions in a game decided by one score.
"It's great to see us turn the ball over," said Davis about last week's win. "That was a big key for us to win the game, winning the turnover margin. [Anthony Palano] made two big plays. Charlie [Comella] made a great play. The turnovers were great to see. It had the crowd going crazy. They had us going crazy. That translated from doing turnover drills and stuff from practice, so it was great to see."
*****
Question Box
Can Maine's defense handle trench battles against BC's blockers?
A simple if/then statement to summarize a key to BC's offensive success: If conversion rates and first downs directly link to time of possession - and if time of possession correlates to successful scoring drives - then Maine needs to control the point of attack and overcome a size disparity along its defensive line, where none of its starting top depth chart options are bigger than BC's offensive line blockers.
Can Buehler begin to develop into a true passing option against the BC secondary?
Mikahael Waters joined Maine's program in 2019 after coaching for a Division II program at Augustana that averaged around 40 rushing attempts per game, but his background as an offensive assistant for Hawaii's teams transitioned the Rainbow Warriors from a spread option to a run-and-shoot scheme under head coach Nick Rolovich and offensive coordinator Brian Smith.
But Peevy also took a step back on his completion percentage when he dropped from 66 percent to 59 percent between the 2024 and 2025 seasons, and a Maine quarterback hasn't attempted 400 passes in a season since Derek Robertson passed for 2,933 yards and 25 touchdowns in 2023.
Can anyone bring me Tim Horton's from the Bangor/Orono area?
No offense to Dunkin' Donuts, but Tim Horton's forever occupies a special place in my heart after working with Canadian hockey players for the past 20 years. There's a franchise near the Bangor airport, if memory serves, so I'll happily reimburse anyone who delivers pounds of coffee to me.
Don't think I'm serious? I once planned my wife's birthday vacation to Montreal just so I could buy two giant bags of coffee grounds. That's another story for another day.Â
*****
Meteorology 101
The shreds of summer heat lingering through Wednesday and Thursday's mid-day hours were nowhere near the overnight hours that dipped into the mid-50s on Friday, and it doesn't appear that Saturday's kickoff is going to resemble anything like the first game at Cincinnati. High temperatures should only reach 60 degrees and minimally drop as things move closer to the fourth quarter, and the nighttime lows will reach into the 50s.Â
An additional forecast calling for mostly cloudy skies should provide cover for the seats that normally reflect sunshine off of their bleacher section, which means that we're headed for great football conditions ahead of Sunday's afternoon washout.
*****
X Factor of the Week
The fewer rules a running back has, the faster his feet move when 300-pound linemen start falling from the sky. -John Madden
Evan Dickens arrived at Boston College as a 1,300-yard rusher within Liberty's program, but the first two weeks behind a gelling offensive line left him with a 51.5 per-game average on the ground and a per-carry average that's just north of four yards. Both are modestly positive, but the leading running back on a team that's known for its offensive line and historic rushing play admittedly has a quarterback that's leading the pack with 86 yards per game and a per-carry yardage that's north of five yards.
Even in a world where Mason MacKenzie is scrambling for first downs, that signifies a need to get the running game moving in a more positive direction, and this week's game against Maine represents an inflection point and possible turnaround for a team that hasn't yet found consistent grooves between the sticks. The 19-yard touchdown from last week's game aside, BC has to find more consistency on the ground as it hits the quarter pole of the 2026 season.
"It starts with being intentional in practice," said tight end Zeke Moore of finding more consistency within the entire offense. "I really don't think there's any other way to improve other than being intentional in practice, and then we spend time outside of practice, looking at the film, seeing what [opponents] are going to do. It's just the mental preparation as well."
Maine struggled to stop the run against both Appalachian State and Merrimack, and both teams plowed for 200-plus yards, with the Mountaineers scoring four times on the ground as part of a 600-yard, seven-touchdown day on offense. Each of the first three opponents also ran the ball 40 times against an undersized defensive line and linebacker unit, so breaking into the second level is a point of emphasis and attention spot as the Eagles prepare for Saturday afternoon.
