Boston College Football Notes: The Rutgers Game

• Boston College hits the road for the first time this season as the Eagles head south to New Jersey to face Rutgers at SHI Stadium.

• Kickoff is set for noon with live coverage on Big Ten Network (BTN). Joe Beninati (play-by-play) and Shaun O’Hara (color) call the game for BTN.

• Coverage on the Boston College Learfield IMG Sports Network begins at 11:30 a.m. with Jon Meterparel, Pete Cronan and Scott Mutryn. Fans can listen to the game locally on WEEI 93.7 FM, nationally on TuneIn and on Sirius channel 113, XM channel 386 and online via SiriusXM channel 970.

• Boston College looks to rebound from its first loss of the season after last Friday’s 48-24 setback to Kansas at Alumni Stadium. 

• Rutgers (1-1) comes off a bye week after starting the season with a 48-21 win over UMass before losing 30-0 the last time out at Iowa on Sept. 7.

• Saturday’s game marks the first visit to Piscataway for Boston College since a 35-25 victory in 2003.

1he Series

• Boston College and Rutgers meet for the 27th time in series history Saturday in Piscataway. The Eagles lead the all-time series 19-6-1.

• The two former Big East foes meet for the first time since 2004.

• The series began in 1919 and the two schools have faced each other 26 times in series history. Both schools were conference opponents in the Big East from 1991-2004 before the Eagles joined the ACC in 2005.

• BC has not lost to Rutgers since a 20-13 defeat in 1991, the first Big East conference match-up. The Eagles are unbeaten in their last 13 meetings against Rutgers (12-0-1), including a 10-game win streak.

• The game will be a trip home for 17 Boston College student-athletes who hail from the Garden State, including four starters in quarterback Anthony Brown (Cliffwood, N.J.), tight end Korab Idrizi (Fort Lee, N.J.), offensive lineman Ben Petrula (Freehold, N.J.) and defensive end Marcus Valdez (Perth Amboy, N.J.). Boston College has a total of 10 student-athletes on its current two-deep from New Jersey.

• Boston College also has three coaches who are natives of New Jersey. Offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian (River Vale, N.J.), wide receivers coach Rich Gunnell (East Windsor, N.J.) and offensive line coach Phil Trautwein (Voorhees, N.J.) all hail from New Jersey.

• Saturday’s game marks the fourth straight year that Boston College has faced a team from the Big Ten. The Eagles defeated Maryland 36-30 in the 2016 Quick Lane Bowl, lost 27-20 to Iowa in the 2017 New Era Pinstripe Bowl and suffered a 30-13 setback last season at Purdue.

• All-time, BC is 38-43-2 against current Big Ten members. The 26 games versus Rutgers mark the most against current Big Ten schools. 

• BC is in search of its first win on the road versus a Big Ten opponent since a 27-14 win at No. 25 Penn State on Sept. 6, 2003.

121st Season of Boston College Football

• The 121st season of Boston College football began with an impressive 35-28 victory over Virginia Tech. All-time, BC is 668-493-37 in 1,198 games according to the NCAA.

• Under head coach Steve Addazio, BC is 16-12 in the month of September, including a 14-6 mark in September home games.

• BC is 35th in NCAA history with 668 victories. The Eagles are one of eight ACC schools ranked in the top 40 all-time in victories.

Touchdown Dillon

• Junior running back AJ Dillon totaled his 17th career game with at least one rushing touchdown Sept. 13 versus Kansas. BC is 12-5 when Dillon rushes for at least one TD. 

• Dillon moved into a tie with Andre Williams for third place in Boston College history with his 28th career rushing touchdown for the game’s first score against Kansas. 

