2018 Boston College Eagles football team

The 2018 Boston College Eagles football team represented Boston College during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Eagles played their home games at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, and competed in the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They were led by sixth-year head coach Steve Addazio. They finished the season 7–5, 4–4 in ACC play to finish in fourth place in the Atlantic Division. They were invited to the First Responder Bowl against Boise State. With 5:08 left in the 1st quarter and BC leading 7–0, the bowl game was delayed and ultimately canceled and ruled a no contest.

2018 Boston College Eagles football
First Responder Bowl vs. Boise State, (No contest, weather cancellation)
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
	Atlantic Division
2018 record	7–5 (4–4 ACC)
Head coach	Steve Addazio (6th season)
Offensive coordinator	Scot Loeffler (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Jim Reid (3rd season)
Home stadium	Alumni Stadium (Capacity: 44,500)
Uniform

2018 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Atlantic Division
No. 1 Clemson x$#^		8	–	0					15	–	0
No. 15 Syracuse		6	–	2					10	–	3
NC State		5	–	3					9	–	4
Boston College		4	–	4					7	–	5
Wake Forest		3	–	5					7	–	6
Florida State		3	–	5					5	–	7
Louisville		0	–	8					2	–	10
Coastal Division
Pittsburgh x		6	–	2					7	–	7
Georgia Tech		5	–	3					7	–	6
Miami		4	–	4					7	–	6
Virginia		4	–	4					8	–	5
Virginia Tech		4	–	4					6	–	7
Duke		3	–	5					8	–	5
North Carolina		1	–	7					2	–	9
Championship: Clemson 42, Pittsburgh 10
– College Football Playoff champion ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The Eagles finished the 2017 season 7–6, 4–4 in ACC play to finish in a three-way tie for third place in the Atlantic Division. They were invited to the Pinstripe Bowl where they lost to Iowa.

Recruiting

Position key

Back	B		Center	C		Cornerback	CB		Defensive back	DB
Defensive end	DE		Defensive lineman	DL		Defensive tackle	DT		End	E
Fullback	FB		Guard	G		Halfback	HB		Kicker	K
Kickoff returner	KR		Offensive tackle	OT		Offensive lineman	OL		Linebacker	LB
Long snapper	LS		Punter	P		Punt returner	PR		Quarterback	QB
Running back	RB		Safety	S		Tight end	TE		Wide receiver	WR

Recruits

The Eagles signed a total of 20 recruits.

US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jehlani Galloway WR	Providence, Rhode Island	Classical High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Mar 19, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Joey Luchetti TE	Groton, Massachusetts	Lawrence Academy	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	240 lb (110 kg)	Mar 20, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
John Tessitore K	Wallingford, Connecticut	Choate Rosemary Hall	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Mar 25, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Kyiev Bennermon DT	Poughkeepsie, New York	Spackenkill High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	280 lb (130 kg)	Mar 28, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
John Langan QB	Wayne, New Jersey	Bergen Catholic High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Apr 29, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Matt Valecce QB	The Bronx, New York	Fordham Preparatory School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	May 6, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Evan Stewart S	Sparta, New Jersey	Saint Joseph Regional High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	May 7, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:    ESPN:
Finn Dirstine OG	Acton, Massachusetts	Lawrence Academy	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	320 lb (150 kg)	May 10, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Ryan Betro DT	Groton, Massachusetts	Lawrence Academy	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	280 lb (130 kg)	May 11, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Hugh Davis LB	Indianapolis, Indiana	Cathedral High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	May 26, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Vinny DePalma LB	Wayne, New Jersey	DePaul Catholic High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	May 27, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Joe Sparacio LB	Naples, Florida	First Baptist Academy	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Jun 6, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
David Bailey RB	Ridgely, Maryland	North Caroline High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Jun 6, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Aaron Gethers CB	Harrisburg, Pennsylvania	Bishop McDevitt High School	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jun 9, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Tyler Days DB	Mattydale, New York	Cicero – North Syracuse High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jun 11, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Elijah Jones DB	East Harlem, New York	Cardinal Hayes High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jun 16, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Thomas Shelmire OG	Dallas, Texas	Highland Park High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	285 lb (129 kg)	Jun 17, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Nick DeNucci LB	Sparta, New Jersey	Pope John XXIII Regional High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	Jun 18, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Jason Maitre WR	Everett, Massachusetts	Everett High School	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Jun 19, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Tyler Vrabel OT	Bellaire, Texas	St. Pius X High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	Jun 26, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 7, 2018.

