For 22 years the respective football programs of Boston College and the University of Massachusetts have gone their separate ways.
The Eagles have evolved into a successful Division I-A stalwart, making bowl games an annual occurrence and becoming a factory for producing professional offensive lineman. They’ve had Doug Flutie and the Hail Mary, David Gordon and The Kick, and most recently a monumental move to the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Minutemen, meanwhile, have been enjoying their own success at the Division I-AA level. They’ve produced NFL players such as Marcel Shipp, and coaches like Mark Whipple, and have evolved into one of the best programs at their level, culminating with a National Championship in 1998.
So for the students, alumni, friends and supporters of two of the state of Massachusetts’ foremost athletic institutions, Saturday will be a day more than two decades in the making. For the first time since Nov. 6, 1982, UMass and BC will meet on the gridiron with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m. at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill.
“It’s obviously a natural rivalry, and one that will attract attention from both schools with all the legacy going back,” UMass (2-2 0-2 Atlantic 10) coach Don Brown said. “It’s a great game for us and one we’re looking forward to, and it’s also great for our fans and alumni.
“We’re excited about it. I know a lot of our guys know a lot of the guys on their team, and it’s a chance for us to get after it against a quality opponent in a big time environment.”
Clearly for the Minutemen, the opportunity to pull off a monumental upset exists. However after watching A-10 schools New Hampshire and Maine knock off BC’s Big East rival Rutgers and Mississippi State, respectively, the Eagles will surely be prepared for and wary of an upstart Maroon and White group.
“It’s hard to equate what the other Atlantic 10 schools did to what we’re trying to do on Saturday,” Brown said. “Maine and UNH beat a pair of teams that are in major transition stages, and coach O’Brien and his staff have been at BC for a long time. They’ve had a lot of recruiting classes to get the guys they want in there, and I’m sure we’ll have their full attention.”
On the field, UMass will certainly face a tall order in more ways than one. A week after having their lack of size along the defensive front exploited by Delaware, the Minutemen will be up against one of the biggest offensive lines in the nation. It’s a matchup that worries Brown, and will likely cause problems as BC tries to establish it’s running game.
“Absolutely, it’s a cause for concern,” Brown said. “They’ve got tremendous size, and their philosophy is very similar to mine. They want to pound it in the running game and set up play action and everything comes off of those things. It’s going to be up to us to fly around on defense and try to disrupt that.
In addition, UMass must attempt to contain mobile quarterback Paul Peterson, whom many compare to Flutie. However Brown believes that his defensive backfield is up to the task.
“I think our defensive backfield doesn’t take a backseat to any wide receivers in America,” Brown said. “There are going to be times where we have to match them up one-on-one, and I have confidence that we’ll be able to do that and not get burned.”
On the offensive side of the ball, the Minutemen will look to get untracked after scoring just seven points in their last seven quarters. However, that will be easier said than done against a tough Eagle defense led by cornerback Will Blackmon, who leads the team with 23 tackles and two interceptions, as well as linebacker Mathi Kiwanuka, who paces the squad with three sacks.
“They have a lot of playmakers on defense,” Brown said. “We need to get it going consistently on offense and try to play out of their hands. We just want to play within ourselves and try to move the ball when and where we can.”
