1983 Boston College Eagles football team

1983 Boston College Eagles football
Eastern champion
Liberty Bowl, L 18–19 vs. Notre Dame
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 20
AP	No. 19
Record	9–3
Head coach	Jack Bicknell (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Seymour "Red" Kelin (3rd season)
Captains	Bob Biestek Brian Brennan Steve DeOssie
Home stadium	Alumni Stadium Sullivan Stadium
Seasons ←  1982 1984  →

1983 Major eastern college football independents records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Penn State	4	–	1	–	1			8	–	4	–	1
No. 16 West Virginia	4	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 18 Pittsburgh	2	–	1	–	1			8	–	3	–	1
No. 19 Boston College $	3	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Syracuse	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Temple	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Rutgers	0	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Lambert Trophy Winner Rankings from AP Poll

1983 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Miami (FL)		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				9	–	2	–	0
No. 19 Boston College		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
No. 16 West Virginia		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
No. 20 East Carolina		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
No. 18 Pittsburgh		–		–				8	–	3	–	1
Florida State		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Penn State		–		–				8	–	4	–	1
Southern Miss		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				6	–	4	–	1
Notre Dame		–		–				7	–	5	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Cincinnati			–					4	–	6	–	1
Southwestern Louisiana		–		–				4	–	6	–	0
Temple		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Tulane		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Louisville		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Navy		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Army		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1983 Boston College Eagles football team represented Boston College as an independent during the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Eagles were led by third-year head coach Jack Bicknell, and played their home games at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts and Sullivan Stadium (later known as Foxboro Stadium) in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Junior quarterback Doug Flutie threw for over 2,700 yards and finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting, leading Boston College to their first ranked finish in 41 years. They met their rivals, Notre Dame, in the 1983 Liberty Bowl.

Boston College finished the season ranked No. 19 in the final AP Poll, and captured the Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy (emblematic of the 'Eastern championship' in Division I FBS).

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 3	Morgan State		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA		W 45–12	31,300	[1]
September 10	Clemson		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA (rivalry)		W 31–16	32,000–32,500	[2] [3]
September 17	at Rutgers		Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ		W 42–22	23,561	[4]
September 24	No. 12 West Virginia	No. 19	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	ABC	L 17–27	32,000	[5]
October 1	at Temple		Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA		W 18–15	7,033	[6]
October 8	at Yale		Yale Bowl New Haven, CT		W 42–7	31,108	[7]
October 29	Penn State	No. 19	Sullivan Stadium Foxborough, MA	ABC	W 27–17	56,605	[8]
November 5	at Army	No. 16	Michie Stadium West Point, NY		W 34–14	40,749	[9]
November 12	at Syracuse	No. 13	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY		L 10–21	41,225	[10]
November 19	vs. Holy Cross	No. 18	Sullivan Stadium Foxborough, MA (rivalry)	ABC	W 47–7	38,512	[11]
November 25	No. 13 Alabama	No. 15	Sullivan Stadium Foxborough, MA	CBS	W 20–13	58,047	[12]
December 29	vs. Notre Dame	No. 13	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN (Liberty Bowl, Holy War)		L 18–19	47,071	[13]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[14]

Roster

1983 Boston College Eagles football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 13 Brian Brennan Sr RB 32 Jim Browne Jr QB 22 Doug Flutie Jr OL 79 Mark MacDonald Jr WR 20 Gerard Phelan Jr RB 23 Troy Stradford Fr WR 3 Chris Tripucka Jr C Darren Twombly Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class NG 68 Mike Ruth So LB 81 Andy Hemmer So DB 17 Tony Thurman Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Jack Bicknell Coordinators/assistant coaches Tom Coughlin – Quarterbacks Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Game summaries

No. 12 West Virginia

See also: 1983 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

No. 13 Alabama

See also: 1983 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

Vs. Notre Dame (Liberty Bowl)

Main article: 1983 Liberty Bowl

See also: 1983 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

References

1. "Boston College trashes Bears". The State. September 4, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
2. "Stradford carries BC past Clemson". The Hartford Courant. September 11, 1983. Retrieved January 29, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Clemson Football Media Guide - 1984". Clemson University. 1984. p. 0. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
4. "BC wallops Rutgers, 42–22". Staten Island Advance. September 18, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "W. Va. Mountaineers blitz Boston College". The Daily Advertiser. September 25, 1983. Retrieved January 29, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Flutie 'pitches in' as Boston College turns back Temple". Courier-Post. October 2, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
7. Thomsen, Ian (October 9, 1983). "BC Scores Early and Often". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 51 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "The surgeon; BC's Flutie operates on Penn State, 27–17". The Day. October 30, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. "No. 16 BC rips Army, 34–14". The Reporter Dispatch. November 6, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Syracuse derails BC, 21–10". Boston Sunday Globe. November 13, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
11. May, Peter (November 20, 1983). "BC Pounds Holy Cross, Expects New Bowl Foe". The Hartford Courant . Hartford, Conn. pp. D12, D16 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Turnovers turn back Tide; BC finishes with 9–2 record". The Boston Globe. November 26, 1983. Retrieved February 19, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Irish stew Eagles in B-r-r-r Bowl". The Commercial Appeal. December 30, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
14. "1983 Boston College Eagles Schedule & Results". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 12, 2017.