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Award	Player	Position	Year
Lott Trophy[1]	Zach Allen	DE	SR
Chuck Bednarik Award[2]	Zach Allen	DE	SR
	Lukas Denis	S	SR
Maxwell Award[3]	A. J. Dillon	RB	SO
Doak Walker Award[4]	A. J. Dillon	RB	SO
John Mackey Award[5]	Tommy Sweeney	TE	JR
Jim Thorpe Award[6]	Lukas Denis	DB	SR
Bronko Nagurski Trophy[7]	Zach Allen	DE	SR
	Lukas Denis	DB	SR
Outland Trophy[8]	Chris Lindstrom	OL	SR
Paul Hornung Award[9]	Michael Walker	WR/KR	SR
Wuerffel Trophy[10]	Zach Allen	DE	SR
Walter Camp Award[11]	A. J. Dillon	RB	SO
Ted Hendricks Award[12]	Zach Allen	DE	SR

ACC media poll

The ACC media poll was released on July 24, 2018.

Media poll (Atlantic)
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Clemson	1,031 (145)
2	Florida State	789 (1)
3	NC State	712 (2)
4	Boston College	545
5	Louisville	422
6	Wake Forest	413
7	Syracuse	232

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	1:00 p.m.	UMass*		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA (rivalry)	ESPN app	W 55–21	30,112
September 8	1:00 p.m.	Holy Cross*		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA (rivalry)	ESPN app	W 62–14	40,311
September 13	5:30 p.m.[lower-alpha 1]	at Wake Forest		BB&T Field Winston-Salem, NC	ESPN	W 41–34	25,309
September 22	12:00 p.m.	at Purdue*	No. 23	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	ESPN2	L 13–30	47,119
September 29	12:00 p.m.	Temple*		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	ESPNU	W 45–35	40,111
October 6	12:30 p.m.	at No. 23 NC State		Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, NC	NESN	L 23–28	57,241
October 13	12:30 p.m.	Louisville		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	NESN	W 38–20	31,478
October 26	7:00 p.m.	Miami (FL)		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	ESPN	W 27–14	41,892
November 3	3:45 p.m.	at Virginia Tech	No. 24	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)	ACCN	W 31–21	65,632
November 10	8:00 p.m.	No. 2 Clemson	No. 17	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA (O'Rourke–McFadden Trophy) (College GameDay)	ABC	L 7–27	44,500
November 17	3:30 p.m.	at Florida State	No. 22	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ESPN2	L 21–22	57,274
November 24	12:00 p.m.	No. 19 Syracuse		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA (rivalry)	ESPN	L 21–42	34,959
December 26	1:30 p.m.	vs. No. 23 Boise State*		Cotton Bowl Stadium Dallas, TX (First Responder Bowl)	ESPN	NC 7–0[lower-alpha 2]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

1. The Wake Forest game was originally scheduled for 7:30 p.m., but the game was moved up to 5:30 p.m. in anticipation of Hurricane Florence.[13]
2. The First Responder Bowl was cancelled due to inclement weather. Boston College was leading.[14]

Schedule Source:[15]

Game summaries

UMass

	1	2	3	4	Total
Minutemen	7	0	0	14	21
Eagles	14	34	0	7	55

In the Battle of the Bay State, BC used their RB A. J. Dillon early and often and cruised to an opening day victory

Holy Cross

	1	2	3	4	Total
Crusaders	0	0	7	7	14
Eagles	21	13	14	14	62

QB Anthony Brown continued his stellar start to the season and led BC to an easy win over FCS Holy Cross

at Wake Forest

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	7	14	7	13	41
Demon Deacons	7	14	3	10	34

In a redemption game from last season, Anthony Brown threw for a career high 5 touchdowns in BC’s ACC opening win over Wake Forest. BC would get into the AP Poll at #23 the next day

at Purdue

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 23 Eagles	7	0	0	6	13
Boilermakers	7	16	7	0	30

In their first game as a ranked team since 2009, the Eagles excitement got the better of them as they lost for the first time this season to winless Purdue. It knocked BC out of the rankings

Temple

	1	2	3	4	Total
Owls	14	7	7	7	35
Eagles	13	18	7	7	45

A. J. Dillon led his team to a bounce back win over Temple with two touchdowns as the Eagles stayed undefeated at Alumni Stadium in 2018

at NC State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	3	0	7	13	23
No. 23 Wolfpack	7	14	7	0	28

Despite causing turnovers in Raleigh, the Eagles offense could not answer without Dillon and lost their first ACC game of 2018 to the Wolfpack

Louisville

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	13	7	0	0	20
Eagles	14	10	0	14	38

