Boston College 2013-14 Year in Review, Part I: Football

2013 Boston College Football: August and September

In front of about thirty or thirty-one thousand people, the Eagles took the field at Alumni Stadium to face their lightest opposition of the season, the Villanova Wildcats (Game 1). The game started with an ominous feel, however, as Boston College trailed 14-7 at the half and were shut out in the second quarter.

Boston College restored order and held the Wildcats scoreless for the final three quarters of the game, outscoring Villanova 17-0 after halftime to gut out a 24-14 victory. Andre Williams rushed for 114 yards and scored his first touchdown of the season on a 26-yard carry with 4:40 left in the third quarter.

Williams would not sit at 114 yards for long. Less than a week later, Boston College hosted the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (Game 2) in their ACC opener. With pyrotechnic displays at the stadium and the ESPN cameras focused in, Andre ran for what was at the time a career-best 204 yards to help the Eagles win, 24-10, moving to 2-0 for the first time in three years and matching their 2012 win total.

Boston College’s defense was stout at times, stuffing Wake with two goal-line stands, including one that came at the tail end of the first half when the Deacs blocked a punt and took over with first-and-goal at the three. Confidence abounded as the boys in maroon and gold were finally starting to win again; the thrill on their faces as they ran to sing the alma mater was apparent.

The extra day off did not help much, however, as Boston College crossed the country to play the USC Trojans (Game 3). The Eagles’ only real claim to fame in this one is that they gave embattled head coach Lane Kiffin his final win at USC, and it was a lopsided one at that. Williams totaled just 38 total yards while his offense managed 184 — the Trojans, lambasted for their offensive incompetence in the previous week’s embarrassing loss to Washington State, gained 521 yards.

USC’s defensive line dominated from start to finish and the Eagles, though on the right track in general, looked to be little match for the Trojans’ talent on either side of the football. USC won the game, 35-7.

It would not get any easier the following week, as Boston College came back home to play the eventual national champion Florida State Seminoles (Game 4). To the surprise of many, with Eagles fans included, the home team was able to give their ACC foes a legitimate test. Andre Williams got back on track as he added another 149 yards to his total, while Chase Rettig matched Jameis Winston‘s touchdown total on the day with four.

While this was the only game before the national championship against Auburn in which Florida State actually had a fight on their hands, this game is notable for delivering the ‘Noles a key turning point in their season. As time wound down to 0:00 in the first half, Winston threw a 55-yard Hail Mary touchdown to Kenny Shaw to put FSU ahead, 24-17. As fate would have it, Winston and Andre Williams would meet again in another setting.

Boston College finished September at 2-2, an improvement over 2011 and 2012 in which they entered October at 1-3.

Next page: October