EAGLES SOAR, DEACONS SORE: Channeling Flutie, Ryan Delivers

The greatest moment in Boston College football happened the day after Thanksgiving 23 years ago when Doug Flutie scrambled away from the Miami Hurricane defense and, with six seconds left in the game, threw a Hail Mary pass that was caught in the end zone by Gerard Phelan, giving BC a 47-45 win.

Current BC QB Matt Ryan wasn’t even born.

Nevertheless, no Hail Mary was necessary to win last weekend against defending ACC champions Wake Forest. But Ryan did throw for 408 yards and for an impressive five touchdowns—at BC that’s second only to Flutie. Not only that, but Ryan also threw the ball 32 times, connecting with ten different receivers, one of which, I should add, was Billy Flutie, Doug’s nephew.

The Deamon Deacons’ performance was less than legendary. Deacon QB Riley Skinner was picked off 3 times by DeJuan Tribble, two of those in the end-zone and the third after Skinner’s short return to play following a separated shoulder that came late in the third. The Demon Deacons managed a couple of rushing yards, but their passing game, led by Skinner, back-up QB Brett Hodges, and WR Kenneth Moore, kept the Deacs alive, accounting for 99% of their offense. With 15 catches Moore tied the Wake Forest record and came just one shy of the ACC record. At the half the score was 21 all, and it was only in the third quarter that the Eagles began to soar. Had Wake Forest been able to move the ball on the ground and through the air, the outcome might have been different.

BC starts the season 1-0, giving Jeff Jagodzinski his first victory in his debut as head coach.

The Eagles, and the Deacons, for that matter, still have chance in a down ACC.

It has been said that history repeats itself, and with all of the Doug Flutie undertones if the BC-Miami game on November 24—which just happens to be just after Thanksgiving—comes down to the wire and BC has the last shot, Randy Shannon may want to send his whole squad, coaches and all, down field to send Mary to hell. Otherwise we may have another reason to compare Matt Ryan to Doug Flutie.

—R. Cooper