Boston College Career Rushing TD Leaders

Player (Years) Rushing TDs

1. Keith Barnette (1973-75) 34

2. William Green (1999-01) 33

3. AJ Dillon (2017-present) 28

3. Andre Williams (2010-13) 28

Boston College Career Rushing Leaders

Player Yards

1. Andre Williams (2010-13) 3,739

2. Montel Harris (2008-11) 3,735

3. Derrick Knight (2000-03) 3,725

4. Mike Cloud (1995-98) 3,597

5. Troy Stradford (1982-86) 3,504

6. AJ Dillon (2017-present) 3,015 

7. William Green (1999-01) 2,974

8. Andre Callender (2004-07) 2,971

Closer Look at AJ Dillon in the Starting Lineup

• In 22 games since AJ Dillon was named the starter at running back on Oct. 14, 2017, at Louisville, Boston College is 14-8 overall and has averaged:

32.9 points per game

223.5 rushing yards per game

201.1 passing yards per game

424.6 total offense yards per game

2,682 rushing yards by Dillon

134.1 rushing yards per game by Dillon

26 rushing touchdowns by Dillon

12 100-yard rushing games by Dillon

• Dillon missed the games at No. 23 NC State and vs. Louisville with an ankle injury in 2018.

• Since Oct. 14, 2017, Dillon is second nationally with 134.1 rushing yards per game. Only Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor has averaged more rushing yards per game during that time span (151.7 rushing yards per game).

• Dillon became the first player in 120 seasons of Boston College football to begin his career with back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons. Dillon went over the 1,000-yard mark on his four-yard touchdown run at Florida State in 2018.

• Dillon is just the fourth player in BC history with two seasons of 1,000+ yards rushing. He joins Derrick Knight, Montel Harris and William Green with two years of 1,000 or more rushing yards.

Among the Nation’s Best

• AJ Dillon is sixth nationally and leads the ACC with 3,015 career rushing yards. Among the top 10 active career rushing leaders, Dillon has played in the fewest amount of games among the top 10 rushers.

NCAA Active Career Rushing Leaders

Player, School Yards (Games Played)

1. Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin 4,408 (29)

2. Walter Fletcher, Ball State 3,974 (35)

3. Rodney Smith, Minnesota 3,169 (42)

4. James Gilbert, Kansas State 3,083 (41)

5. Zach Moss, Utah 3,024 (35)

6. AJ Dillon, Boston College 3,015 (26)

NCAA Active Career Rushing Yards Per Game Leaders

Player, School Yards Per Game

1. Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin 152.0

2. Jemar Jefferson, Oregon State 117.9

3. AJ Dillon, Boston College 116.0

100-yard Games Piling Up

• AJ Dillon has just 20 career starts, but he has 13 career 100-yard games already at Boston College in 26 games played.

• He is tied for sixth in BC history with 13 career 100-yard games.

• BC is 9-4 when Dillon rushes for 100+ yards in a game.

• Dillon posted his 13th career 100-yard game – and eighth with at least 150 yards – against Kansas.  Dillon finished with 151 yards, tying William Green (1999-01) for the sixth-most 100-yard rushing games in BC history. 

Opportunistic Defense

• For just the fourth time since 2010, Boston College forced five turnovers in a game in the season opening win against Virginia Tech on August 31. BC forced five Virginia Tech turnovers, including three in the first half. That included the first career interceptions for Joe Sparacio and Tanner Karafa.

• It marked the first time since Nov. 21, 2015, that BC forced five turnovers in a game.

• BC is second nationally with a +2.33 turnover margin per game and ranks seventh nationally with eight turnovers gained in 2019.

Five Turnovers Forced in a Game (Since 2010)

8/31/19 5 vs. Virginia Tech (2 FR, 3 INT)

11/21/15 5 vs. Notre Dame (2 FR, 3 INT)

11/6/10 5 vs. Wake Forest (1 FR, 4 INT)

9/11/10 5 vs. Kent State (2 FR, 3 INT)

Starting the Season with an ACC Victory

• Boston College has started the season against an ACC opponent four times in school history. The 35-28 victory over Virginia Tech in the 2019 opener marked just the second time in school history BC defeated an ACC foe in the first game of the year.

