ACC ANNOUNCES FOOTBALL OPPONENTS FOR 2013

                                                                                 ACC Announces 2013 Conference Football Opponents

Pittsburgh, Syracuse Join Coastal, Atlantic Divisions

Balanced Eight-Game League Schedule Allows for

One Primary and One Rotating Crossover Opponent

Greensboro, N.C.—The Atlantic Coast Conference Friday announced the football conference opponents and sites for the 2013 season incorporating new members Pittsburgh and Syracuse into the 14-team league. As the conference did in its previous expansion in 2006, this year’s schedule of league football opponents is entirely a new scheduling model that is not based off the previous schedule.

The complete 2013 ACC Football Schedule, including specific dates, is expected to be announced in early February.

Each ACC team will play eight conference games in football (four home and four away), six games within their division (three home, three away) and two games (one home, one away) with crossover opponents from the opposite division. In 2013, all Atlantic Division members will host their primary crossover opponent while Coastal Division members will host a rotating crossover opponent.

Each school’s primary crossover opponent does not change, while its rotating crossover opponent will change each year. With the exception of Pittsburgh and Syracuse, all schools will be playing their rotating crossover opponent for the first time since 2009. Pittsburgh joins the Coastal Division while Syracuse will compete in the Atlantic Division and the two schools will play each other annually as primary crossovers. The other primary crossovers will stay consistent. The primary crossovers are:

Atlantic Division………………Coastal Division

Boston College…………………  Virginia Tech

Clemson………………………..      Georgia Tech

Florida State……………………    Miami

Maryland……………………….     Virginia

NC State………………………..      North Carolina

Syracuse………………………..     Pittsburgh

Wake Forest……………………    Duke

Also, as in 2006, the new model of conference opponents will result in repeat site games in order to balance home and away schedules. This year, taking into account the existing schedule, there will be a total of just six repeat site games, all limited to the 2013 football season.

The games with opponents traveling to the same site as in 2012 are: Duke at Wake Forest; Duke at Virginia Tech; Miami at Duke; Georgia Tech at Clemson; Virginia Tech at Boston College; and Virginia Tech at Miami.

Though the conference is releasing just the 2013 ACC opponents at this time, this schedule model may be used as the basis for a full, multi-year schedule in the future.

Below are the 2013 conference football opponents for each ACC school. The games are listed with divisional games first in alphabetical order, followed by primary crossover (pc) and then rotating crossover (rc) games:

Atlantic Division

Boston College                 Clemson                              Florida State                      Maryland                          

at Clemson                         Boston College                  at Boston College             Boston College

Florida State                       Florida State                       at Clemson                         Clemson

at Maryland                        at Maryland                        Maryland                             at Florida State

NC State                              at NC State                         NC State                              at NC State

at Syracuse                         at Syracuse                         Syracuse                              Syracuse

Wake Forest                      Wake Forest                      at Wake Forest                 at Wake Forest

Virginia Tech (pc)             Georgia Tech (pc)            Miami   (pc)                        Virginia (pc)

at North Carolina (rc)      at Virginia (rc)                    at Pittsburgh (rc)              at Virginia Tech (rc)

NC State                              Syracuse                              Wake Forest

at Boston College             Boston College                  at Boston College

Clemson                              Clemson                              at Clemson

at Florida State                  at Florida State                  Florida State

Maryland                             at Maryland                        Maryland

Syracuse                              at NC State                         NC State

at Wake Forest                 Wake Forest                      at Syracuse

North Carolina (pc)          Pittsburgh (pc)                  Duke (pc)

at Duke (rc)                        at Georgia Tech (rc)        at Miami (rc)

Coastal Division

Duke                                     Georgia Tech                     Miami                                   North Carolina

Georgia Tech                     at Duke                                at Duke                                Duke

Miami                                   at Miami                              Georgia Tech                     at Georgia Tech

at North Carolina              North Carolina                   at North Carolina              Miami

