Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years: 43. Boston College
The Flutie Effect
Yes, believe it or not, Boston College belongs all the way up here. People have been throwing their shade for a few weeks now, but BC is the 10th best ACC team on the list. I just learned yesterday about the “Flutie effect” or the “Flutie factor”, when an increase in the fame/applicants of a university is spurred by the success of their football team. This was coined after QB Doug Flutie’s Hail Mary against Miami (FL) in 1984, which caused a spike in applications to Boston College. BC may have tapered off in recent decades, but from 1983-2007, 11 times they finished in the AP Top 25, with 12 bowl wins. Even since then, they’ve had 9 winning seasons, so Boston College, pat yourselves on the back.
Best Seasons and Highlights
+------+----------------+------+--------------+--------+
| rank | team | year | resume score | record |
+------+----------------+------+--------------+--------+
| 5 | Boston College | 1984 | 30.223 | 10-2 |
| 16 | Boston College | 2006 | 28.475 | 10-3 |
| 10 | Boston College | 2007 | 28.126 | 11-3 |
| 15 | Boston College | 1993 | 24.219 | 9-3 |
| 21 | Boston College | 2005 | 18.48 | 9-3 |
| 18 | Boston College | 1983 | 18.221 | 9-3 |
| 21 | Boston College | 1986 | 17.128 | 9-3 |
| 18 | Boston College | 2004 | 15.746 | 9-3 |
| 28 | Boston College | 2002 | 14.65 | 9-4 |
| 21 | Boston College | 1994 | 14.029 | 7-4-1 |
| 21 | Boston College | 1992 | 13.928 | 8-3-1 |
| 31 | Boston College | 2008 | 12.966 | 9-5 |
| 28 | Boston College | 2001 | 10.993 | 8-4 |
| 41 | Boston College | 2009 | 4.727 | 8-5 |
| 44 | Boston College | 2017 | 3.274 | 7-6 |
| 48 | Boston College | 2003 | 3.065 | 8-5 |
| 45 | Boston College | 2014 | 2.694 | 7-6 |
| 44 | Boston College | 2018 | 1.962 | 7-5 |
| 41 | Boston College | 2000 | 0.061 | 7-5 |
| 42 | Boston College | 1999 | -0.208 | 8-4 |
| 53 | Boston College | 2010 | -3.187 | 7-6 |
| 42 | Boston College | 1987 | -4.585 | 5-6 |
| 64 | Boston College | 2013 | -5.972 | 7-6 |
| 64 | Boston College | 2020 | -6.993 | 6-5 |
| 62 | Boston College | 2016 | -8.267 | 7-6 |
| 68 | Boston College | 2019 | -11.609 | 6-7 |
| 76 | Boston College | 2021 | -12.39 | 6-6 |
| 63 | Boston College | 1991 | -15.583 | 4-7 |
| 68 | Boston College | 1998 | -18.094 | 4-7 |
| 71 | Boston College | 1996 | -20.609 | 5-7 |
| 75 | Boston College | 1997 | -22.922 | 4-7 |
| 87 | Boston College | 2011 | -23.755 | 4-8 |
| 69 | Boston College | 1995 | -23.761 | 4-8 |
| 81 | Boston College | 1990 | -23.953 | 4-7 |
| 75 | Boston College | 1985 | -25.389 | 4-8 |
| 79 | Boston College | 1988 | -27.891 | 3-8 |
| 111 | Boston College | 2022 | -32.235 | 3-9 |
| 101 | Boston College | 2015 | -32.878 | 3-9 |
| 86 | Boston College | 1989 | -36.373 | 2-9 |
| 108 | Boston College | 2012 | -42.948 | 2-10 |
+------+----------------+------+--------------+--------+
Overall Score: 22551 (43rd)259-225-2 record
1 conference title
13-10 bowl record
10 consensus All-Americans
88 NFL players drafted
There have been plenty of great players and consensus All-Americans, but there are 2 in particular I want to highlight. RB Andre Williams (2013) is BC’s last consensus AA, leading the nation with 355 carries for 2177 yards and 18 TD. And he did it without catching a SINGLE PASS. 355 carries and 0 catches, I don’t even know how that’s possible. Teams knew exactly what Boston College was going to do and still couldn’t stop it. Williams finished 4th in Heisman voting and won the Doak Walker Award. LB Luke Kuechly is Boston College’s only 2x consensus All-American (2010, 2011), and might be the best inside LB in college football history. In just 3 years, Kuechly had 158, 183, and 191 tackles, breaking the NCAA record for career tackles with 532, despite playing just 3 seasons. In 2011 he was the ACC Defensive POTY and won the Nagurski, Butkus, Lott, and Lombardi Awards. He’s also one of BC’s best NFL players and should be a future Hall of Famer, one of the top alumni alongside QB Matt Ryan, QB Matt Hasselbeck, LB Bill Romanowski, C Tom Nalen, C Damien Woody, OG Chris Snee, S Justin Simmons, LB Harold Landry, and QB Doug Flutie.
