Breaking Down BC’s 2021 Schedule
Andy Backstrom
Staff Writer
The 2020 season saw the ACC adopt a COVID-19-adjusted, “10-plus-one” schedule model that ditched league divisions, minimized non-conference play, and even included Notre Dame, a program that had been an independent since its inception in 1887.
The league-heavy slate worked for the most part, and it set the stage for some intriguing cross-divisional matchups across the conference. But it was nothing more than a one-off.
Thursday morning, the ACC revealed its weekly schedule for next season, reverting back to its 14-team, two-division structure with each program set to play eight conference matchups.
It’s a favorable outlook for Boston College, which is penciled in to kick off the year with four consecutive non-conference games. Not only that, but only two of the Eagles’ 2021 opponents posted a winning record in 2020. Collectively, the 11 that played a season combined for an underwhelming 44-62 mark.
That’s just a taste of the Eagles’ new schedule. Here’s a breakdown of who and what BC will be up against in the second year of the Jeff Hafley era.
2021 Weekly Schedule:
9/4 vs. Colgate
9/11 @ UMass
9/18 @ Temple
9/25 vs. Missouri
10/2 @ Clemson
10/16 vs. N.C. State
10/23 @ Louisville
10/30 @ Syracuse
11/5 vs. Virginia Tech (Friday)
11/13 @ Georgia Tech
11/20 vs. FSU
11/27 vs. Wake Forest
A blast from the past for DC Tem Lukabu: Before Thursday, 11 of BC’s opponents were known to the public. There was speculation from fans about what program would fill out the Eagles’ schedule. Colgate came as a surprise. It might seem like a random Patriot League opponent, but the Raiders are the former home of Eagles defensive coordinator Tem Lukabu. From 2000-03, Lukabu played linebacker at Colgate, helping guide the program to back-to-back Patriot League titles and earning the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year honors twice. He returned to his alma mater in 2014 to coach the team’s outside linebackers. BC’s season opener against Colgate will signify the Eagles’ first game against a Patriot League opponent since they thumped Holy Cross, 62-14, in Week 2 of the 2018 campaign.
BC is playing UMass in Amherst…not at Gillette: BC is heading back to Amherst for the first time since 1982 to square off against UMass in Week 2. The Eagles’ last two away games versus the Minutemen (2014 and 2016) took place at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. BC is 22-5 all-time in the series and has rattled off 10 straight victories over UMass. The Eagles are 9-2 when taking on their in-state counterpart outside of Alumni Stadium. In a shortened 2020 season, the Minutemen went 0-4 and were outscored by a combined 161-12.
Eagles are Philly bound with plenty of Temple ties: Wrapping up the tail end of a home-and-home series, BC will face Temple at Lincoln Financial Field. It’ll be a reunion for athletic director Pat Kraft, who was the Owls’ AD for five years before being hired to replace Martin Jarmond this past summer. During Kraft’s tenure as Temple’s athletic director, the Owls logged a 43-24 record and stitched together two straight 10-win seasons where the program cracked the AP Poll, in addition to producing 15 NFL draftees (the same number as BC in that span). In recent years, BC has recruited a few Temple players from the transfer portal. First, it was placekicker Aaron Boumerhi in 2019, and, this winter, BC has brought on linebacker Isaiah Graham-Mobley and defensive tackle Khris Banks. It’s worth noting that the Owls are coming off their worst season (1-6) since 2006 but made the postseason the previous five years.
Hello again, SEC: The last time BC suited up against an SEC opponent was 2008 when the Eagles were upset by Vanderbilt, 16-14, in the Music City Bowl (the Commodores’ first bowl win in over 50 years). The last time BC hosted an SEC team? Well, you’d have to go back to 1987. That’s when BC knocked off then-No. 13 Tennessee, 20-18. This coming season, Missouri will make the trek to Chestnut Hill in Week 4 for the front end of a home-and-home series. The Tigers are one of four SEC programs that the Eagles have never played before—the others being South Carolina, Arkansas, and Mississippi State. BC is 16-20-1 all-time against SEC teams. The Eagles are scheduled to visit Missouri on Sept. 14, 2024.