Pittsburgh                           Pittsburgh                           at Pittsburgh                      at Pittsburgh

at Virginia                            at Virginia                            Virginia                                 Virginia

at Virginia Tech                 Virginia Tech                      Virginia Tech                      at Virginia Tech

at Wake Forest (pc)        at Clemson (pc)                at Florida State (pc)         at NC State (pc)

NC State (rc)                      Syracuse (rc)                      Wake Forest (rc)              Boston College (rc)

Pittsburgh                           Virginia                                Virginia Tech

at Duke                                Duke                                     Duke

at Georgia Tech                Georgia Tech                     at Georgia Tech

Miami                                   at Miami                              at Miami

North Carolina                   at North Carolina              North Carolina

Virginia                                 at Pittsburgh                      Pittsburgh

at Virginia Tech                 Virginia Tech                      at Virginia

at Syracuse (pc)                at Maryland (pc)               at Boston College (pc)

Florida State (rc)               Clemson (rc)                      Maryland (rc)

BC WOMEN ANNOUNCE NON CONFERENCE GAMES

Chestnut Hill, Mass. – The Boston College women’s basketball non-conference schedule is set for the 2012-13 season. The Eagles will host BYU, New Hampshire, Northwestern, Rutgers, Arizona State and Vermont. BC will travel to Boston University, Holy Cross, the Seattle Tournament to play Sacred Heart and the winner of Portland or Seattle. The final non-conference road opponent will be Hampton.

The ACC is expected to release the conference schedule in the next two weeks.

“A challenging schedule is key to learning to compete at the highest level.  Boston College women’s basketball belongs among the top programs in the nation.  In order to improve to that level, we need to play against top competition,’’ said BC head coach Erik Johnson. “I believe that this non-conference schedule will prepare us for a demanding ACC schedule and give our young team a number of opportunities to learn how to be successful at the very highest level.”

The Eagles will open the 2012-13 season on the road at Boston University on Nov. 9, followed by a trip to Worcester on Nov. 13 to play Holy Cross.

BC will host BYU in the first meeting between the two teams on Nov. 15, and UNH on Nov. 20. The team will travel to Seattle, Washington over the Thanksgiving break for the Seattle University Tournament. The Eagles will open the tournament against Sacred Heart on Friday, Nov. 23 and then the winner of Seattle versus Portland on Saturday, Nov. 24. BC leads the overall series vs. Sacred Heart, 3-1. The two teams last met on Nov. 27, 2010 at the Junkanoo Jam in the Grand Bahamas. BC picked up the win, 83-47.

Other non-conference highlights for the Eagles include an ACC-Big Ten Challenge match-up with Northwestern at Conte Forum on November 28 followed by the return of Rutgers to Chestnut Hill on Sunday, Dec. 2.  BC last played at Northwestern in the 2007-08 season. BC earned a 73-66 victory behind 16 points from Carolyn Swords. This will be the fourth consecutive season BC and Rutgers have played. Rutgers leads the overall head-to-head series, 14-9.

Last year BC went out to play Arizona State, so this season, the Sun Devils will enjoy the cool weather in Boston on Sunday, Dec. 9. BC will finish the non-conference schedule by hosting Vermont on Dec. 20 and then travelling to Virginia to play Hampton on Jan. 2.

Boston College, which finished the 2011-12 season with a 7-23 overall record, returns four starters and welcomes three freshmen – Alex Coulombe, Nicole Boudreau and Amber Cooper. BC also added two transfers to the roster – Karima Gabriel and Lauren Engeln – both will be eligible for the 2013-14 campaign.

BC GETS MEDICAL HARDSHIP WAIVERS

ACC Grants Medical Hardship Waivers for Harris, Ramsey, Momah, three others

Boston College was informed by the Atlantic Coast Conference Friday that it has approved medical hardship waivers for football student-athletes Montel Harris, Kaleb Ramsey, Ifeanyi Momah, C.J. Jones and Connor Wujciak and men’s cross country student-athlete Jose Estevez.   All six student-athletes suffered season-ending injuries this past fall.  Harris, Ramsey, Jones, Wujciak and Estevez will now be granted an additional year of eligibility.  In Momah’s case, Boston College will now submit a request to the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility (since Momah did not participate in the 2009 season).

