2009 Boston College Eagles football team

The 2009 Boston College Eagles football team represented Boston College in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Eagles were led by first-year head coach Frank Spaziani. He replaced Jeff Jagodzinski who was fired after the 2008 season. The Eagles finished the season 8–5, 5–3 in ACC play and lost in the Emerald Bowl 24–13 against USC.

2009 Boston College Eagles football
Emerald Bowl, L 13–24 vs USC
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Division	Atlantic Division
2009 record	8–5 (5–3 ACC)
Head coach	Frank Spaziani (1st as head coach, 12th overall season)
Offensive coordinator	Gary Tranquill (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Bill McGovern (9th season)
Captains	Rich Gunnell Mike McLaughlin Matt Tennant[1]
Home stadium	Alumni Stadium (Capacity: 44,500)

2009 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Atlantic Division
No. 24 Clemson x		6	–	2					9	–	5
Boston College		5	–	3					8	–	5
Florida State		4	–	4					7	–	6
Wake Forest		3	–	5					5	–	7
NC State		2	–	6					5	–	7
Maryland		1	–	7					2	–	10
Coastal Division
No. 13 Georgia Tech * x$		7	–	1					11	–	3
No. 10 Virginia Tech		6	–	2					10	–	3
No. 19 Miami		5	–	3					9	–	4
North Carolina *		0	–	4					0	–	5
Duke		3	–	5					5	–	7
Virginia		2	–	6					3	–	9
Championship: Georgia Tech 39, Clemson 34
$ – BCS representative as conference champion North Carolina vacated 8 wins, including 4 ACC wins. Rankings from AP Poll

Preseason

Mobile quarterback Anthony Haney (New Jersey recruit) was injured in an early preseason practice due to a career ending arm injury

Mark Herzlich

Mark Herzlich, a senior linebacker and the 2008 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, revealed on May 14 that he had been diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a cancer most commonly found in bone or soft tissue. In his statement, he indicated he was unsure what his illness would mean for his football future.[2]

Season Highlights

In the Eagles 52–20 win over NC State, Sophomore RB Montel Harris set two single-game school records when he rushed for 264 yards and 5 TDs.

On October 3, College Gameday came to Boston College for the Eagles' game against the Florida State Seminoles. During the broadcast, star LB Mark Herzlich, who was forced to miss the entire 2009 season after being diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma, publicly announced that he was cancer-free. BC went on to beat the Seminoles by a score of 28–21.

Early in the season, Boston College won in thrilling fashion as the Eagles defeated Wake Forest 27–24 in OT. Boston College had the ball first in OT and kicked a field goal. On Wake Forest's possession, the Demon Deacons had a First and Goal from the 3 yard line. Amazingly, Isaac Johnson stripped Riley Skinner and Wes Davis recovered the ensuing fumble to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

True freshman Luke Kuechly was pressed into service as a weakside linebacker due to the unexpected departure of Herzlich and became a national sensation. He led the team and conference and finished second in the nation in Total Tackles with 158. Kuechly was named to the CFN All-America Team, the ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year, and the Defensive MVP of the Emerald Bowl.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	2:00 p.m.	Northeastern*	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	ESPN360	W 54–0	33,262[3]
September 12	2:00 p.m.	Kent State*	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	ESPN360	W 34–7	25,165[4]
September 19	12:00 p.m.	at Clemson	Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC (O'Rourke–McFadden Trophy)	Raycom	L 7–25	77,362[5]
September 26	2:00 p.m.	Wake Forest	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	ESPN360	W 27–24 ^OT	40,892[6]
October 3	3:30 p.m.	Florida State	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA (College GameDay)	ABC/ESPN2	W 28–21	40,029[7]
October 10	12:00 p.m.	at No. 5 Virginia Tech	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)	Raycom	L 14–48	66,233[8]
October 17	3:30 p.m.	NC State	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	ABC	W 52–20	35,261[9]
October 24	3:30 p.m.	at Notre Dame*	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (Holy War)	NBC	L 16–20	80,795[10]
October 31	3:30 p.m.	Central Michigan*	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	ESPNU	W 31–10	34,128[11]
November 14	3:30 p.m.	at Virginia	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	ESPN360	W 14–10	44,324[12]
November 21	12:00 p.m.	North Carolina	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	ESPN2	L 13–31	41,272[13]
November 28	3:30 p.m.	at Maryland	Byrd Stadium College Park, MD	ESPNU	W 19–17	35,042[14]
December 26	8:00 p.m.	vs. USC*	AT&T Park San Francisco, CA (Emerald Bowl)	ESPN	L 13–24	40,121[15]
*Non-conference game Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

References

1. 2009-10 Boston College Record Book pg. 114
2. Dinich, Heather (May 14, 2009). "BC Linebacker Herzlich Fighting Cancer". ESPN. Archived from the original on May 17, 2009. Retrieved May 14, 2009.
3. "Northeastern Huskies vs. Boston College Eagles Box Score". ESPN. September 5, 2009. Archived from the original on March 20, 2010. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
4. "Kent State Golden Flashes vs. Boston College Eagles Box Score". ESPN. September 12, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
5. "2010 Clemson Football Media Guide" (PDF). Clemson University Department of Athletics. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 24, 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
6. "Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs. Boston College Eagles Box Score". ESPN. September 26, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
7. "Florida State Seminoles vs. Boston College Eagles Box Score". ESPN. October 3, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
8. "Boston College Eagles vs. Virginia Tech Hokies Box Score". ESPN. October 10, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
9. "North Carolina State Wolfpack vs. Boston College Eagles Box Score". ESPN. October 17, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
10. "Boston College Eagles vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish Box Score". ESPN. October 24, 2009. Archived from the original on April 13, 2010. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
11. "Central Michigan Chippewas vs. Boston College Eagles Box Score". ESPN. October 31, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
12. "Boston College Eagles vs. Virginia Cavaliers Box Score". ESPN. November 14, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
13. "North Carolina vs. Boston College". USA Today. November 21, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
14. "Boston College Eagles vs. Maryland Terrapins Box Score". ESPN. November 28, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
15. "Boston College Eagles vs. USC Trojans Box Score". ESPN. December 26, 2009. Archived from the original on March 20, 2010. Retrieved March 26, 2010.