Top 5 Seasons
Worst Season: 2012 (2-10 overall, 1-7 ACC)
After spending 10 years as Boston College’s defensive coordinator (1999-2008), Frank Spaziani was hired as the head coach in 2009, his record going from 8-5, to 7-6, to 4-8, finally to 2-10. Spaz could scheme the hell out of a defense, but wasn’t cut out for head coaching. RB Andre Williams would run just 130 times for 584 yards and 4 TD in 2012, but had 355 carries for 2177 yards and 18 TD under the new coaching staff in 2013, playing to their strength. One thing that hurt significantly in 2012 was the loss of 2x All-American LB Luke Kuechly. With Kuechly from 2009-11, BC’s defense gave up just 20.9 PPG, but that spiked to 29.7 PPG without him in 2012. The offense was bottom 15 in the nation, scoring just 19.8 PPG, and they scored 14 points or less in a game 5 times. BC’s only ACC win actually came against 4-3 Maryland, but apparently losing to Boston College was such a death knell that Maryland lost their remaining games to finish 4-8. BC hired Steve “What’s better than this? Guys being dudes” Addazio to replace Spaziani, and they made 5 bowls over the next 7 years.
5. 2005 (9-3 overall, 5-3 ACC)
Yes, Boston College actually used to be a good team. Ranked #22 to start the year, they took care of BYU on the road 20-3 to open things up. Matt Ryan was just a backup at the time, with starting QB Quinton Porter taking the majority of snaps. Porter wouldn’t solidify his place and Ryan would get his fair share of snaps, BC starting the year 6-1 with a #13 rank. But 2 straight losses to #3 Virginia Tech and 3-4 North Carolina saw coach Tom O’Brien turn to Ryan for good, and Boston College finished the year 9-3, winning their last 3 games. If not for a 17-28 ESPN College GameDay loss to #8 Florida State at home earlier in the year, Boston College would’ve played Virginia Tech in the ACC championship game in a rematch of their 10-30 loss earlier in the year. Instead, BC went to the MPC Computers Bowl, where they became the last team to beat Boise State until 2007. Boise would go 13-0 in 2006, taking out #7 Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. Back to Boston College, Porter threw 9 TD 7 INT while Ryan threw 8 TD 5 INT. RBs L.V. Whitworth and Andre Callender, who’d form a formidable 1-2 combo over the next 3 years, ran for 807 and 708 yards, respectively. Will Blackmon, who played DB for his first 3 years, primarily played at WR as a senior in 2005, leading the team with 51 catches for 763 yards and 4 TD. He was a talented guy—was also an All-Big East return man in 2004, and was drafted in the 4th round of the 2006 NFL Draft as a DB! DE Mathias Kiwanuka was a 1st Team All-American for the 2nd straight year, and was a 1st round NFL Draft selection at 6’6 266 lbs.
