1981 Boston College Eagles football
ConferenceIndependent
Record5–6
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorSeymour "Red" Kelin (1st season)
CaptainJim Budness, Rich Dyer
Home stadiumAlumni Stadium
Seasons
← 1980
1982 →
1981 Major eastern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Penn State $ 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
No. 4 Pittsburgh 5 – 1 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. 17 West Virginia 3 – 3 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
Temple 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Syracuse 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 1
Boston College 1 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Rutgers 1 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll
1981 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Pittsburgh   –   –   11 – 1 – 0
No. 3 Penn State   –   –   10 – 2 – 0
No. 8 Miami (FL)   –   –   9 – 2 – 0
Southern Miss   –   –   9 – 2 – 1
No. 17 West Virginia   –   –   9 – 3 – 0
Colgate   –   –   7 – 3 – 0
Virginia Tech   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Navy   –   –   7 – 4 – 1
Cincinnati   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
Florida State   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
Holy Cross   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
Tulane   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
UNLV   –   –   6 – 6 – 0
South Carolina   –   –   6 – 6 – 0
Temple   –   –   5 – 5 – 0
Boston College   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
East Carolina   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Northeast Louisiana   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Louisville   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Notre Dame   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Rutgers   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
William & Mary   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Syracuse   –   –   4 – 6 – 1
Richmond   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
Army   –   –   3 – 7 – 1
North Texas State   –   –   2 – 9 – 0
Georgia Tech   –   –   1 – 10 – 0
Memphis State   –   –   1 – 10 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1981 Boston College Eagles football team represented Boston College as an independent during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its first season under head coach Jack Bicknell, the team compiled a 5–6 record and was outscored by a combined total of 298 to 243. Three of the team's losses were to teams then ranked among the top 10 in the AP Poll.[1]

The team was led by freshman quarterback Doug Flutie who completed 105 of 192 passes for 1,652 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Other statistical leaders included Leo Smith with 403 rushing yards, Brian Brennan with 726 receiving yards, kicker John Cooper with 55 points scored (28 extra points and 9 field goals), and defensive back George Radachowsky with seven interceptions.[2] Flutie, Brennan, and Radachowsky all went on to play in the National Football League, as did defensive tackle Joe Nash.

The team played its home games at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 19Texas A&M
W 13–1231,000[3][4]
September 26at No. 9 North Carolina
L 14–5648,000[5]
October 3West Virginia
  • Alumni Stadium
  • Chestnut Hill, MA
L 10–3817,235[6][7][8]
October 10at No. 2 Penn State
L 7–3884,473[9]
October 17Navy
  • Alumni Stadium
  • Chestnut Hill, MA
L 10–2531,000[10]
October 24at Army
W 41–639,357[11]
October 31 No. 2 Pittsburgh
  • Alumni Stadium
  • Chestnut Hill, MA
L 24–2925,500[12]
November 7UMass
  • Alumni Stadium
  • Chestnut Hill, MA (rivalry)
W 52–2220,400[13]
November 14at Syracuse
L 17–2735,623[14]
November 21Rutgers
  • Alumni Stadium
  • Chestnut Hill, MA
W 27–2116,500[15]
November 28at Holy Cross
W 28–2422,500[16]
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1981 Boston College Eagles football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
C 62 Jack Belcher Jr
WR 13 Brian Brennan So
G Ed Broderick Jr
QB 22 Doug Flutie Fr
QB 7 John Loughery Jr
OT 70 Steve Lively Jr
OT 78 Dave Paulik So
G 65 Gerry Raymond Sr
RB 24 Leo Smith Sr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
SS 5 Vic Crawford Jr
LB 99 Steve DeOssie Fr
S 6 Rich Dyer Sr
DT 52 Scott Harrington Fr
DT 95 Joe Nash Sr
DT 73 Todd Nelson Jr
DB 15 George Radachowsky So
DE 46 Paul Shaw Jr
DE 50 Greg Storr Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

References

  1. ^ "1981 Boston College Eagles Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  2. ^ "1981 Boston College Eagles Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  3. ^ "Boston College upsets A&M". The Paris (TX) News. September 20, 1981. p. 9B – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Boston College 13, Texas A&M 12". Minneapolis Tribune. September 20, 1981. p. 6C – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Bryant's 4 Touchdowns Lead North Carolina". The Palm Beach Post. September 27, 1981. p. E6 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "West Virginia rolls to 4–0, crushes Boston College". The News and Advance. October 4, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Undefeated West Virginia knocks off Boston College". Tallahassee Democrat. October 4, 1981. p. 4F – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "West Virginia 38, Boston College 10". St. Petersburg Times. October 4, 1981. p. 8C – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Penn St. Crushes B.C. 38-7". The Palm Beach Post. October 11, 1981. p. E6 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Meyers, Fehr lead Navy past B.C. by 25-10". The Baltimore Sun. October 18, 1981. p. C12 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Boston College 41, Army 6". Sunday News Journal (Wilmington, DE). October 25, 1981. p. D7 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "No. 2-ranked Pitt escapes BC 29-24". St. Petersburg Times (AP story). November 1, 1981. p. 11C – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "At Chestnut Hill, Mass". The Courier-Journal. November 8, 1981. p. C2 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Syracuse 27, Boston College 17". Fort Lauderdale News and Sun-Sentinel. November 15, 1981. p. 4C – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Boston Coll. 27, Rutgers 21". The Hartford Courant. November 22, 1981. p. C13 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Boston College 28, Holy Cross 24". Fort Myers News-Press. November 29, 1981. p. 3C – via Newspapers.com.


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