1984 Boston College Eagles football team

1984 Boston College Eagles football
Cotton Bowl Classic champion Eastern champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 45–28 vs. Houston
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 4
AP	No. 5
Record	10–2
Head coach	Jack Bicknell (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Seymour "Red" Kelin (4th season)
Captains	Mark MacDonald David Thomas Scott Harrington
Home stadium	Alumni Stadium Sullivan Stadium
Seasons ←  1983 1985  →

1984 Major eastern college football independents records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
West Virginia	4	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Penn State	3	–	2	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
No. 5 Boston College $	3	–	2	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
Rutgers	3	–	2	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Temple	2	–	2	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Pittsburgh	1	–	3	–	0			3	–	7	–	1
Syracuse	1	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
$ – Lambert Trophy Winner Rankings from AP Poll

1984 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 5 Boston College		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 11 South Carolina		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
Army		–		–				8	–	3	–	1
Rutgers		–		–				7	–	3	–	0
No. 17 Florida State		–		–				7	–	3	–	2
Virginia Tech		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
West Virginia		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
No. 18 Miami (FL)		–		–				8	–	5	–	0
Notre Dame		–		–				7	–	5	–	0
Temple		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Southwestern Louisiana		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Penn State		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				5	–	5	–	1
Navy		–		–				4	–	6	–	1
Southern Miss		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Pittsburgh		–		–				3	–	7	–	1
Tulane		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Cincinnati		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Louisville		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1984 Boston College Eagles football team represented Boston College as an independent during the 1984 NCAA Division I-A football season.

Doug Flutie gained national attention in 1984 when he quarterbacked the Eagles to victory in a high-scoring, back-and-forth game against the Miami Hurricanes (led by QB Bernie Kosar). The game was nationally televised on CBS the day after Thanksgiving and thus had a huge audience. Miami staged a dramatic drive to take the lead, 45–41, in the closing minute of the game. Boston College then took possession at its own 22-yard line with 28 seconds to go. After two passes moved the ball another 30 yards, only 6 seconds remained. On the last play of the game, Flutie scrambled away from the defense and threw a Hail Mary pass that was caught in the end zone by senior wide receiver Gerard Phelan, giving BC a 47–45 win. Although many people think that play clinched the Heisman Trophy for Flutie, the voting was already complete before that game. ^[1]

Boston College finished the season with a 10–2 record and a No. 5 ranking in the final AP Poll. The Eagles defeated the Southwest Conference champion Houston Cougars 45–28 in the 1985 Cotton Bowl. The team also captured the Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy (emblematic of the 'Eastern championship' in Division I FBS).

