BC Football One Win Away from Bowl Eligibility

Last year was rock bottom for the team from the heights of Chestnut Hill. The Eagles were 2-10, their only wins came against perennial hockey powerhouse Maine, and soon to be Big Ten piñata Maryland.

In 2013, the BC Eagles have a new coach, new athletic director, and are one win away from going bowling.

Your lack of excitement over a 5-4 team is understandable. And BC haven't had the toughest schedule to negotiate. They beat Villanova, a I-AA team that's 5-5 in their lower level. They beat Army during the government shutdown, in a game that was in jeopardy of being cancelled. And they recently (and barely) escaped from the clutches of 1-9 New Mexico State.

But it is important progress for the program. BC have turned things around. And the three remaining games on their schedule are all very winnable. They should claim win #6 at some point and earn a bowl bid. And they could finish the year with a decent 8-4 record and 5-3 conference record.

They've also had good, competitive quarters against elite teams like Clemson and Florida State.

And they have a stud player. Andre Williams rushed for a school record 295 yards against New Mexico State. He's up to 1,471 on the season, or 163.4 per game and 6.0 per carry. He's scored 12 touchdowns. And at 6' and 227 pounds he's an absolute beast. He's from Schnecksville, PA and went to the venerable Parkland High School. And BC was able to convince him to come up north and play for the Eagles.

And that's the key to everything: recruiting. BC needs to recruit regionally, in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and even in Ohio's prestigious Catholic schools. Matt Ryan went to school in PA. William Green was from New Jersey. Mark Herzlich went to high school in Pennsylvania. Luke Kuechly was from Cincinnati and went to St. Xavier High School. These are the most important players at BC since Doug Flutie and they're from a vast recruiting region.

So BC's success depends on their ability to draw talent from the greater northeast. Along with their ability to keep the relatively small number of talented players produced by New England, in New England. See: L.V. Whitworth, Brian St. Pierre, the Hasselbecks, Derrick Knight.

The important thing is that BC is no longer a pushover in the ACC. They played tougher than expected against Clemson and FSU. And they beat 7-3 Virginia Tech. And two of their final three games are against the bottom two teams in their division.

This is a respectable season from a once sad team.