4. 1993 (9-3 overall, 5-2 Big East)
After an 0-2 start, with a shock loss to an eventual 2-9 Northwestern team, Tom Coughlin and Boston College were left for dead. Once high hopes of a #20 preseason ranking had all but vanished. But they would not go quietly into the night. A 33-29 win at #13 Syracuse got them back to .500 at 2-2, and after winning 3 more to get to 5-2, a 48-34 win over #25 Virginia Tech gave them their second win over a Top 25 team and had them back in the Top 25 themselves. On November 13, #2 Notre Dame played #1 Florida State in the “Game of the Century”, with the Irish winning to claim the #1 spot. A few hundred miles away, Boston College was thumping Pitt 33-0 to improve to 7-2. The two would cross paths just a week later, #17 Boston College at #1 Notre Dame. After jumping out to a shocking 38-17 lead with just 11 minutes to go, Boston College watched their lead evaporate, Notre Dame scoring a touchdown with just 1 minute to go, now leading 39-38 thanks to an earlier 2 point conversion. With all the odds against them, BC somehow managed to regroup and drive down the field in position for a 41 yard FG. Kicker David Gordon hit just 7 of 11 FGs on the year, but made the biggest 41 yarder of his life, a career long, to shock #1 Notre Dame 41-39 in South Bend. Boston College would then lose a close game to #5 West Virginia but beat Virginia 31-13 in the Carquest Bowl to finish 9-3 and #13.
QB Glenn Foley threw for 3397 yards 25 TD 10 INT, winning Big East Offensive POTY and finishing 5th in Heisman voting. TE Pete Mitchell, who had a school record 13 catches vs Notre Dame, led the team with 66 catches for 818 yards and 7 TD. He was joined on the AA team by East Carolina TE Carlester Crumpler, the older brother of former NFL Pro Bowler Alge Crumpler. Mitchell would go on to be a consensus All-American in 1994, and had his #82 jersey eventually retired by Boston College. C Tom Nalen was also an All-American, and went on to have a 15 year career with the Denver Broncos, winning 2 Super Bowls, making 5 Pro Bowls, and 3 All-Pro Teams. QB Matt Hasselbeck was just a freshman on this team, and didn’t receive any playing time. Tom Coughlin went on to win 2 Super Bowls as the head coach of the New York Giants in the NFL.
3. 2007 (11-3 overall, 6-2 ACC)
What, it’s not the 2nd best season!? 2006 is ahead?? It was a razor close margin, but yes, 2007 takes the 3rd spot on BC’s top 5 teams list. I’m not sure why they were unranked coming off a 10-3 year with returning senior QB Matt Ryan, but that quickly changed with a 3-0 start all against ACC competition, including beating #15 Georgia Tech. In a wacky 2007 college football season, Boston College got to #2 in the nation with a 6-0 record, visiting #8 Virginia Tech for their biggest test of the season. In what seemed like a lost cause down 0-10 with just 2 minutes left, Boston College scored 2 TDs in quick succession, Ryan throwing a 24 yard TD for the 14-10 win with just 11 seconds left. Then, in a summary that’s probably a sleeper agent activation phrase for anyone over 30, “Florida State upset Boston College.” Usually you see it the other way around. #2 BC lost 17-27 at home to FSU, continuing the curse of the #2 team in the country losing in 2007. Boston College never truly recovered, losing to Maryland next week, then beating #15 Clemson, before losing to #6 Virginia Tech in a rematch in the ACC Championship game. With a 24-21 win over Michigan State in the Champs Sports Bowl, Boston College won their 11th game, tying a school record, and finished #10 in the country, their highest since 1984.
