Fenway Set for Football

Fenway Set for Football

fenwayfootballfield

Fenway Park is prepared to host a full house on Saturday night when the Fighting Irish battle the Eagles at 7:30 pm

By: Anthony Iati

Credit NESN.com for posting photos of Fenway Park as it readies itself for Saturday night’s prime-time matchup between Boston College and Notre Dame. As has been noted elsewhere, the teams will have to share a sideline due to Fenway’s quirky dimensions. While this will look odd initially, it is not unprecedented. This was also the case at the then-San Francisco Bowl (which has since changed names three times) from 2002-2013, when it was held at AT&T Park, home of Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants. Coincidentally, Boston College appeared in that bowl game three times in that span, defeating Colorado State in 2003 before losing in 2009 and 2011.

The Eagles and Irish may get to know each other quite well accordingly. As it is, there are many similarities between the two universities they represent. As ND head coach Brian Kelly noted in his press conference, “So another opponent that knows us well, Boston College. We’ve had great games against Boston College. They’re always difficult matches, two universities that share a lot of common ground, Catholic universities, outstanding academic institutions, and certainly a program that we’re very familiar with, and we’ll be playing for the Frank Leahy Trophy,” (Leahy, of course, coached at both schools).

Additionally, each program has dealt with season-ending injuries to its quarterback this year. In both cases, a freshman stepped in. For Notre Dame, DeShone Kizer took over for Malik Zaire in Week 2 at Virginia and has since played admirably. At Boston College, Darius Wade was lost for the year in Week 3 vs. FSU. BC has not had similar success replacing their quarterback; the Eagles have cycled between freshmen Jeff Smith, Troy Flutie, and John Fadule. The latter will get the start on Saturday night. Keep an eye out for a post later in the week from Pete Dawson previewing the game in more detail. Thanks for reading.

John Fadule, Andrew Motuapuaka

Boston College quarterback John Fadule (14) looks to pass under pressure from Virginia Tech linebacker Andrew Motuapuaka (54) during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game in Boston, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2015. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)