In a must win ACC game, BC would jump out to an early 14-0 lead. Sloppy play and miscues allowed Louisville to take a 20-14 lead in the half. But BC used a blocked punt TD to retake the lead and would score the final 24 points of the game to defeat the Cardinals and get to the off week with a 5-2 record

Miami (FL)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hurricanes	7	7	0	0	14
Eagles	14	3	10	0	27

In the 5th edition of the Red Bandanna Game, A. J. Dillon returned to give the Eagles and their wild crowd their best victory over the season over the #25 Hurricanes. Anthony Brown also had two TDs (1 Pass 1 Rush) and BC’s defense caused two interceptions in the second half that led to 10 points

at Virginia Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 24 Eagles	7	0	14	10	31
Hokies	7	7	0	7	21

The Eagles visited Virginia Tech and pulled out a 31–21 victory. Sophomore Travis Levy gave BC a boost with two rushing TDs in the second half after falling behind 14–7. A. J. Dillon left the game with an injury

Clemson

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 2 Tigers	10	3	7	7	27
No. 17 Eagles	7	0	0	0	7

In what was deemed the biggest game of the year for the Boston College Eagles, the defense played a role in holding Clemson to a 13-7 lead at halftime. But without Anthony Brown, who was injured on BC’s first possession of the game, the Eagles could not muster enough offense and dropped a tough matchup to the second ranked Tigers

at Florida State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 20 Eagles	0	7	7	7	21
Seminoles	0	6	7	9	22

The Eagles were big favorites even after a tough loss last week. But with both Brown and Dillon not one hundred percent, the Eagles offense struggled and the Seminoles picked up a late TD pass in the final two minutes of regulation to get an upset

Syracuse

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 19 Orange	14	14	7	7	42
Eagles	7	7	7	0	21

Eric Dungey was in full form even after getting injured against Notre Dame the week before and the Eagles could not stop him or the Orange offense in another lackluster game for the Eagles. Brown accounted for all of BC’s touchdowns but Dillon was still banged up and BC finished the regular season 7–5 for the third straight year

vs. Boise State (First Responder Bowl)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	7				7
No. 23 Broncos	0				0

With Boston College leading 7–0 with 5:08 remaining in the 1st quarter, the game was delayed due to inclement weather. After an hour and a half delay, the game was canceled and ruled a no contest[16]

A. J. Dillon scored on the Eagles' first possession; a 19-yard touchdown run. He had 33 yards on six carries. Anthony Brown was 4-for-6 passing for 54 yards, while Kobay White made two catches for 35 yards.

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	RV	RV	RV	23	NR	RV	NR	NR	RV	24	17	22	NR	NR	NR
Coaches	RV	RV	RV	25	RV	RV	NR	RV	NR	25	14	22	RV	NR	NR
CFP	Not released									22	17	20	NR	NR	NR	Not released

