ACC 2010-Boston College Golden Eagles

Boston College Golden Eagles

2009 Record: 8-5 (5-3)

Head Coach: Frank Spaziani (9-5, 2nd season)

Offensive Coordinator: Gary Tranquil (2nd season)

Defensive Coordinator: Bill McGovern (2nd season)

2009 Bowl Game: Emerald Bowl, Lost to USC 24-13

Offense: Who knew that a 26 year old freshman would lead the way at QB in 2009. Dave Shinskie became the guy when Dominique Davis flunked out of school and transferred. Shinskie wasn't Joe Montana overnight, but he was solid, and provided excellent leadership in the huddle. The real star of this offense was RB Montel Harris, who finished second in the ACC in rushing with 1457 yards (he scored 14 TD's). Harris has the potential to be even better in 2010, as he will be running behind 4 returnees on the line , one of which is pre-season All-American Anthony Costanzo at LT. With the ability of Harris in play, and the return of Costanzo and the other members of the line, Shinskie should only get better at QB as the pressure won't be on him. This is a good thing, as the receivers will be brand new starters. One of these new starters has a familiar name in BC lore...Billy Flutie. Colin Lamond will be the other starter, and he is highly thought of at the Heights. Chris Pantale will return at TE, and he will take some of the pressure off of the new kids at WR. Shakim Phillips will be expected to see the field at WR as an incoming freshman, and Chris Rettig was a huge grab on the trail out of California at QB. If Shinskie regresses this season, expect him to be pushed by Rettig.

Defense: There is huge news with the unit this season. Mark Herzlich, who lost all of 2009 to CANCER, returns to the field. His loss was softened last season, as Luke Kuelchy came in as a freshman at LB and dominated. They will both be on the field at the same time, and word on Herzlich is that he is ready to go 100% out of the gate this fall. Mike Morrissey is another returnee at LB, and could give BC the best group in the ACC, and one of the best units in the nation. BC is truly becoming the new LB U. Alex Albright returns at DE, and Damik Scafe returns at DT, which should give BC solid production on the front 7. The weak link is in the secondary, where every job is open coming into the fall.

Special Teams: Ryan Quigly handles both the P and PK duties, but is noted for his punting. He was 5th in the ACC in punting average and was tied for first with 23 punts inside the 20. No issues here.

2010 Schedule

Wins: 9/4 Weber State, 9/11 Kent State, 10/9 NC State, 10/23 Maryland, 10/30 Clemson, 11/6 @ Wake Forest, 11/13 @ Duke, 11/20 @ Virginia, 11/27 @ Syracuse

Toss Up Games: 10/2 Notre Dame, 10/26 @ Florida State,

Losses: 9/25 Virginia Tech

This schedule is custom built for success. Virginia Tech looks like the lone guaranteed loss, but that could spin back towards the Eagles if the Hokies get beat up by Boise State a couple of weeks prior. The Notre Dame game is a toss just because of the rivalry aspect, but I think that BC will be the better team in 2010. BC has competed with and beaten Florida State, and if this game was being played in Chestnut Hill, it would have swung to the win column for BC. FSU is a tough get in Tallahassee. The wins come against all very beatable teams. I guarantee 9 regular season wins for the Eagles.

Outlook: Frank Spaziani took a team that was down and being kicked before last season started to a bowl game. This team had lost its coach (Jeff Jagodzinski, fired) it's QB (flunked out, transferred) and it's star LB (Mark Herzlich, cancer). Spaziani was hired just before the fall as a testament to his loyalty to BC (12 seasons as an assistant). His drive, devotion, and passion turned a wreck into a serviceable Volvo by season's end, and that is a true compliment. A year removed from that disaster turned miracle, let's see if Spaziani and crew can turn this into a Mercedes. I love the outlook for the Eagles, and they can definately compete for their first ACC crown.