Flutie left school as the NCAA's all-time passing yardage leader with 10,579 yards and was a consensus All-American as a senior. He earned Player of the Year awards from UPI, Kodak, The Sporting News, and the Maxwell Football Club.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 1	Western Carolina	No. 19	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA		W 44–24	32,000	[2]
September 8	at No. 9 Alabama	No. 18	Legion Field Birmingham, AL	ABC	W 38–31	67,821	[3]
September 22	North Carolina	No. 10	Sullivan Stadium Foxborough, MA	ESPN	W 52–20	44,672	[4]
October 13	Temple	No. 4	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA		W 24–10	32,000	[5]
October 20	at No. 20 West Virginia	No. 4	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	ABC	L 20–21	60,286	[6]
October 27	Rutgers	No. 11	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA		W 35–23	32,000	[7]
November 3	at Penn State	No. 9	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ABC	L 30–37	85,690	[8]
November 10	Army	No. 16	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	KATZ	W 45–31	32,000	[9]
November 17	Syracuse	No. 13	Sullivan Stadium Foxborough, MA	KATZ	W 24–16	60,890	[10]
November 23	at No. 12 Miami (FL)	No. 10	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL	CBS	W 47–45	30,325	[11]
December 1	at Holy Cross	No. 8	Fitton Field Worcester, MA (rivalry)		W 45–10	25,000	[12]
January 1, 1985	vs. Houston	No. 8	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic)	CBS	W 45–28	67,381	[13]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1984 Boston College Eagles football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OL 63 Mark Bardwell Sr RB 24 Ken Bell Jr C 66 Jack Bicknell Jr. Sr RB 32 Jim Browne Sr TE 85 Pete Casparriello So WR 44 Shawn Dombrowski So WR 26 Darren Flutie Fr QB 22 Doug Flutie Sr TE Scott Gieselman QB 7 Shawn Halloran So OL 79 Mark MacDonald Sr WR 82 Kelvin Martin So WR 20 Gerard Phelan Sr OL 54 Shawn Regent Sr RB Steve Strachan Sr RB 23 Troy Stradford So RB Tyrone Taylor OL Steve Trapilo WR 3 Chris Tripucka Sr OL Darren Twombly So RB Steve Williams	Defense Pos. # Name Class DE 97 John Bosa So LB 57 Ted Gaffney Jr DL 95 Chuck Gorecki Jr DT 52 Scott Harrington Sr LB 81 Andy Hemmer Jr LB Pete Holey DB Neil Iton DL Rick Nickeson DB Dave Pereira S 49 Carl Pellegata Jr LB 53 Bill Romanowski Fr DB Todd Russell DL 68 Mike Ruth Jr DL 50 David Thomas Sr DB 17 Tony Thurman Sr LB Ed VonNessen	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P Steve Peach K 2 Kevin Snow Sr	Head coach Jack Bicknell Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Rankings

Further information: 1984 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	19	18	10	10	5	4	4	4	11	9	16	13	10	8	8	5
Coaches	20	16	9	7	7	5	4	5	10	7	16	13	10	8	8	4

^[14]

Game summaries

At Alabama

See also: 1984 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

North Carolina

See also: 1984 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

Temple

See also: Temple Owls football

At West Virginia

See also: 1984 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

Rutgers

See also: 1984 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team

At Penn State

See also: 1984 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

Army

Army Cadets (5–2–1) at #16 Boston College Eagles (5–2)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Army	7	7	10	7	31
Boston College	13	15	3	14	45

at Alumni Stadium, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

• Date: November 10, 1984
• Game attendance: 32,000
• TV announcers (KATZ): Curt Gowdy and Len Dawson
• ^[15]

External videos
Game highlights

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Army	Passing	Nate Sassaman	4/10, 38 Yds, INT
	Rushing	Nate Sassaman	25 Rush, 136 Yds, TD
	Receiving	Scott Spellmon	2 Rec, 26 Yds
Boston College	Passing	Doug Flutie	19/29, 311 Yds, 3 TD
	Rushing	Steve Strachan	15 Rush, 81 Yds, 2 TD
	Receiving	Kelvin Martin	7 Rec, 126 Yds, 2 TD

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP ARMY BC 1 Army Doug Black 1-yard touchdown run, Craig Stopa kick good 7 0 1 Boston College Steve Strachan 1-yard touchdown run, Kevin Snow kick good 7 7 1 Boston College Scott Gieselman 12-yard touchdown reception from Doug Flutie, Kevin Snow kick no good 7 13 2 Boston College Kelvin Martin 34-yard touchdown reception from Doug Flutie, Kevin Snow kick good 7 20 2 Boston College Punt returned 45 yards for touchdown by Kelvin Martin, 2-point pass good 7 28 2 Army Rob Dickerson 5-yard touchdown reception from Jarvis Hollingsworth, Craig Stopa kick good 14 28 3 Boston College 25-yard field goal by Kevin Snow 14 31 3 Army Nate Sassaman 8-yard touchdown run, Craig Stopa kick good 21 31 3 Army 40-yard field goal by Craig Stopa 24 31 4 Boston College Steve Strachan 1-yard touchdown run, Kevin Snow kick good 24 38 4 Army Jarvis Hollingsworth 10-yard touchdown run, Craig Stopa kick good 24 45 4 Boston College Kelvin Martin 17-yard touchdown reception from Doug Flutie, Kevin Snow kick good 31 45 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 31 45

