CHESTNUT HILL – Boston College will get a chance to finish its remarkable turnaround season on a high note on the biggest stage in New York.
The Eagles Sunday accepted an invitation to the 2017 New Era Pinstripe Bowl and will face Iowa from the Big Ten. ESPN has broadcast coverage of the New Era Pinstripe Bowl on Wednesday, Dec. 27, at 5:15 p.m., from Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.
The Eagles under head coach Steve Addazio have lost nine starters to injury from the summer and have been without All-American defensive end Harold Landry for the last five games.
“I think the way I looked at it from the beginning was I always believed in our football program,” Addazio said. “I had some commentary that got picked up on, but I always had confidence where we were and where we were headed. We had to overcome a bunch of adversity is what we had to do with the loss of a lot of players. And the way we handled that spoke to the glue and the foundation of which this thing is built on right now.
“So that was always something that was very encouraging to me. When I made the statement it’s going to be beautiful, that’s really what I was saying even in the face of maybe people looking saying what’s this guy talking about because there was a great foundation. And I felt terrific about our players and where we were headed.”
With all the injuries, the Eagles rebounded from a 2-4 start to win five of their final six games and land in a bowl game. Jon Baker and Kamrin Moore are two seniors who lost their season to injury.
“I think it means a lot. It’s going to be a tough one to not be able to play in. I still remember the end of the last game, the look on the guys’ faces and wish I could get back out on that field one more time,” Baker said. “But that’s not the way it’s going to be. So I’ll help them in the way I can. But this game is huge, like Coach Addazio said, it’s in our backyard. I can name five players from the team just from the past years that I’ve been here that are now living in New York City. We’ve got a ton of recruits, ton of guys on the team today from that area. So it will be a huge, huge game for us.”
“I just think that it will be a great feeling, honestly,” added senior defensive back Kamrin Moore, a freshman when he played in the Pinstripe Bowl in 2014. “Obviously I can’t contribute to the team how I really wanted to, but I’m still there, a voice in their head, a coach, leader, whatever they need in order to build them up. I know guys are ecstatic. Last time we were there it was a vibrant, very lively environment. So I just think that it will be great. It will be great for this program.
“I think it means a lot. It’s going to be a tough one to not be able to play in. I still remember the end of the last game, the look on the guys’ faces and wish I could get back out on that field one more time. But that’s not the way it’s going to be. So I’ll help them in the way I can. But this game is huge, like Coach Addazio said, it’s in our backyard. I can name five players from the team just from the past years that I’ve been here that are now living in New York City. We’ve got a ton of recruits, ton of guys on the team today from that area. So it will be a huge, huge game for us.
The New Era Pinstripe Bowl is the 26th bowl appearance in school history for Boston College and the 16th bowl in the last 19 years for the Eagles. It will be BC’s second appearance in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl (31-30 overtime loss to Penn State in 2014).
“We look forward to continuing our season in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl in New York City,” Eagles athletic director Martin Jarmond said. “The New Era Pinstripe Bowl provides an opportunity for our team to end the year with six wins in the last seven games for the first time since 1993, which would give us great momentum heading into next season.”
The Hawkeyes defining win of an up-and-down season was its 55-24 thrashing of Ohio State that ended the Buckeyes’ hopes of a national championship and kept them out of the fourth and final BCS playoff spot.
The New Era Pinstripe bowl matchup will be the first meeting in series history between the Eagles and Hawkeyes.
The Eagles are 14-11 all-time in bowl games after last season’s 36-30 win over Maryland in the Quick Lane Bowl. The victory over the Terps was the first bowl win for BC since 2007.
Boston College finished the regular season winning five of its last six games as the Eagles closed out a 7-5 season and 4-4 mark in the ACC with a 42-14 win over Syracuse on Nov. 25. Head coach Steve Addazio has led the Eagles to four bowls in his first five years, the first head coach in BC history to do so.
Over the last six games, BC is averaging 36 points per game and outscoring the opposition by 19 points per contest including wins over Florida State (35-3), at Louisville (45-42) and at Virginia (41-10).
Boston College features nine All-ACC selections, led by ACC Rookie of the Year and All-ACC first team selection AJ Dillon, the nation’s second-leading rusher among freshmen and the country’s No. 15 overall rusher with 1,432 yards and 13 touchdowns. He has 1,099 rushing yards over the last six games, the most of any player in the country.
Junior free safety Lukas Denis and junior offensive tackle Chris Lindstrom earned second team All-ACC honors. Senior defensive end Harold Landry, senior linebacker Ty Schwab, junior tight end Tommy Sweeney and junior return specialist Michael Walker collected third team All-ACC accolades and junior defensive end Zach Allen and junior offensive guard Sam Schmal were name All-ACC honorable mention.
Tickets are available for the New Era Pinstripe Bowl via Boston College Athletics. Ticket prices range from $70-$140 and are available for purchase online here.