Ryan threw for 4507 yards 31 TD 19 INT, winning ACC Player of the Year, ACC Offensive POTY, the Manning Award, and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, and finished 7th in Heisman voting. RB Andre Callender ran for 989 yards and added 720 through the air, for 1709 total from scrimmage with 13 TD. WR Rich Gunnell had 931 receiving yards and would eventually leave as BC’s all-time leader with 2459. LB Mark Herzlich had 97 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 10.5 TFL, eventually winning ACC Defensive POTY in 2008. S Jamie Silva was a consensus All-American and Thorpe Award finalist, leading the nation in interceptions with 8 and leading BC in tackles with 125.
2. 2006 (10-3 overall, 5-3 ACC)
So what made 2006 (slightly) better? Well, they had 10 wins, a 3-1 record against Top 25 teams, a future 3rd overall pick at QB, and a defense that gave up just 15.7 PPG. Boston beat an underrated Central Michigan on the road in week 1, led by QB Dan LeFevour and coach Brian Kelly. 2 classics ensued, beating #18 Clemson 34-33 in 2OT, followed up by beating BYU 30-23 in 2OT. After a loss to NC State, Boston College would win 4 straight including against #22 Virginia Tech and Florida State, giving up just 5.5 PPG in the 4 game stretch. #16 Boston College played #22 Wake Forest to take control of the ACC Atlantic, but Wake was just a team of destiny that year, winning 21-14 and eventually winning the entire ACC. BC finished the regular season 9-3 with a win over #21 Maryland, and beat 9-3 Navy in the bowl on a last second field goal, 25-24. OG Josh Beekman was a 1st Team All-American and DB Dejuan Tribble led the ACC in interceptions with 7. The team had some pretty good talent, with QB Matt Ryan, DT BJ Raji, and OT Gosder Cherilus all going in the 1st round of an NFL Draft in the next few years. RBs L.V. Whitworth and Andre Callender continued to be a 1-2 punch, rushing for 791 and 633 yards respectively. Whitworth would amass 2583 career rushing yards and Callender would get 2967, both their careers overlapping from 2004-07.
1. 1984 (10-2 overall, Independent)
Welp. This is kind of THE Boston College season. Everyone remembers Doug Flutie’s Hail Mary to beat Miami (FL) at the end of the year, but I don’t know if people know how good this team was, finishing #5 in the country. They started the year by beating #9 Alabama in their second game, then beating North Carolina 52-20 in Foxborough, Massachusetts, improving to 4-0 and #4 in the nation. After dropping 2 of their next 3 they fell to #16, but climbed back up to #10 in time for a trip to #12 Miami (FL). The two teams combined for an absolute classic, with Miami QB Bernie Kosar throwing for 447 yards and Flutie for 472. Down 41-45 on the final play, Flutie, standing just 5’10 in height, dropped back, and launched a 65 yard line drive into 30 mph winds, reaching the end zone. The ball went over everyone’s heads into the hands of WR Gerard Phelan, who caught the game winning Hail Mary, 47-45. The play stands out as one of the most memorable not just in college football history, but sports history. BC won out, beating Houston in the Cotton Bowl to finish 10-2 and #5.
Flutie won the Heisman Trophy in addition to a bunch of other awards, throwing for 3454 yards with 27 TD 11 INT. WR Gerard Phelan, who caught Flutie’s Hail Mary, was a 2nd Team All-American, ranking top 5 in the nation with 71 catches for 1065 yards and 4 TD, and also had 11 catches for 226 yards and 2 TD against Miami. DB Tony Thurman went kind of crazy, intercepting 12 passes to earn consensus All-American honors. DT Mike Ruth would earn consensus All-American honors and win the Outland Trophy the next year, 1985.
5th Quarter
Does Boston College deserve to be above NC State and Arizona? Who is the better Boston College alumni, Luke Kuechly or Matt Ryan? Is there a better throw in college football history than the 5’10 Flutie’s 65 yard bomb into a mini-hurricane for the win? Was the 2006 team better than 2007, or should the order of the best seasons be flipped? Who’s the shortest Heisman winning QB, Kyler Murray, Bryce Young, or Doug Flutie?
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