“This is fantastic news,” Director of Athletics Gene DeFilippo said.  “We’re talking about six outstanding young men whose seasons were cut short by injury.  I would also like to thank the Compliance staffs at Boston College and the ACC for their diligent efforts throughout this process.”

Harris, a senior running back who was the 2011 ACC preseason Player of the Year, missed the first three games of the season, then played in two games (vs. UMass and Wake Forest), sustaining a season-ending knee injury against the Demon Deacons.  Before his injury, Harris broke the BC all-time rushing record with a 26-yard rush in the fourth quarter.  He will have one year of eligibility remaining.

Ramsey, a senior defensive tackle, suffered a foot injury early in the team’s season-opening loss to Northwestern.  He will have one year of eligibility remaining.

Momah, a senior wide receiver who was named one of four co-captains prior to the season, suffered a season-ending left knee injury in the Northwestern game.  Boston College will now submit a request for a sixth year of eligibility for Momah to the NCAA.

Sophomore defensive back Jones suffered a knee injury during the opening kickoff of the team’s second game.  He will have three years of eligibility remaining.  True freshman defensive lineman Wujciak suffered a shoulder injury early in the season; he will have four years of eligibility remaining.

Medical hardship waivers may be granted to student-athletes with season-ending injuries who have appeared in fewer than 30 percent of their team’s competitions, with none coming after the midway point of the season.

BC’s Quigley Named ACC Specialist of the Week

BC’s Quigley Named ACC Specialist of the Week

Boston College senior punter Ryan Quigley has been named ACC Special Teams Player of the Week, the league announced today.

Quigley downed six (of nine punts in total) inside Notre Dame’s 12-yard line, including five punts inside the 9, in Boston College’s 16-14 loss Saturday in South Bend.  Of his six punts inside the 12, three were downed (at the 5, 3 and 12-yard lines) and three were fair caught (at the 6, 8 and 9-yard lines).  Quigley finished the game with a season-high nine punts for 369 yards, an average of 41.0 yards per punt, and matched a season-long with a 52-yard punt in the first quarter.

Other Players of the Week include:

 

OFFENSIVE BACK – Mike Glennon, NC State, Sr., QB, 6-6, 232, Centreville, Va.

Glennon completed 19 of 29 pass attempts for 253 yards and three touchdowns and did not throw an interception. Glennon got more and more prolific as the game went along, completing 8 of 10 pass attempts for 84 yards and two touchdowns in the second quarter as the Wolfpack scored 27 points in the period, then completing 6 of 9 attempts for 138 yards in the third quarter, including a 43-yard touchdown pass to Tobias Palmer and three other passes of 19 yards or longer.

RECEIVER – Chris Givens, Wake Forest, Jr., WR, 6-0, 195, Wylie, Tex.

Givens tied his career-high with eight receptions and set a career-high with 191 receiving yards in Wake Forest’s 31-10 win over Maryland.  Givens added a 35-yard touchdown catch from QB Tanner Price.  In the process, Givens set the school record for receiving yards in a season with 1,207.  That also ranks as the sixth-best season receiving total in ACC history.

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN – Blake DeChristopher, Virginia Tech, Sr., OT, 6-5, 311, Midlothian, Va.

Playing in his last game at Lane Stadium, DeChristopher played all 74 offensive snaps, grading out at 86 percent with a team-high seven knockdown blocks. He had a key push on Logan Thomas on a 4th-and-1 sneak for a first down and sprung David Wilson for several big runs. He has graded out at 91 percent for the season with a team-high 100 knockdown blocks.

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN – Brandon Jenkins, Florida State, Jr., DE, 6-3, 265, Tallahassee, Fla.