• The only other ACC win to start a new season was the 38-28 victory over Wake Forest in 2007.

Noting the Virginia Tech Victory

• Boston College improved to 10-18 all-time against Virginia Tech, picking up its second straight victory over the Hokies after winning 31-21 in Blacksburg last season.

• BC has won two straight in the series against the Hokies for just the third time in school history.

• The Eagles are 6-1 in season openers under Steve Addazio and have won 13 of their last 16 openers overall.

• Anthony Brown finished with three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) as the redshirt junior quarterback finished 15-of-26 passing for 275 yards. 

• AJ Dillon’s second quarter touchdown was the 25th rushing TD of his career, moving him into a tie for eighth place with Derrick Knight (‘03) and Mike Cloud (‘98) on BC’s all-time rushing TD list.

• Nine Eagles made their first career start: Kyiev Bennermon, Anthony Palazzolo, Tyler Vrabel, Joey Luchetti, Joe Sparacio, Tate Haynes, Medhi El Attrach, Mike Palmer and Brandon Barlow.

• The appearance by graduate transfer Richard Yeargin was his first game played since the 2016 College Football Playoff championship game at Clemson. Yeargin missed all of 2017 and 2018 recovering from a neck injury suffered in an automobile accident. 

• The Eagles have now intercepted a pass in nine consecutive games.

• Tate Haynes was second on the team with nine tackles, including a sack.

• The Eagles’ 356 yards of offense in the first half was the most vs. an FBS opponent since posting 453 yards vs. UMass (9/1/18) and most in a half vs. an ACC opponent since totaling 361 at Louisville (10/14/17).

• Redshirt junior linebacker Max Richardson led BC with 10 tackles.

• Redshirt freshman linebacker Joe Sparacio finished with six tackles and an interception in the end zone in his first career start.

• BC’s defense held Virginia Tech to 2.3 yards per rushing as the Hokies finished with just 98 rushing yards on 42 carries.

Noting the Richmond Win

• Boston College improved to 2-0 with a convincing 45-13 victory over Richmond. BC has started 2-0 in consecutive seasons and for the fourth time under head coach Steve Addazio. 

• Boston College moved to 5-1 all-time versus Richmond in the first series meeting between the two schools since 1971. 

• In 1978, the NCAA split Division I football into two levels: I-A, which became FBS, and I-AA, later named FCS. Boston College is 27-1 all-time against FCS schools. The Eagles’ only loss was a 27-0 shutout to Massachusetts in 1978. 

• BC has won 27 consecutive meetings against FCS foes. 

• In the first half in 2019, Boston College has scored 63 points and totaled 730 yards of offense.

• Freshman wide receiver Zay Flowers scored the game’s first touchdown on a career-long 46-yard run. It marked the first rushing touchdown of Flowers’ career, giving him two total touchdowns on his first six career touches. Flowers finished the afternoon with 92 rushing yards on three carries (30.7 yards per carry).

• BC is 11-0 under Addazio when totaling 500+ yards of total offense. The Eagles have gone over the 500-yard mark in total offense seven times since 2017. Saturday’s 518 yards of total offense ranks eighth in the Addazio era. 

• The Eagles also ran for 300+ yards for the 14th time in the Addazio era, finishing with 346 on the ground on 50 carries (6.9 yards per carry). The 346 yards were the seventh-highest total under Addazio. 

• Graduate student safety Nolan Borgersen recorded his first career interception in the first quarter for the Eagles. It marked the 40th interception for Boston College since 2017 and the 10th straight game with an interception for BC. 

• Junior running back AJ Dillon logged his 16th career game with at least one rushing touchdown.  BC is 12-4 when Dillon rushes for at least one TD. 

• Dillon finished with three touchdowns overall and two rushing scores on the afternoon. Dillon’s 27 career rushing touchdowns are tied for fourth in BC history. Keith Barnette (1973-75) holds the school record with 34 career rushing touchdowns.