*****
Around College Football
The Texas comeback over Ohio State felt a bit pushed to the backburner this week because of the upcoming Saturday night matchup between No. 7 LSU and No. 8 Ole Miss, but it bears mentioning that this now marks the third straight season that the Longhorns have ascended to the top spot in the country in some capacity. To celebrate, an 8 p.m. kickoff against UTSA is on tap with eyeballs firmly pointing Bevo towards its upcoming games against No. 15 Tennessee, No. 24 Oklahoma, unranked Florida and the aforementioned Rebels.
As for the rest of the highly-touted SEC, No. 2 Georgia is at Arkansas while No. 9 Texas A&M hosts Kentucky and No. 10 Alabama hosts Florida State in non-conference play, with that last one really giving me some underdog vibes after the ACC earned stripes against the Big Ten.
Around the rest of the country, No. 4 Indiana hosts Western Kentucky while No. 6 Ohio State looks to regenerate some of its momentum after last week's loss to Texas by hosting Kent State, and No. 11 BYU heads to the Rocky Mountains to play Colorado State in Fort Collins. No. 3 Notre Dame hosts Michigan State in a sneaky tough game that's doubling as the renewal of a decade-long dormant rivalry while No. 12 USC travels across the country to face Rutgers, which needs a positive result after losing its first two games against Massachusetts-based teams. On Friday night, No. 22 Houston is at No. 13 Texas Tech to christen the Big 12 schedule for both teams.
In the ACC, No. 5 Miami is at Wake Forest on Friday night before a heightened matchup between North Carolina and Clemson kicks off Saturday afternoon in South Carolina with No. 16 SMU visiting No. 23 Louisville during the midday slate. Shortly after, Stanford kicks off at Duke.
ACC non-conference play, meanwhile, starts with Mercer's FCS trip to Georgia Tech before NC State heads to Vanderbilt for a big league game against the SEC. BC's game is in the mid-afternoon before the FSU-Alabama game and Cal's game against FCS-level Wagner. Later at night, West Virginia heads to No. 25 Virginia while Virginia Tech, BC's next opponent, plays at Maryland.
On the local radar, the Ivy League's first week of games includes Harvard's trip to New Hampshire, Yale's trip to Holy Cross and Princeton's trip to Bryant. At the FBS level, UMass is playing a second FCS game, this time against Stonehill, and Connecticut is at Southern Mississippi.
*****
Dan's Non-Sports Observation of the Week
Becoming a two-time girl dad after growing up in a family with nothing but boys is a bit of a constant culture shock. I often liked to joke that my father-in-law went to 'NSYNC concerts while my mother was hulking up to the 1980s and 1990s World Wrestling Federation rivalries, so experiencing the world through girls who enjoy ballet - even ones that are five and three years old - is a massive switch for me when I swore that I wouldn't project my obsessions with baseball, soccer and basketball onto my kids. That said, I wouldn't mind if one of them could correctly identify the rotation of a curveball before they're eight years old, especially since fall softball season starts on Sunday.
I'd like to think that raising girls makes me more fun because we've played dress up and done fake makeovers in the living room, but their ability to "paint nails" or put "blush" on my face hasn't made me any better at ponytails or braids. It's basically a torture rack for them whenever I'm trusted to do it, and one of my kids has full blown meltdowns because she knows it's going to be off-center, loose and missing too much of her hair.
That said, I put together one of the tightest and best ponytails of her short life when I helped her dress for school on Thursday, and I celebrated with a touchdown dance fit for an old school Chad Ochocinco deep catch. I'm pretty sure neighbors heard the yelps and hollers from our living room.
I apologize for nothing. It was electric. And likely to never happen again.
*****
Pregame Quote and Prediction
And if one had a sorrow, Maine was the best place to be.
-Ruth Sawyer
BC has started 2-1 in just one of the last four seasons, but each of the last 19 seasons dating back to 1999 that started with at least two wins in the first three games ended with a bowl berth.
Boston College and Maine kick off on Saturday at 2 p.m., from Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Television coverage is available on the ACC Network Extra streaming platform through the ESPN family of Internet and mobile devices with Cooper Boardman and Craig Haubert handling broadcast duties.
Players Mentioned
Wednesday, October 07
Wednesday, October 07
Monday, October 05
Saturday, October 03