Jenkins matched his season-high with six tackles including 2.5 sacks of Virginia QB Michael Rocco. The 2.5 sacks matched a career high for the junior and pushed his season total to a team-leading seven. The preseason All-American and All-ACC candidate now has 10 tackles for loss on the season. In addition to applying pressure on the quarterback, Jenkins was instrumental in the Seminoles’ limiting the Cavaliers to a season-low 78 rushing yards – more than 100 under their per-game average – and 316 total yards. FSU’s rushing defense now ranks third nationally and the Seminoles are sixth nationally in sacks per game. Jenkins now ranks seventh in FSU history with 34.5 career tackles for loss and with 20.5 career sacks. He is 10th all-time for the Seminoles.

LINEBACKER – Steve Greer, Virginia, Jr., ILB, 6-2, 225, Solon, Ohio

Greer led the Virginia defense with eight tackles and recorded two sacks  and another QB hurry in UVa’s 14-13 upset win at Florida State. Greer came up with a key sack in the fourth quarter. With FSU leading 13-7 and at the Cavaliers’ 30-yard line, Greer sacked FSU quarterback EJ Manuel for a 14-yard loss, forcing the Seminoles to punt. UVa scored the winning touchdown on its next drive. The Cavalier defense held FSU to just three points in the second half. Florida State entered the game averaging 34.6 points per game. Only Oklahoma (also with 13 points) has held FSU to less than 14 points this year.

DEFENSIVE BACK – Brandan Bishop, NC State, Jr., S, 6-2, 210, Boca Raton, Fla. 

Bishop led the Wolfpack with 10 total tackles, including nine first hits, one tackle for a two-yard loss, and his fifth interception of the season.

ROOKIE – Art Norman, NC State, Fr., DE, 6-1, 242, Stone Mountain, Ga.

A redshirt freshman defensive end from Stone Mountain, Ga., Norman had four total tackles, including three sacks for 16 yards. He also caused a fumble.

 

 

 

 

BC LEADS DUKE 19-14 AT THE HALF

There were no great style points awarded in the first half of Boston College’s game against Duke.  But with an 0-2 record and today’s game kicking off your ACC schedule, BC will take a first half where they hold a 19-14 lead.

BC quarterback Chase Rettig turned in his best two quarters of football so far this young season. The sophomore was 11-for-16 for 182 yards. More importantly, he had no interceptions and was not sacked in the first half. Coming into the Duke game, Rettig had three picks and no TD passes. Rettig got his first scoring strike of the season when he connected with Tahj Kimble in the first quarter for a 31-yard score.

The Eagles have had a tough time running the ball against the Duke defense. BC has tried to run the ball 16 times but has come up with just 38 yards. Andre Williams leads all rushers with 18 yards.

KEVIN HARRIMAN

FREESE THE DIFFERENCE SO FAR

Boston College field goal kicker Nate Freese is having a heck of day so far for the Eagles.

Freese, a sophomore from Strongsville, Ohio, has connected on both of his attempts this afternoon which has given the Eagles a 13-7 lead over ACC rival Duke at Alumni Stadium.

Freese has connected from 43 and 47 yards out.

KEVIN HARRIMAN

BC COACH FRAN SPAZIANI PRESS CONFERENCE

HEAD COACH FRANK SPAZIANI TALKS ABOUT LAST WEEK’S LOSS TO UCF AND THIS WEEK’S MATCHUP WITH DUKE AT ALUMNI STADIUM

We woke up, looked at the tape and saw what we saw. Once again, there were lots of positives, but there are still too many errors. We have to move forward.

Where do you think the biggest problems were on offense?

We had some mental errors again, early on in the first period. It’s a little troubling and until we get the players through it. Whatever the communication is, it wasn’t communicated as well. Later on, we just couldn’t get in the flow of the game.

What did you tell the team to get them to keep going?

I saidafter the first week that we needed to help our guys more. And we did. Obviously we need to help the guys on defense more. We are who we are and we have to help ourselves more. The same goes on offense. They have to produce more. The other aspect I saw was a tremendous morale, I really did. We have to keep that up and build on it. If they keep working like that, we’ll get better.

What can you as coaches to help them?

Xs and Os. When you don’t have B.J. Raji or Matt Ryan making plays for you, you have to what the players can do and magnify that. It’s always about managing the problems. The stuff they can’t do, you have to try to cover up somehow. There’s only so much you can do, but there is stuff you can do. That’s why we’re coaching.