It’s back to Death Valley and the Carrier Dome: For the third year in a row, BC finds itself booking plane tickets for Clemson and Syracuse. The Eagles were supposed to host the Atlantic Division foes in 2020, however, the COVID-19-adjusted schedule sent BC back to Death Valley and the Carrier Dome. Those matchups were two of eight ACC rivalry games that were scheduled for the same venue this past fall as they were in 2019. And because the ACC is continuing its normal scheduling cycle, BC is back on a road year for Clemson and Syracuse. BC could very well be 4-0—and possibly ranked—going into its Week 5 matchup against the Tigers. Then, the Eagles will have their lone bye of the 2021 season. The day before Halloween, BC will go to the Loud House, where the Eagles have won three straight, to face Dino Babers and Co.
It’s a Tech fall: Following BC’s two-game road trip at Louisville and Syracuse, the Eagles will have back-to-back outings against Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech. The first will be a Friday night home matchup against the Hokies. BC’s most recent primetime home game against Virginia Tech was back in 2017. The scoreboard made a 23-10 loss look a lot closer than it actually was, leading to the “It’ll come together and it’ll be beautiful” Steve Addazio press conference. Yet BC got the best of the Hokies in the teams’ last meeting in Chestnut Hill, a 35-28 season-opening win for the Eagles in 2019. As for Georgia Tech, the Yellow Jackets will host BC for the first time since 2012. After a three-year hiatus, the cross-divisional opponents will now line up against one another for a second straight year. In their most complete offensive performance of the season, the Eagles blew out Georgia Tech, 48-27, last season, but BC is still just 3-7 all-time versus the Yellow Jackets.
It’s good to be home: Starting with the Virginia Tech game, three of the Eagles’ final four games of the regular season will be at Alumni. BC finishes out the ACC slate by welcoming Florida State and Wake Forest to Chestnut Hill. The Eagles recorded one win versus the Seminoles in the 2010s: a dominant 35-3 Red Bandana Game victory in 2017. Two years later, the Eagles dropped a back-and-forth contest to FSU in early November, falling, 38-31, despite a gritty performance from Dennis Grosel. There wasn’t much of a home field advantage when it came to playing Wake Forest in the Addazio era, either. The road team has won the last six meetings between the programs. Hafley’s crew will try to change that narrative and extend BC’s 14-11-2 series lead. It’s just the second time since 2015 that BC will end the regular season at home.
Andy Backstrom
Staff Writer
The 2020 season saw the ACC adopt a COVID-19-adjusted, “10-plus-one” schedule model that ditched league divisions, minimized non-conference play, and even included Notre Dame, a program that had been an independent since its inception in 1887.
The league-heavy slate worked for the most part, and it set the stage for some intriguing cross-divisional matchups across the conference. But it was nothing more than a one-off.
Thursday morning, the ACC revealed its weekly schedule for next season, reverting back to its 14-team, two-division structure with each program set to play eight conference matchups.
It’s a favorable outlook for Boston College, which is penciled in to kick off the year with four consecutive non-conference games. Not only that, but only two of the Eagles’ 2021 opponents posted a winning record in 2020. Collectively, the 11 that played a season combined for an underwhelming 44-62 mark.
That’s just a taste of the Eagles’ new schedule. Here’s a breakdown of who and what BC will be up against in the second year of the Jeff Hafley era.
2021 Weekly Schedule:
9/4 vs. Colgate
9/11 @ UMass
9/18 @ Temple
9/25 vs. Missouri
10/2 @ Clemson
10/16 vs. N.C. State
10/23 @ Louisville
10/30 @ Syracuse
11/5 vs. Virginia Tech (Friday)
11/13 @ Georgia Tech
11/20 vs. FSU
11/27 vs. Wake Forest
A blast from the past for DC Tem Lukabu: Before Thursday, 11 of BC’s opponents were known to the public. There was speculation from fans about what program would fill out the Eagles’ schedule. Colgate came as a surprise. It might seem like a random Patriot League opponent, but the Raiders are the former home of Eagles defensive coordinator Tem Lukabu. From 2000-03, Lukabu played linebacker at Colgate, helping guide the program to back-to-back Patriot League titles and earning the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year honors twice. He returned to his alma mater in 2014 to coach the team’s outside linebackers. BC’s season opener against Colgate will signify the Eagles’ first game against a Patriot League opponent since they thumped Holy Cross, 62-14, in Week 2 of the 2018 campaign.
