I was doing some research on Boston College for this article (because less Doug Flutie and Matt Ryan, B.C. holds little relevance in the football world) and I came across some cool stats.
Before I get into how bad the Eagles are today, I'd thought I share with you how bad they used to be. You know, for perspective.
In Boston College's inaugural season, 1893, the Eagles played three games in two days. B.C. had a pair of losses by the combined score of 16-0 to MIT and Newton Independent in a doubleheader before coming back strong the next day to win over the powerhouse that is/was Somerville High School. If there has been one constant in B.C. football over the years, it's safe to say that it is the resiliency in coming back in the third game of a three-game weekend over local high schools.
It's a shame good ol' Joseph Drum, the team's co-founder/first head coach/first quarterback, couldn't stick around for the next year to see his boys go 1-6, including a loss to the stacked Old Colony YMCA.
Researching the origins of B.C. football was both fun and insightful. Fun because now anytime anything bad happens on the field for the Eagles I can knowledgably say, "Hey, at least you're not losing to a YMCA." The insight comes from the fact that I know have a better understanding for the program. That is to say, B.C. has always been bad.
Let's fast-forward to the present.
B.C.'s last game, a 35-10 loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels, was its second straight loss and fourth in five games. Granted, the schedule for B.C. thus far hasn't been made up of cupcakes -- or YMCAs, as I like to call them -- with games against Florida State, Clemson and USC.
A look behind the record shows some unfavorable stats for the B.C. faithful (note to editors: fact check to make sure the Eagles actual have faithful fans).
The Eagles rank 100th in total defense, 108th in total offense and 106th in third-down conversion percentage in 2013, so clearly the Eagles defense, as the highest ranked unit, will be asked to shoulder much of the responsibility this weekend against Virginia Tech.
(Side note: Stats are incredibly simple to research when you can assume your topic will be on the final page of rankings.)
Perhaps the 100-plus years of Boston College's football history can best be described by the fact that the school describes itself as "O-Line U." It doesn’t get better than "O-Line U."
-- Jacob Emert is sports editor at the Collegiate Times. Follow him on Twitter @jacobemert.