• It marked the third three-touchdown game of Dillon’s career.

• Dillon moved into a tie for 15th all-time in career scoring at BC with 174 points.

• Dillon caught his second career receiving touchdown on a career-long 42-yard reception from Brown to extend the BC lead to 28-7 in the second quarter.

• Graduate student tight end Jake Burt hauled in a career-long 55-yard touchdown reception to extend the BC lead to 35-10.

• Anthony Brown improved to 14-10 as BC’s starting quarterback. The 14 wins as a starter place Brown in a tie for sixth place in BC history for victories by a quarterback with Tim Hasselbeck (1998-00). Doug Flutie owns the school record with 30 career wins.

First Half Fireworks

• Boston College has been explosive in the first half of both games in 2019 on offense. BC has totaled 87 points in the first half over the first three games of the year, an average of 29.0 per game in the first 30 minutes of play.

• BC has totaled 1,061 yards of total offense in the first half in 2019. The Eagles are averaging 353.7 yards per game in the first half through the first three games of 2019.

Flowers in Full Bloom

• Zay Flowers wowed coaches and teammates from the first practice of preseason camp in August. It took the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native just three minutes into his first collegiate game to show the college football world his potential as well.

• Flowers ignited a BC offense that scored 28 first-half points in a 35-28 win over Virginia Tech.

• On BC’s first scoring drive, Flowers started the drive with a 16-yard rush and ended the drive with a 33-yard touchdown reception. The 33-yard touchdown was Flowers’ first career reception for the Eagles.

• He also added a 58-yard reception against the Hokies to finish with two receptions for 91 yards. He led BC with 116 all-purpose yards.

• The Eagles scored the second-most points in series history (28 games) against the Hokies. Only the 1993 BC team scored more against a Virginia Tech defense in a 48-34 victory.

• Flowers is averaging 15.8 yards per carry in 2019 (126 yards on eight rushing attempts) and 33.7 yards per reception (three receptions for 101 yards).

Big-Play Passing Offense

• Boston College is fifth nationally with three pass plays of 50+ yards in 2019. Quarterback Anthony Brown connected with Zay Flowers for a 58-yard reception and hit Kobay White on a 56-yard bomb against Virginia Tech. In the win over Richmond, Brown connected on a 55-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jake Burt.

• Brown is tied for third nationally with three passes covering 50+ yards in 2019. He is just one of 11 quarterbacks in the country to have three passes of 50+ yards this season.

• In 2018, BC had just three pass plays of 50 yards or more the entire season.

• Going back to 2014, the Eagles have just five total passing plays covering more than 50 yards.

• Steve Addazio’s first season marked the largest total of 50-yard pass plays as BC connected on eight passes of 50 yards or more.

New Look Defense

• Seven new starters opened the season on defense for BC against Virginia Tech. The new look defense featured a mix of underclassmen and veterans, including three redshirt freshmen (DT Kyiev Bennermon, DE Joey Luchetti, LB Joe Sparacio), a redshirt sophomore (CB Tate Haynes), two redshirt juniors (DE Brandon Barlow, FS Mike Palmer) and a fifth-year graduate student (SS Mehdi El Attrach).

• Luchetti recorded his first career sack and finished with 1.5 TFLs in the win over the Hokies. Bennermon finished with five tackles along with a TFL in his first collegiate game at Boston College.

• Sparacio recorded six tackles and his first career interception in the end zone to end a Hokie scoring threat near the end of the first half.

• Haynes finished with a career-high nine tackles to go along with his first career sack and forced fumble to set up a BC touchdown.

No Fly Zone

• Since the start of the 2017 season, Boston College is second nationally with 42 interceptions. The opportunistic defense started the season right where they left off in 2018 with three picks in the Virginia Tech win on August 31 and two in the win over Richmond.