Syracuse

See also: 1984 Syracuse Orangemen football team

At Miami (FL)

Boston College at Miami (FL)

1 2 3 4 Total •No. 10 Eagles 14 14 3 16 47 No. 12 Hurricanes 7 14 10 14 45 Date: November 23 Location: Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida Game attendance: 30,325 TV announcers (CBS): Brent Musburger, Ara Parseghian, and Pat Haden

Main article: Hail Flutie

See also: 1984 Miami Hurricanes football team

^{[16] [17]}

Holy Cross

See also: Holy Cross Crusaders football and Boston College–Holy Cross football rivalry

Vs. Houston (Cotton Bowl)

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 8 Eagles	17	14	0	14	45
Cougars	7	7	14	0	28

See also: 1984 Houston Cougars football team and 1985 Cotton Bowl Classic

^{[18] [19]}

Awards and honors

Official 1985 Boston College Cotton Bowl pin given to BC players, coaches, and school administrators.

• Doug Flutie, QB, Heisman Trophy ^[20]
• Doug Flutie, QB, Walter Camp Award ^[21]
• Doug Flutie, QB, Maxwell Award
• Doug Flutie, QB, Davey O'Brien Award

See also: 1984 College Football All-America Team

1984 team players in the NFL

The following players were claimed in the 1985 NFL draft. ^[22]

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Gerard Phelan	Wide receiver	4	108	New England Patriots
Mark MacDonald	Guard	5	115	Minnesota Vikings
Doug Flutie	Quarterback	11	285	Los Angeles Rams
Steve Strachan	Running back	11	303	Los Angeles Raiders

Bill Romanowski was also a member of the team and was drafted in 1988.

References

1. "Heisman Trophy". Heisman.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2009.
2. "BC, Flutie get it done, 44–24". The Boston Globe. September 2, 1984. Retrieved November 15, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
3. "BC's 'greatest comeback' swamps Alabama, 38–31". The Boston Globe. September 9, 1984. Retrieved February 19, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
4. "BC's Flutie passes Tar Heels dizzy". Tulsa World. September 23, 1984. Retrieved January 30, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Boston College downs Temple". Star Tribune. October 14, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
6. "West Virginia edges BC, 21–20, on a late TD drive". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 21, 1984. Retrieved January 29, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
7. "BC flips Rutgers, 35–23 as Flutie nears record". Courier-Post. October 28, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Penn St. downs Boston College". Asbury Park Press. November 4, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Flutie's TD tosses bury Army, 45–31". The Cincinnati Enquirer. November 11, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Boston College is 'unofficially' invited to Cotton Bowl". The Cincinnati Enquirer. November 18, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Hail Flutie; Desperation pass gives Boston College a 47–45 victory over U–M". The Miami News. November 24, 1984. Retrieved February 28, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
12. Thomsen, Ian (December 2, 1984). "Small Wonder, No Wonder; Eagles Wrap Up HC, 45-10". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 57 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Boston College shows more than Flutiie, 45–28". USA Today. January 2, 1985. Retrieved February 28, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
14. "Boston College 1984 AP Football Rankings". collegepollarchive.com. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
15. "College Football Scoreboard." Gainesville Sun. pg. 4F. 1984 Nov 11. Retrieved 2022-Dec-27.
16. "FLUTIE'S PASS ON LAST PLAY OVERCOMES MIAMI BY 47-45". The New York Times . November 24, 1984. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
17. "Flutie's Desperation Pass Beats Miami, 47-45". The Washington Post . November 24, 1984. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
18. "FLUTIE PASSES FOR 3 SCORES AS BOSTON COLLEGE WINS". The New York Times. January 2, 1985. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
19. "Flutie Short of Miracles but BC Wins, 45-28". The Washington Post. January 2, 1985. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
20. "Heisman Winners". Heisman. Archived from the original on September 16, 2009.
21. "Football". Archived from the original on January 7, 2008. Retrieved December 12, 2008.
22. "1985 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.