Are there things to do to generate a pass rush without exposing
yourself?

That’s a cat and mouse game over there also. We could be better organized with some other stuff. After the game, you always look at the game and second guess [yourself]. We should have done this. That’s the way you do it every week, so you can see where you can improve on things. You’d rather be ahead of a call rather than one play behind.

How do you handle the injuries at cornerback?

Donnie Fletcher being back helped. It was remarkable for what he did. He was a doubtful player and had to put him in right away. There’s not much more wiggle room.

Were there any other mistakes that weren’t as obvious?

Yeah, we had a couple of mechanical issues that we coached through, walked through and it’s really hard to fathom that we had that problem. It’s something we have to be able to get to the bottom of. We’re a fragile, little group of guys in a lot of ways and we have to find ways to be more precise. A better term would be the margin of error is so small with us. I think it’s magnified with us. We have to be right. We had that first penalty and came out of it and then didn’t come out of it. Other people overcome stuff. We only had two penalties on offense. Three, two on the first drive and one later in the game.

What the perception of the running game right now?

We feel we’re not satisfied with our running game. I don’t think we were consistent the first game and last night, I don’t think we had enough at-bats, if you will. It’s a combination of things, but there’s no question about it. We have to run the ball to win.

Are you waiting to see where Montel Harris is this week?
Correct.

BC NEEDS A WIN AGAINST DUKE TODAY

BC TAKES ON DUKE AT ALUMNI STADIUM

BY KEVIN HARRIMAN

BOSTON SPORTS DESK PUBLISHER

CHESTNUT HILL, Ma -  If you had asked Boston College head football coach Frank Spaziani back during Spring sessions if his team would be facing a possible 0-3 start to his season, he doubtingly would have said; “no way !”.

But this is exactly where his team is heading into the third week of the 2011 season. The Eagles opened the season at home with a 24-17 loss to Northwestern and then went on the road to Central Florida and turned in a terrible second half performance which resulted in a 30-3 setback.

A lot has happened since BC’s Spring Games took place. Last years’ leading rusher Montel Harris has yet to play a game because of a surgically repaired knee (he is expected back soon), Offensive Coordinator Kevin Rogers have left the team for medical reasons and leading receiver Ifeanyi Momah may or may not be done for the season with a torn ACL.

Not exactly how Spaziani envisioned starting his third season as Eagles Head Coach.

This afternoon at Alumni Stadium, the Eagles have a chance to right the ship against Duke in the first ACC game for each team. Duke comes to Chestnut Hill with a similar 0-2 record having lost homes games to Richmond (23-21) and Stanford (44-14).

The key for BC today will be limiting turnovers and playing ball control offense. Quarterback Chase Rettig, through two games, has no touchdown passes and three picks. With Momah and Harris  unlikely to play, his two biggest weapons will be missing.

Defensively, Luke Kuechly has been BC’s leading tackler. Kuechly has 35 tackles and an interception after two games.

DUKE NOTES:

A DUKE FIRST BY BOONE

• Boone became the first freshman in school history to score a touchdown in each of his first two collegiate games. Boone scored Duke’s lone offensive touchdown against Stanford on a two-yard
run in the fourth quarter. He also had a three-yard rushing touchdown in the season opener against
Richmond.

• The last time a Duke player scored in each of the fi rst two games in a season was last  when DesmondScott scored rushing touchdowns against both Elon and Wake Forest. The last Duke player to score a touchdown in each of the fi rst three games to open a season was Chris Castor in 1982.

RUNNING QUARTERBACKS

• Duke’s three quarterbacks — Sean Renfree, Brandon Connette and Anthony Boone — have combined for 15 career rushing touchdowns. Renfree has accounted for four scores, Connette has
nine rushing touchdowns and Boone has scored two touchdowns to lead the team this season.

• Connette scored on a six-yard carry versus Richmond for his ninth career score. The nine rushing touchdowns rank tied for fourth most by a quarterback in school history.