Roster

2018 Boston College Eagles football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 1 Elijah Robinson Sr RB 2 A. J. Dillon So WR 3 Michael Walker Sr QB 4 E. J. Perry So WR 6 Jeff Smith Sr QB 7 Matt Valecce Fr WR 9 Kobay White  So QB 10 Matt McDonald  Fr WR 11 C. J. Lewis So QB 13 Anthony Brown  So RB 15 John Fadule Sr WR 17 Aidan Hegarty  So WR, RB 19 Ben Glines  Jr QB 20 Dennis Grosel  Fr QB 21 Johnny Langan Fr RB 23 Travis Levy So RB 38 Peter Stehr Fr RB 39 Andrew Strader  Jr TE 41 Joey Luchetti Fr RB 42 Javian Dayne Fr TE 43 Tito Pasqualoni Fr TE 44 Brenden Smith Fr FB 47 Colton Cardinal Sr OL 52 Cam Reddy Fr OL 55 Wyatt Knopfke  Jr OL 56 Adam Korutz  So OL 64 Ben Petrula So OL 65 Thomas Shelmire Fr OL 66 Anthony Palazzolo  Jr OL 67 Aaron Monteiro Sr OL 69 Eddy Fish  So OL 70 John Phillips  Jr OL 71 Nate Emer  Fr OL 72 Alec Lindstrom  Fr OL 73 Sam Schmal  Sr OL 74 Finn Dirstine Fr OL 75 Chris Lindstrom Sr OL 76 Elijah Johnson  So OL 77 John Baker  Sr OL 78 Tyler Vrabel Fr OL 79 Sean Ragan  So TE 80 Hunter Long  Fr TE 81 Chris Garrison  Jr WR 83 Jehlani Galloway Fr TE 84 Jake Burt  Jr TE 85 Korab Idrizi Jr TE 86 Ray Marten Jr WR 87 Noah Jordan-Williams  Fr TE 88 Patrick Brown  Fr TE 89 Tommy Sweeney  Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DE 2 Zach Allen Sr DB 4 Hamp Cheevers Jr DB 5 Nolan Borgersen  Jr DB 7 Tate Haynes  Fr DB 8 Will Harris Sr DB 10 Brandon Sebastian  Fr DE 11 Wyatt Ray Sr LB 13 Connor Strachan  Sr LB 14 Max Richardson  So LB 16 Davon Jones  Jr DB 18 Mike Palmer  So DB 20 Elijah Jones Fr DB 21 Lukas Denis Sr DB 24 Taj-Amir Torres Sr DB 25 Mehdi El Attrach Jr LB 28 John Lamot  So DB 29 Tyler Days Fr DB 30 Jahmin Muse  Fr LB 32 Nick DeNucci Fr LB 33 Curt Bletzer  So LB 34 Joseph Sparacio Fr DB 35 Aaron Gethers Fr LB 36 Paul Theobald Jr.  Fr DB 37 Ezechiel Tieide Fr DB 38 Jason Maitre Fr LB 41 Thomas Hovsepian  Fr LB 43 Isaiah Miranda  So DL 44 Brandon Barlow  So DB 45 Ben Stewart  Fr LB 46 Jimmy Martin  Jr DL 48 Tanner Karafa  Jr LB 49 Kevin Bletzer  Sr LB 50 Doug Rodier  So LB 51 Hugh Davis Fr LB 54 Evan Stewart Fr LB 55 Isaiah McDuffie So LB 57 Ryan Whittelsey  Fr LB 58 Reggie Terry Jr.  Fr DL 90 Bryce Morais  So DT 91 Jaleel Berry  Fr DE 93 Drew McQuarrie  Fr DT 94 Ryan Betro Fr DL 95 Taylor Hill  So DT 96 Ray Smith Sr DE 97 Marcus Valdez  Fr DT 98 Kyiey Bennermon Fr DT 99 T. J. Rayam So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 34 Garrett Reilly Fr K 37 Danny Longman Fr P 95 Grant Carlson  So K, P 98 John Tessitore Fr K 99 Colton Lichtenberg Sr	Head coach Steve Addazio Coordinators/assistant coaches Scot Loeffler (Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks) Frank Leonard (Assistant Head Coach / Tight Ends) Brian White (Running Backs) Rich Gunnell (Wide Receivers) Phil Trautwein (Offensive Line) Jim Reid (Defensive Ends) Anthony Campanile (Co-Defensive Coordinator / Defensive Backs) Ricky Brown (SAM Linebackers) Antoine Smith (Defensive Tackles) Bill Sheridan (Linebackers) Frank Piraino (Head Strength & Conditioning Coach) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: August 22, 2018

2019 NFL Draft

Player	Team	Round	Pick #	Position
Chris Lindstrom	Atlanta Falcons	1st	14	G
Zach Allen	Arizona Cardinals	3rd	65	DE
Will Harris	Detroit Lions	3rd	81st	S
Tommy Sweeney	Buffalo Bills	7th	228th	TE

References

1. "2018 Watch List | Lott IMPACT Trophy | Honoring College Football's Defensive Best". lottimpacttrophy.org. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
2. "2018 Bednarik Award Watch List - Maxwell Football Club". Maxwell Football Club. 2018-07-16. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
3. "2018 Maxwell Award Watch List". July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
4. "2018 Doak Walker Award Candidates". July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
5. "2018 John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List Released" (PDF). July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
6. "Paycom Jim Thorpe Award Names 2018 Preseason Watchlist". July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
7. "2018 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Preseason Watch List". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
8. "22018 OUTLAND TROPHY WATCH LIST UNVEILED". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
9. "43 PLAYERS NAMED TO 2018 PAUL HORNUNG AWARD WATCH LIST". July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
10. "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List". July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
11. Carbone, Al (July 27, 2018). "Walter Camp Football Foundation Announces 2018 Player of the Year Preseason "Watch List"". Retrieved July 30, 2018.
12. "Preseason Watch List - 2018 edition of the Ted Hendricks Award" (PDF). August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
13. "BREAKING: Boston College vs. Wake Forest Football Game Moved Up To 5:30pm Thursday". BC Interruption. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
14. First Responder Bowl: Boise State vs. Boston College canceled, ruled no contest due to inclement weather
15. "2018 Boston College Eagles Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
16. https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/first-responder-bowl-boise-state-vs-boston-college-canceled-ruled-no-contest-due-to-inclement-weather/