BC is playing UMass in Amherst…not at Gillette: BC is heading back to Amherst for the first time since 1982 to square off against UMass in Week 2. The Eagles’ last two away games versus the Minutemen (2014 and 2016) took place at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. BC is 22-5 all-time in the series and has rattled off 10 straight victories over UMass. The Eagles are 9-2 when taking on their in-state counterpart outside of Alumni Stadium. In a shortened 2020 season, the Minutemen went 0-4 and were outscored by a combined 161-12.
Eagles are Philly bound with plenty of Temple ties: Wrapping up the tail end of a home-and-home series, BC will face Temple at Lincoln Financial Field. It’ll be a reunion for athletic director Pat Kraft, who was the Owls’ AD for five years before being hired to replace Martin Jarmond this past summer. During Kraft’s tenure as Temple’s athletic director, the Owls logged a 43-24 record and stitched together two straight 10-win seasons where the program cracked the AP Poll, in addition to producing 15 NFL draftees (the same number as BC in that span). In recent years, BC has recruited a few Temple players from the transfer portal. First, it was placekicker Aaron Boumerhi in 2019, and, this winter, BC has brought on linebacker Isaiah Graham-Mobley and defensive tackle Khris Banks. It’s worth noting that the Owls are coming off their worst season (1-6) since 2006 but made the postseason the previous five years.
Hello again, SEC: The last time BC suited up against an SEC opponent was 2008 when the Eagles were upset by Vanderbilt, 16-14, in the Music City Bowl (the Commodores’ first bowl win in over 50 years). The last time BC hosted an SEC team? Well, you’d have to go back to 1987. That’s when BC knocked off then-No. 13 Tennessee, 20-18. This coming season, Missouri will make the trek to Chestnut Hill in Week 4 for the front end of a home-and-home series. The Tigers are one of four SEC programs that the Eagles have never played before—the others being South Carolina, Arkansas, and Mississippi State. BC is 16-20-1 all-time against SEC teams. The Eagles are scheduled to visit Missouri on Sept. 14, 2024.
It’s back to Death Valley and the Carrier Dome: For the third year in a row, BC finds itself booking plane tickets for Clemson and Syracuse. The Eagles were supposed to host the Atlantic Division foes in 2020, however, the COVID-19-adjusted schedule sent BC back to Death Valley and the Carrier Dome. Those matchups were two of eight ACC rivalry games that were scheduled for the same venue this past fall as they were in 2019. And because the ACC is continuing its normal scheduling cycle, BC is back on a road year for Clemson and Syracuse. BC could very well be 4-0—and possibly ranked—going into its Week 5 matchup against the Tigers. Then, the Eagles will have their lone bye of the 2021 season. The day before Halloween, BC will go to the Loud House, where the Eagles have won three straight, to face Dino Babers and Co.
It’s a Tech fall: Following BC’s two-game road trip at Louisville and Syracuse, the Eagles will have back-to-back outings against Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech. The first will be a Friday night home matchup against the Hokies. BC’s most recent primetime home game against Virginia Tech was back in 2017. The scoreboard made a 23-10 loss look a lot closer than it actually was, leading to the “It’ll come together and it’ll be beautiful” Steve Addazio press conference. Yet BC got the best of the Hokies in the teams’ last meeting in Chestnut Hill, a 35-28 season-opening win for the Eagles in 2019. As for Georgia Tech, the Yellow Jackets will host BC for the first time since 2012. After a three-year hiatus, the cross-divisional opponents will now line up against one another for a second straight year. In their most complete offensive performance of the season, the Eagles blew out Georgia Tech, 48-27, last season, but BC is still just 3-7 all-time versus the Yellow Jackets.
It’s good to be home: Starting with the Virginia Tech game, three of the Eagles’ final four games of the regular season will be at Alumni. BC finishes out the ACC slate by welcoming Florida State and Wake Forest to Chestnut Hill. The Eagles recorded one win versus the Seminoles in the 2010s: a dominant 35-3 Red Bandana Game victory in 2017. Two years later, the Eagles dropped a back-and-forth contest to FSU in early November, falling, 38-31, despite a gritty performance from Dennis Grosel. There wasn’t much of a home field advantage when it came to playing Wake Forest in the Addazio era, either. The road team has won the last six meetings between the programs. Hafley’s crew will try to change that narrative and extend BC’s 14-11-2 series lead. It’s just the second time since 2015 that BC will end the regular season at home.
