A Look at 10 Future BC Football Games to be Excited About

A Look at 10 Future BC Football Games to be Excited About

December 28, 2020 · by · in Football

By JD Biagioni

One of the unique aspects of college football is that it is very forward looking with scheduling. For example, Boston College already knows it’s traveling to Notre Dame in 2035, while I don’t even know what I’m going to do tomorrow (probably stay inside, because, you know, the pandemic).

After this taxing year, I figured we could all use a little something, or 10, to look forward to. So I decided to comb through the Eagles future schedules and compile a handful of intriguing games on BC’s radar.

9/11/2021 at UMass (Gillette Stadium)

  • Listen, I root for UMass, I really do. But they aren’t the best football team. Some might even say they are the worst in FBS since returning to Division I in 2012. Kicked out of the MAC after only four years, the Minutemen have been the FBS’ punching bag of late. They initially cancelled their 2020 season but reversed course in October. As an Independent, UMass didn’t have a natural slate of opponents and ended up serving as a sort of team-for-hire this season. When a game got cancelled, UMass would jump in and play the healthy team. Think BYU’s “Any Time, Any Team, Any Place” mantra, just worse. While the Cougars just capped off an 11-win season with a dominant Boca Raton Bowl victory over UCF, UMass went 0-4, and they lost the four contests by 41, 41, 22 and 45. No exaggeration, through nine games, the UMass hockey team is averaging more goals per game than the football team averaged points per game (3.56 vs. 3). This game against BC isn’t going to be competitive, but it will hopefully be the first game most fans are able to see Jeff Hafley, Phil Jurkovec and co. in person. It’s also interesting to think that the Eagles will step on the Patriots field with a chance to show New England they are the more exciting football team. Trust me, as a 20-year old, this sounds absurd. But after watching both teams this year, it’s kind of true. As an aside, where I brought up both BYU and the Patriots, do you yourself a favor and check out Zach Wilson. Kid can sling it. The bowl game exclamation point likely put him out of New England’s draft range, but just imagine it.

https://twitter.com/BYUfootball/status/1330270603270631424

TBA 2022 at Notre Dame

  • Jurkovec has two years of eligibility remaining at BC, meaning that if he chose to play out those two seasons, he’d be in line for a return to South Bend during his final season with BC. Despite the animosity between the rivals stemming from the eligibility issue, it’s fair to say Jurkovec’s move has

    Ian Book’s Instagram post from the day Jurkovec transferred, captioned “Circle got smaller.”

    worked out for both sides. Ian Book led the Irish to a a College Football Playoff berth, while Jurkovec blossomed at BC, putting up numbers Eagles fans have not seen since the days of Matt Ryan. Book got the better of Jurkovec this season, when the Irish came away with a 45-31 victory in Chestnut Hill. Jurkovec completed just 18 of his 40 passes and threw his only interception of the second half of the season, but he did air it out for 272 yards with what was later announced a separated shoulder. You couldn’t script a better potential ending to Jurkovec’s BC career.

9/9/23 vs. Holy Cross

  • I’m sure the not-so-mighty Holy Cross Crusaders don’t strike fear in the hearts of Eagles fans, seeing as the teams are two years removed from a 62-14 BC beatdown in a renewal of the old-school rivalry. But I’m a sucker for local matchups, considering how tough they are to come by for BC. I’ll gladly take Holy Cross or UMass over a random FCS or low-tier FBS team. The games are going to blowouts, but wouldn’t you at least like some local flavor? This would also be the perfect opportunity to return the Red Bandana game to a date closer to 9/11. Recently, the games have been scheduled in late October or November to ensure a big-time opponent, but that misses the gravity of the occasion. While Holy Cross isn’t that, a Friday night game against Holy Cross might generate some local buzz, and it’d segue into future high-level Red Bandana opponents: 9/21/24 against Michigan State, 9/13/25 against Notre Dame or and ACC team, 9/12/26 against Rutgers, 9/18/27 against Cincinnati, and 9/23/28 against Army.

10/7/23 at Army

  • Playing a Service Academy is always a special experience. The stadium and game day experience at Army also both rank among the tops in the nation. Michie is a beautiful stadium, a refreshing change of pace from the monstrous stadiums of mainstream college football. Situated right on the Hudson River, Michie offers great views and a riverboat trip to the stadium. As for the actual game, considering the way the defense has struggled with the option of late, Army’s triple option should be quite the test.

9/14/2024 at Missouri

  • The last time Boston College faced and SEC opponent in the regular season was in 1988 when the Eagles fell to Tennessee in Rocky Top. This won’t be the first game of the season, but it’s the earliest currently scheduled game of the 2024 season, the first in which the entire roster will have been recruited by Jeff Hafley.

TBA 2024 at Virginia Tech

  • This is the next unscheduled game at Virginia Tech (the 2022 game is already Saturday, September 10). Maybe it’s the history talking, but special things happen when BC plays at Lane Stadium on a Thursday night. Before Covid, BC was scheduled to play VT on a Thursday for the first time since the “Night Lane Stadium went Silent”. While it’s no guarantee, one can hope that in 2024 Hafley and co. get a chance to create their own history on a Thursday night at Lane.

8/30/25 vs. Fordham

  • Ten is a nice round number, so I said I’d pick 10 games. In reality, my list stagnated at nine, so we’re just going to throw this one in there for completeness. BC

    Fordham football played at the illustrious Polo Grounds from 1928-1950.

    and Fordham actually faced off 27 times between 1912 and 1954. If only they could play at the Polo Grounds like the old days.

9/25/26 at Cincinnati

  • Put the Bearcats in the College Football Playoff, am I right? While I lament the lack of love for the Group of Five, just know that Cincinnati can hang with the big dogs of the Power Five. BC fans should know that, considering the beating they put on the Eagles in the 2019 Birmingham Bowl. Obviously success in the American Athletic Conference is bound to fluctuate over the next half decade, but if Luke Fickell isn’t poached, Cincy should remain a formidable and fun opponent to face.

9/19/26 at Ohio State

Hafley with the Buckeyes cornerback Damon Arnette in 2019.

  • This would be quite the homecoming for Hafley, assuming he sticks around on the Heights long enough. It was a staggering 2019 turnaround for the Ohio State defense that really put Hafley on the map as a head coaching candidate. He inherited a group that finished 71st in total defense and 50th in scoring defense and brought them to 1st and 4th respectively. The BC-OSU connections run deep. It all started with Martin Jarmond, who moved from deputy athletic director of Ohio State to AD at BC. When BC fired Steve Addazio in 2019, Jarmond, in one of his last major moves at BC, was tasked with selecting a new head coach. Fans lamented the fact that he appeared to be a year late, as dream candidate Ryan Day succeeded Urban Meyer in 2019. Jarmond still looked to his former school and plucked Hafley from Day’s staff. Day and Hafley previously coached together with the San Francisco 49ers. Day spent one season in San Francisco before returning to the college game in 2017. Hafley remained with the 49ers until 2018, when Day selected him for the Buckeyes staff. This will also be Day’s first opportunity to face a team he worked with on three separate occasions; he started his Division 1 career as a graduate assistant at BC and also served as a wide receivers and quarterbacks coach with the Eagles.

9/15/29 at Stanford

  • I mean it’s 2029. What can I really say about the two teams. Their players that day are currently in elementary school. But Palo Alto is gorgeous, and I’ve always wanted to visit, so you know I’ll be putting in for that weekend off.