What to Know About the BC-Alabama Series
Andy Backstrom
Staff Writer
When College GameDay came to Boston College in 2018, a sign was lifted behind Rece Davis, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and David Pollack in Stokes Lawn.
It was simple in decor but clear in message: BC is 3-1 all-time against Alabama.
For an Eagles program that, historically, is 13-19-1 versus the SEC, the stat is head turning to say the least. Of course, BC—now scheduled to play a home-and-home with the southern powerhouse in 2031 and 2034—hasn’t faced the Crimson Tide since 1984, and Alabama has won six of its 18 national titles in the last 13 years.
Still, the Eagles beat the Crimson Tide back-to-back years in the early 80s, including a 1983 win over a Ray Perkins-coached Alabama team that was ranked as high as No. 3 in the AP Poll that season.
The game was played in Foxboro at a drenched and blustery Sullivan Stadium. A slippery ball invited a bevy of mistakes, especially for No. 13 Alabama, which fumbled six times and threw one interception. Two of the Crimson Tide’s fumbles occurred in the fourth quarter. Both set the stage for BC touchdowns.
The first was a five-yard touchdown pass from Doug Flutie to fullback Bob Biestek with six and a half minutes remaining. Then, in under two minutes, the No. 15 Eagles cashed in once more, following a Ricky Moore fumble. Again, it was Biestek, this time bulldozing into the end zone for the game-winning score from two yards out to put BC up, 20-13.
Flutie’s offense wasn’t void of turnovers, either, but the Eagles lost only one of their three fumbles and looked much more prepared for the after-Thanksgiving New England weather. With the victory, BC improved to 9-2 on the year. Yet the Eagles would go on to lose to Notre Dame, 19-18, in the Liberty Bowl, despite Flutie tossing a trio of scores.
The next year, No. 18 BC traveled to Tuscaloosa for its first test of the season. The ABC broadcast saw the Eagles rally from a 31-14 deficit at Legion Field to upset then-No. 9 Alabama, 38-31.
This was the start of Flutie’s heroic Heisman Trophy campaign. He orchestrated the 17-point comeback with a pair of passing touchdowns and a rushing score while battling a bum left shoulder in the final 20 minutes of action. Things appeared grim for BC after Alabama’s Kerry Goode housed a third-quarter kickoff for a 99-yard touchdown. Except, Alabama didn’t score the rest of the game.
Tony Thurman was a big reason why. The BC safety finished the day with three picks, the last of which locked up the Eagles’ win with 45 seconds left. Thurman dove to intercept a potential game-tying halfback touchdown pass from Paul Carruth in the BC end zone.
Thurman’s first pick, which he returned 35 yards to the Alabama 10, was the catalyst for Flutie’s option touchdown run. That score cut Alabama’s lead to 31-21.
Flutie’s arm ultimately tied the game in the fourth quarter, courtesy of a fullback play-fake. He hit a wide-open Jim Browne on 4th-and-1 to knot things up at 31. Running back Troy Stradford rounded out the come-from-behind win with a 42-yard, breakaway touchdown run.
The victory catapulted BC to No. 10 in the AP Poll. Jack Bicknell’s Eagles finished 10-2 and fifth in the rankings that year.
BC’s first win against Alabama came all the way back in 1946. The Eagles topped the Crimson Tide, 13-7, at Braves Field in front of a crowd of 40,166 fans.
The Eagles head coach at the time, Denny Myers, returned after a three-year World War II service in the United States Navy to guide BC to a 6-3 record that season. After a loss to Wake Forest in the opener, the Eagles rattled off five consecutive victories before falling to No. 8 Tennessee, 33-13. BC bounced back against Alabama, vaulting to No. 17 in the AP Poll in the process.
Four seasons prior, the programs met for the first time in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1, 1943. That’s when Alabama ran away with its only victory in the series: a 37-21 win.
No. 8 BC shot out to a 14-0 lead, thanks to two touchdowns from All-American fullback Mike Holovak, but the No. 10 Crimson Tide used a 22-point second quarter to swing momentum. Alabama shut out the Eagles in the second half en route to its eighth and final win of the year.
It was a brutal end to the season for BC. The Eagles kicked off the year with an 8-0 record, rising to No. 1 in the AP Poll. Unfortunately for Myers and Co., a 55-12 blowout loss to Holy Cross spoiled the Eagles’ hopes of a perfect season.
Regardless of what happens in BC’s home-and-home series with the Crimson Tide next decade, the Eagles will still be at least .500 against the most accomplished program in FBS history.