• BC is second nationally in 2019 with six interceptions. Only Arizona has more interceptions this season with eight.

• BC has picked off at least one pass in 11 consecutive games. The last time BC did not record an interception in a game was Sept. 22, 2018, at Purdue.

NCAA Interceptions Leaders (Since 2017)

1. Iowa 44

2. Boston College 42

3. Wisconsin 37

Going on the Offensive

• Boston College averaged 32.0 points per game last season, the fifth-best single-game average in school history. In 2019, the Eagles are scoring 40 points per game.

• Since the start of 2017, Boston College has seven games with 500+ yards of total offense. BC ripped off 518 yards of total offense in the 45-13 win over Richmond, the ninth-best single-game total offense output of the Addazio era.

BC All-Time Points Per Game Leaders

Year Points Per Game

1. 1984 36.7

2.199334.3

3. 1974 34.1

4. 1974 33.2

5. 2018 32.0

1940 32.0

500+ Yards of Total Offense During Addazio Era

1. 610  Holy Cross (9/8/18)

2. 598 UMass (9/1/18)

3. 581 at Syracuse (11/25/17)

4. 555 at Louisville (10/14/17)

5. 550  at New Mexico State (11/9/13)

6. 549 Maine (9/20/14)

7. 524 at Wake Forest (9/13/18)

8. 523 Army (10/5/13)

9. 518 Richmond (9/7/19)

10. 512 at Virginia (10/21/17)

11. 511 UMass (8/30/14)

12. 506 No. 9 Southern California (9/13/14)

300+ Yards Rushing During Addazio Era

1. No. 9 Southern California (9/13/14) 452

2. NC State (11/16/13) 420

3. Maine (9/20/14) 413

4. Holy Cross (9/8/18) 365

5. Louisville (10/14/17) 364

6. Howard (9/12/15) 347

7. Richmond (9/7/19) 346

8. UMass (8/30/14) 338

9. Syracuse (11/25/17) 333

10. UConn (11/18/17) 330

11. New Mexico State (11/9/13) 320

11. Army (10/5/13) 320

13. NC State (10/11/14) 310

14. Wagner (9/24/16) 300

Non-Conference Action

• Boston College faces Richmond, Kansas, Rutgers and Notre Dame in non-conference play in 2019. Under Steve Addazio, the Eagles are 21-10 in non-conference games.

Playing the Best

• Boston College and West Virginia are the only two schools in the nation to play 11 games against Power Five competition in 2019 with just six home games.

• Only four schools in the entire country play 11 Power Five opponents in 2019: Boston College, Purdue, Stanford, and West Virginia.

Famous Bloodlines

• Boston College has several players with famous bloodlines on the 2019 roster:

Javian Dayne Son of Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne

AJ Dillon Grandson of CFB Hall of Fame WR Thom Gatewood

Tate Haynes Son of NFL Hall of Fame DB Mike Haynes

Tito Pasqualoni Son of Lions DC Paul Pasqualoni

John Tessitore Son of ESPN announcer Joe Tessitore

Tyler Vrabel Son of Titans head coach Mike Vrabel

Select Company

• Anthony Brown threw for a career-high 304 yards and five touchdowns on 16-for-25 passing in the 41-34 win at Wake Forest on Sept. 13, 2018. The New Jersey native is one of two Boston College quarterbacks in school history to have thrown five or more touchdowns in a game without an interception. Doug Flutie threw for 354 yards and 6 TDs without a pick in 1984 at home vs. North Carolina. 

• Brown became the first BC quarterback to throw for over 300 yards and five TDs in a game since Matt Ryan vs. Wake Forest (9/1/07). It was the first 300-yard passing performance by an Eagle since Chase Rettig vs. Wake Forest (11/3/12).

• Brown was sixth in BC single-season history with 20 touchdown passes in 2018. He was just the fifth player in BC history to throw at least 20 touchdowns in a season.