• Boone scored on a three-yard rush in the third quarter of the Richmond game. The touchdown was the fi rst of his career and came on just his second collegiate snap from the line of scrimmage.

Duke • Career Rushing TD by a Quarterback

1. Mike Dunn (1975-78) ……………………………………. 22

2. Elmore Hackney (1935-37) …………………………… 20

3. Leo Hart (1968-70) ………………………………………. 13

4. Jerry Barger (1951-54) …………………………………… 9

Thaddeus Lewis (2006-09) ……………………………….. 9

Brandon Connette (2010-pres.) ………………. 9

10+ RUNS

• The Blue Devils tallied six rush attempts of 10 or more yards against the Spiders and two against Stanford. The longest rush of the year was Scott’s 29-yard touchdown against Richmond. Thompson has
notched fi ve carries of at least 10 yards to lead the squad.

• Last year, Duke logged 42 carries of 10 or more yards, good for an average of 3.5 per game. Miami and Virginia were the only games in which the Blue Devils had six or more rushes of 10+ yards

BC WOMENS HOOP SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED

                                    Women’s Basketball Releases The 2011-12 Schedule

                           Eagles home opener vs. Fairleigh-Dickinson on Nov. 11.

                                    BC travels to Wisconsin for ACC-Big Ten Challenge on Nov. 30.

Chestnut Hill, MA – In addition to 16 challenging conference games, the Boston College women’s basketball team will participate in the in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, according to the 2011-12 schedule released by the school and the conference office.

The Eagles will also face three Massachusetts rivals – hosting UMass on Wednesday, Dec. 7, Boston University on Tuesday, Dec. 13 and Holy Cross on Sunday, Dec. 18. Boston College will play 13 teams which competed in the NCAA Tournament last season.

BC will open the season against Fairleigh-Dickinson on Friday, Nov. 11 (7 p.m.) before heading to New Jersey to play at former Big East foe Rutgers on Wednesday, Nov. 16. Boston College’s schedule does not get easier as the Eagles will travel to Tempe, Ariz. to play the Sun Devils on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. (ET).

Following a home game against Bryant on Sunday, Nov. 27, Boston College will play in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge at Wisconsin on Wednesday, Nov. 30. The Eagles will head to Ohio to pay Dayton, another NCAA Tournament team, on Sunday, Dec.. 4.

The month of Dec. has Boston College hosting UMass, Boston University and Holy Cross but on the road at Dayton, Hartford and St. Joe’s.

To start of the New Year the Eagles will host Central Connecticut State on Monday, January 2 and enter into the ACC schedule by hosting Virginia Tech on Sunday, Jan. 5. BC will play Georgia Tech, Miami, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest twice. The Eagles will host Duke, Clemson, Florida State and NC State at Conte Forum this season.

The women’s team also has three double-headers with the men’s team. On Dec. 18, the women will host Holy Cross at 4 p.m.; following the men’s game vs. Bryant at 1 p.m. BC will host Central Conn. State on Monday, Jan. 2 at 7 p.m. while the men will play host to URI at 1 p.m. On Sunday, January 29 both teams will play Miami, with the men’s game at 1 p.m. and the women’s at 5 p.m.

In the ACC there will be 52 televised games, the most in both categories since the inception of ACC women’s basketball. Boston College will also be on television three times this season. On January 15 vs. Georgia Tech, February 5 vs. Wake Forest and Sunday, February 26 at Miami.

KEVIN HARRIMAN

BC’s MOMAH SUFFERS ACL INJURY; OUT FOR SEASON

                                                  Momah suffers season-ending knee injury

Boston College senior wide receiver Ifeanyi Momah suffered a  season-ending left knee injury (ACL) in Saturday’s game vs.  Northwestern.

Momah (Greenlawy, NY) led all BC receivers with eight  receptions for 171 yards with a long of 38 in Saturday’s game.  He was third on the team last season with 19 receptions for 296 yards with three touchdown  catches.  Momah missed the entire 2009 season with a medical redshirt due to
injury; Boston College will submit an appeal to the NCAA for a sixth year of  eligibility.

KEVIN HARRIMAN