2017 Football Schedule Analysis
By Anthony Iati
On Tuesday afternoon the ACC released its 2017 football schedule. We have long known Boston College’s home and away conference opponents, as well as their four non-conference opponents. Now, we are able to match dates with opponents and break down the schedule as a whole. To see what I thought of the 2016 schedule at this time last year, click here.
Per the team’s press release:
2017 Boston College Schedule
Friday, Sept. 1 at Northern Illinois
Saturday, Sept. 9 Wake Forest*
Saturday, Sept. 16 Notre Dame
Saturday, Sept. 23 at Clemson*
Saturday, Sept. 30 Central Michigan
Saturday, Oct. 7 Virginia Tech*
Saturday, Oct. 14 at Louisville*
Saturday, Oct. 21 at Virginia*
Friday, Oct. 27 Florida State*
Saturday, Nov. 11 NC State*
Saturday, Nov. 18 at Connecticut (Fenway Park)
Saturday, Nov. 25 at Syracuse*
Logistics: For the second straight year, the Eagles will play six true home games. After playing two neutral site games a season ago, they will play one this time- at Fenway Park against Connecticut on November 18. That leaves the Eagles with five true road games, four of them within conference play.
Focusing on the away slate, BC will open on the road by visiting Northern Illinois (Week 1) in the back end of the home-and-home series that began with a 2015 Eagles win at Alumni Stadium. After that, Steve Addazio’s team will travel to Clemson (Week 4), Louisville (Week 7), Virginia (Week 8), and Syracuse (Week 13).
The true home opponents are Wake Forest (Week 2), Notre Dame (Week 3), Central Michigan (Week 5), Virginia Tech (Week 6), Florida State (Week 9), and NC State (Week 11). Notre Dame is unquestionably the marquee matchup on the slate. Note that the Florida State matchup is on a Friday, a primetime ESPN showdown on Halloween weekend. Central Michigan would appear to be the Parents’ Weekend game. BC’s bye week is in Week 10, three weeks later than it was in ’16.
Softest Stretch: Weeks 11 – 13: Something I immediately noticed about this schedule is that there is not really a string of “easy” games in a grouping like the Eagles had last year. CMU is crammed between a road game at Clemson and the VT game. Virginia is a winnable game, but it’s on the road and is sandwiched between Louisville and Florida State. The closest thing to a soft spot in the schedule comes at the end, when BC comes off its bye to get NC State at home, UConn at Fenway, and a trip to Syracuse.
There is a chance the Eagles could be 3-6 needing to sweep to reach a bowl. More likely, they will only need to grab two out of three and should be able to do so. The only other stretch I considered for this spot was Weeks 1-2, but it’s hard to say how BC will play with a new quarterback on the road at NIU and the Wake Forest game is typically close. Plus, choosing just two weeks felt shallow.
Toughest Stretch: Weeks 3 – 7: This period of the schedule is going to be treacherous for the Eagles, especially as they break in Darius Wade or Anthony Brown (most likely) as the new QB. BC will play in electric atmospheres against two of the nation’s best teams in Notre Dame and Clemson on Sept. 16 and 23, respectively. They begin October by facing a Virginia Tech team that shellacked the Eagles 49-0 in Blacksburg last year. BC then pays a visit to Lamar Jackson’s Louisville Cardinals, a team Steve Addazio has yet to beat while at BC.
The closest thing to a respite in this block comes in Week 5 with a home game vs. Central Michigan (more on that game below). While it’s clearly the easiest contest in this five-game stretch, it’s no gimme and you have to wonder how drained BC will be physically and emotionally coming off ND and Clemson. To win even two games in this stretch would be excellent.
Must-Wins: At this time last year, it was clear BC would absolutely need to take care of UMass, Wagner, Buffalo, and UConn to have realistic bowl hopes. They did just that. In 2017, the non-conference schedule is significantly more difficult. The “must-haves” are probably Northern Illinois, Central Michigan, and UConn.
Northern Illinois is not the cakewalk opponent Wagner was. The Huskies appeared in the 2012 Orange Bowl (losing to FSU), and qualified for bowls each of the next three years. But they lost them all, and slumped to a 5-7 record in 2016. Jordan Lynch is not the NIU quarterback anymore– the Eagles need to win this ballgame and start off 1-0.
The Chippewas of CMU have made three consecutive bowls (also losing them all). They are dangerous, as they upset Oklahoma State on the road in 2016. It’s definitely a stretch to use common opponents as a measuring stick here, but CMU was competitive in losses to BC’s conference foes Syracuse and Virginia in the past couple seasons. Again, this should not be as easy a win as facing a team like Buffalo, but an Eagles team with aspirations to rise in the ACC needs to beat CMU at home.
Overall Thoughts: The three-game winning streak to close out 2016, including Addazio’s first bowl victory, coupled with the announcement that Harold Landry will return for his senior season has given the program a lot to be excited about since mid-November. As fans, I think it’s fair to look at the 2017 schedule with similar optimism. It would be foolish to expect 8-9 wins, but I’m encouraged enough by the team’s progress and recent recruiting that I expect a better showing in ACC play. There are four conference games where I’d argue the Eagles have at least a 50-50 shot to win. Throw in NIU, CMU, UConn, and the possibility of a big upset and I think there’s reason to believe.
Check out Episode 10 of the WZBC Sports Podcast as TJ Hartnett, Quinn Kelly, and Steve McAlee break down the schedule further. Find the podcast on iTunes, give it a listen, and let us know your reactions on Twitter (@WZBCSports)!
*Photo courtesy of Boston College Athletics*