What Can Brown Do for You?

• Anthony Brown finished with the best single-game passer rating (245.9) by a BC QB dating back to the 1996 season with his performance against UMass in the season-opener in 2018. He finished 15-of-21 passing for 279 yards and four touchdowns. The yards and TD passes were then career-highs for the New Jersey native.

• Brown finished with the second-best single-game passer rating in the 41-34 win at Wake Forest later in the season. Brown became the first BC quarterback to throw for over 300 yards and five TDs in a game at Wake Forest (9/13/18) since Matt Ryan vs. Wake Forest (9/1/07). It was the first 300-yard passing performance by an Eagle since Chase Rettig vs. Wake Forest (11/3/12).

• Brown was named the ACC Quarterback of the Week for his performance in the win at Wake. In addition, he was one of eight quarterbacks nationally recognized by the Davey O’Brien Award and The Manning Award for his play in the win at Wake.

• In 2017, Brown was named ACC Rookie of the Week for the first time in his career following the UVA victory and also was one of eight quarterbacks nationally recognized by The Manning Award as its “Stars of the Week.”

• He was the first Boston College player with three passing touchdowns and zero interceptions in a conference game since Quinton Porter in 2003 in the 41-10 victory at UVA.

• It marked the third-best single-game passer rating by a BC quarterback since 1996 at the time. The performance now ranks fourth since 1996.

• Brown was the second freshman in BC history to start a season opener under center in the Sept. 1, 2017 win at Northern Illinois. He is the only freshman quarterback in school history who started to win a season opener on the road.

Single-Game Passer Rating Leaders (since 1996)

Player Rating

1. Anthony Brown (9/1/18) vs. UMass 245.9

15-of-21, 279 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT

2. Anthony Brown (9/13/18) at Wake Forest 232.1

16-of-25, 304 yards, 5 TD, 0 INT

3. Quinton Porter (10/11/03) vs. Temple 224.1

18-of-24, 308 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT

4. Anthony Brown (10/21/17) vs. Virginia 216.7

19-of-24, 275 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT

5. Tim Hasselbeck (9/9/00) vs. Army 216.2

14-of-21, 256 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT

Top 10 in Boston College History

• Anthony Brown’s 275 yards passing in the win over Virginia Tech to start the 2019 season moved the junior QB into the school’s top 10 in career passing yardage.

• Brown is ninth in BC history with 4,121 career passing yards.

• With 195 yards passing against Kansas, Brown becomes the ninth BC quarterback to throw for 4,000 career yards.

Boston College Career Passing Leaders

Player Yards

1. Doug Flutie (1981-84) 10,579

2. Glenn Foley (1990-93) 10,039

3. Matt Ryan (2004-07) 9,313

4. Chase Rettig (2010-13) 8,263

5. Brian St. Pierre (1999-02) 5,837

6. Shawn Halloran (1983-86) 5,252

7. Frank Harris (1968-70) 4,555

8. Matt Hasselbeck (1994-97) 4,548

9. Anthony Brown (2017-present) 4,121

10. Tim Hasselbeck (1998-00) 3,890

Scouting Rutgers

• Rutgers is 1-1 to start the 2019 season after a season-opening win against UMass (48-21) before dropping its first Big Ten game of the year at Iowa (30-0).

• The Scarlet Knights rank 106th in total offense (339.5 ypg), 91st in scoring offense (24.0 ppg), 90th in rushing offense (142.0 ypg) and 94th in passing offense (197.5 ypg).

• Rutgers is 66th nationally in total defense (371.0 ypg), 73rd in scoring defense (25.5 ppg), 107th in rushing defense (188.5 ypg) and 35th in passing yards allowed (182.5 ypg).

• Head coach Chris Ash is 8-30 as head coach at Rutgers over his four years in Piscataway. 

• Isaih Pacheco is third in the Big Ten and 31st nationally averaging 96.0 rushing yards per game.