State of the Program – Boston College Football

Here’s another post in our state of the program series featuring those pesky but always good on defense Boston College Golden Eagles.

Previous State of the Programs

Virginia Tech | Georgia Tech | Syracuse

Season Review

Record: 3-9 (0-8 ACC)

Head Coach: Steve Addazio

Steve Addazio is coming off his worst season as Boston College head coach (3-9) including a winless ACC schedule where the Eagles went 0-8. The Eagles haven’t won an ACC game since November 29, 2014. However, don’t let their record fool you, this was probably one of the best defensive teams in the ACC last season.

Coaching departures this offseason on the coaching staff show just how valued some of this staff was by other college football programs. Former Defensive Coordinator Don Brown is now at Michigan with the same role, former secondary coach Kevin Lempa is has been promoted to Defensive Coordinator at Hawaii, and former defensive line coach Ben Albert left for Duke for the same role.

The Eagles lost 5 games last year by 3 points or less despite only allowing 15.2 point per game on defense; 4th overall in the NCAA. The problem: Offense. In 2015, BC averaged 17.2 points per game and 275.6 yards per game, its lowest totals since 1978. BC shuffled through four quarterbacks throughout the season as well, hopefully they can find a solid starter this offseason.

The Eagles hope to solve those offensive woes with the addition of former Virginia Tech Offensive Coordinator Scot Loeffler. Loeffler’s success as an offensive coordinator remains to be seen as this is Loeffler’s fourth team since 2011 (Temple, Auburn, Virginia Tech). Along with Loeffler, BC also welcomes graduate transfer quarterback Patrick Towles for a bigger quarterback competition this fall. Towles numbers’ don’t necessarily jump off the page at you but his experience is definitely something BC could utilize.

Key Players Returning

Offense: Tyler Rouse | Running Back

Senior running back Tyler Rouse led the BC Eagles in total yards from scrimmage (576 yards) and  touchdowns last season with 7. He was second on the team in rushing yards with 422, third on the team with 154 passing yards. Rouse enters his senior campaign coming off career highs in rushing yards and touchdowns and for a team looking to rebuild its offense; it will all starts and stop with him.

Defense: Connor Strachan | Linebacker

Sophomore linebacker Connor Strachan could be considered the new anchor for this tough BC Eagles defense. Strachan was 2nd in tackles on the team last season with 48 solo tackles, 27 assisted tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions, 3 fumble recoveries, and a touchdown return. Needless to say, Strachan has a plethora of tools at his disposal to be a force for this BC defense.

Key Newcomer

Patrick Towles | Quarterback

The graduate transfer from Kentucky hopes to bring leadership and game management to a team that just couldn’t seem to find its offensive groove all season long. Towles has 22 starts with a 56.3% completion rate with 24 touchdowns and 24 interceptions. When you consider that all 4 quarterbacks combined last season to compile 8 touchdowns and 9 interceptions, it certainly gives Towles an edge to be named a starter in the fall.

Season Preview

5-7 (2-6 ACC) Record | 5th in Atlantic

The BC Eagles open the season in Dublin, Ireland against ACC opponent Georgia Tech. It begins a schedule that doesn’t see a home game until Week 4 against Wagner. However, these early tests could allow this BC team some much needed experience for the back half of games which feature both Florida State and Louisville in back to back weeks.